The final day of the Penguins’ development camp featured a tournament between the three teams that have spent the last four days working out at the Lemieux Sports Complex up in Cranberry.
It’s a great opportunity to see these young players in real in-game scenarios, even if the tournament games have some altered rules.
Each game was 20 minutes in length (no intermissions), with a running clock except for the last two minutes of the game. The teams played four against four and in lieu of a traditional power play, any penalty that was called saw the player who drew the call be awarded a penalty shot with chasers. An example is down below:
The total development camp roster was split into three teams: Black, Yellow, and White. While each team did have some recognizable names, perhaps the Black team had too much talent on their end.
They went undefeated in three games and mostly cruised to the championship, complete with trophy.
It helps a ton to have several of the team’s most valuable assets on your side, including defensemen Owen Pickering (21st overall in 2022) and Harrison Brunicke (44th overall in 2024), as well as goaltender Sergei Murashov, who was a very late addition to the development camp roster and certainly lived up to the hype.
Game 1: Black vs White
The first game featured Team Black vs Team White, and young winger Will Gerrior was determined to make an impact in this game. He jumped out to a really hot start, getting in front of the net and scoring a tip-in goal for the opening goal of the tourny.
Not long after, he beat White’s Jackson Parsons a second time, this one with a wicked snipe from the left side to give his team a 2-0 advantage.
They were comfortably driving play against a White team that frankly looked like they had a hard time communicating to one another. There offensive chances were few and far between, and generated almost nothing against a stacked back end for Team Black.
Sergei Murashov did a fantastic job shutting down any kind of attack (a sentiment I wrote down several times in my notes), and Gerrior also made a heck of a play to break up a 2-on-1 chance for White.
With Black up 2-0 and the clock winding down, White decided to pull their goalie and try to make a late game surge. Though they had some looks, nothing was good enough to end up in the back of the net, and Black took the first game.
Game 2: Black vs Yellow
Despite having to play back to back games mere minutes apart, Team Black didn’t miss a beat.
Early on, Black’s Christopher Brown scored on a breakaway chance to give his team an early goal against Team Yellow’s Owen Say. This would stand as the game winner, as Team Yellow also struggled to generate offensive momentum against Black’s defense.
The first half of the matchup saw the ice being very tilted in Black’s favor, but Yellow did find a way to get some chances as the game went on. Led by Brayden Yager (14th overall in 2023), Yellow was able to get past Black’s defense, including multiple breakaways.
Unfortunately, they were no match for Murashov, who stopped them all and benefitted from a couple missed shots. Meanwhile, Black had found a way to pot a few more goals past Say, including a beautiful snipe by Atley Calvert.
Black won this game 3-0, giving Murashov his second straight shutout of the tournament – very impressive stuff.
Game 3: Yellow vs White
This matchup was my favorite of the day, not only because it featured the two teams that had just been similarly beat by Black, but because this game felt the most real; things got a little chippy between the two sides, and some shoves were exchanged in net front scrums even after play had died.
For Team Yellow, there was a new man in net by the name of Charlie Schenkel. Originally, the camp roster had three goalies, one for each team. However, the late addition of Murashov meant that one team now had two, and Yellow split the time between the two.
Meanwhile, Yellow’s Brayden Yager had come out flying to start the game, whipping around the ice in search of his team’s first goal. They had some really good energy, but it was Team White who actually found the back of the net first. White’s Owen Saye (different from Yellow’s Owen Say) found himself all alone in front of the net, and was able to make a move to slide the puck in the net.
The teams exchanged a few chances, but Yellow was really able to get in a groove as the game went on. Tanner Howe scored off a deflection as his team crashed the crease, and soon after Emil Pieniniemi was able to snipe one into the net to give his team the lead.
Yellow had a style that involved getting a lot of bodies to the net, which resulted in a third tip in goal that would stand as the game winner, thanks to a late game surge from White.
Mac Swanson, drafted this year, got a breakaway chance and buried it to get his team within one with a few minutes left to play. That sparked some momentum for White, who kept pushing as the seconds ticked down. Stoppages around this time saw lots of shoving for a development camp match (but I enjoyed it).
Unfortunately for White, they couldn’t find a way to get a third goal home, and lost 3-2, bouncing them from the finals.
Game 4: Black vs Yellow (Championship)
Looking to avenge their shutout loss from the first time they met, Team Yellow started out with a bit of a flare in their game. That charge was once again led by Brayden Yager, who finally found a way to solve Team Black’s Sergei Murashov.
On a semi breakaway that saw him being harassed by a defender, Yager was able to shoot one past Murashov for the first goal scored against him in the tournament.
Unfortunately for them, that lead didn’t last all that long. In a net front scramble, Matt DiMarsico picked up the loose change and potted it to tie the game for Black. For Yellow, Jackson Parsons was back in net.
Yellow had some chances, but Murashov wasn’t feeling particularly giving after allowing that first goal and shut the door. His team helped pick him up as well even after tying the game, continuing to generate chances at the other end.
That finally paid off when Black’s Justin Cloutier came around from the back of the net, then turned around and fired a quick shot that went past Parsons.
That was the game (and tournament) winner, as Black focused on locking down chances in their own end and holding onto that lead. Yellow had pushed to find the equalizer in the final minutes and pulled their goalie to get the extra attacker, but to no avail.
A shot from the point with a few seconds left had misfired and ended up too far out of reach for any final shot, giving Black the win.
Post-Tournament Thoughts
The prospect tournament is always super fun for me, and this year did not disappoint. It’s a very exciting time if you like seeing young talent in this town. For the first time in seemingly forever, there is a real wave of Penguins prospects that are close to competing in the NHL.
With guys like Owen Pickering and Tristan Broz looking ready to take full time pro jobs next year, as well as traded for prospects like Ville Koivunen and Vasili Ponomarev also nearing the cusp, it’s the first time in years that Pittsburgh actually has the rumblings of a youth movement, even if it’s a small one.
It’s interesting to see these guys in actual games; sure, it’s not going to make or break your NHL chances, but it can give guys an opportunity to get their names out there, and it also allows hyped up prospects to confirm the excitement around them. Or at least, as much as they for it being July.
Later today, I’ll have the Fifth Avenue Sports awards for tournament players available on the Deluxe side of the site. I hope you check that out!
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