On the final day of development camp, the Pittsburgh Penguins held their annual prospect tournament, featuring three teams and almost 50 players at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
Each game was played at 4-on-4 with a 25-minute running clock, and a shootout to determine in a winner if a game ended regulation in a tie.
Among the players that participated in the summer games were all three of Pittsburgh’s first round picks in the most recent draft: Ben Kindel at 11th overall, Bill Zonnon at 22nd overall, and Will Horcoff at 24th overall.
Before the games, injured forwards Max Graham, Zam Plante, and Luke Devlin took part in a skate, shooting around with an on-ice coach.
While it would have been fun to see these players get involved as well, the tournament still provided fans and media alike to get a look at the deepest prospect group the Penguins have had in years.
The first two games, along with the championship, took place at the FedEx rink. The third game, which determined what team would get a rematch with Black, took place at the neighboring Covestro Rink.
The Fifth Avenue awards for the tournament will be out tomorrow, but for now, here’s a recap of the action:
Game 1: Stevens (Black) vs Patrick (Yellow)
The four-game tournament kicked off with a Black vs Yellow clash, pitting Bill Zonnon and Ben Kindel against each other.
This was easily the most lopsided game of the tournament. Black had relentless pressure and Yellow had no answers for them. Yellow’s goaltender, Linards Feldbergs, a camp invitee, held strong early on, but he bucked under the pursuit.
Mac Swanson, a seventh round pick last year, broke the game open when he scored to give Black a 1-0. Swanson swarmed around the ice in this game; he had a breakaway a moment later, but was stopped by Lindbergs.
Even though Swanson couldn’t capitalize on that chance, his teammates soon did, establishing a 2-0 lead early on.
A few minutes later, defenseman Quinn Beauchesne found Zonnon all alone in front of the net, sneaking one past Lindbergs to get a 3-0 lead.
Zonnon was a big standout in this game. Even if his puck handling skills could be improved a little, the 6′ 2 forward played like he was 6′ 10, facing little difficulty in imposing his will on the ice.
Yellow just couldn’t find a way to respond. Even when they finally found a way to get some consistent time in the offensive zone, Black goaltender Joshua Kotai turned aside each shot he faced, including a bold poke check to stop a chance.
Black’s defense was sound all around, led by captain Joona Vaisanen, who played incredibly competent all over the ice.
With around four minutes to go, Yellow pulled Lindbergs for the empty net. But the only pick that found a way into the net was off the stick of Black’s Nolan Renwick, who fired one into the yawning cage from his own blue line.
Black took the first game 4-0.
Game 2: Stevens (Black) vs Johnston (White)
While Black was able to push around Yellow in their first game, White provided a lot more stiff competition early on. This matchup featured Pittsburgh’s third first round pick, Will Horcoff, who made his name known in this tournament.
Horcoff came out with some incredible speed, using it to his advantage to drive to the net and put one past new Black goaltender Noah Erliden, who played the second of three games for the team.
Horcoff nearly beat Erliden again using a very similar move just a minute later, but that one didn’t go.
Meanwhile, White goalie Ben Charlette, a camp invite, stood tall at the other end, keeping Black out of the net as White tried to build on their lead.
This game also saw the first penalty of the tournament, with Renwick drawing a hooking call to give his team the man advantage. Power plays in this tournament lasted about 30 seconds, but Black couldn’t capitalize.
Unfortunately for Erliden, as good as he played in this game, he and the team fell apart in the last few minutes. Ryan Miller, a fifth round pick a few weeks ago, kicked off the barrage to tie the game at 1-1. David Breazeale added another one quickly, turning the tides and giving Black the lead.
At around a minute left, White pulled Erliden to go for the empty net, but just like Black’s first game, they were able to tack on another goal in the dying seconds. Iiro Hakkarainen put the score at 3-1, giving Black their second win and sending them to the championship.
Game 3: Patrick (Yellow) vs Johnston (White)
Over at the other rink, Yellow and White faced off for the right to get a rematch with Black in the championship. In net, Lindbergs stayed in for Yellow, but White swapped out Erliden for Justin BriseBois, another camp invite.
Forward Cruz Lucius, who had a pretty quiet first game, came alive in this game, scoring early on a play where he outlasted the sprawling defenseman. Lucius was one of the three prospects the Penguins acquired from Carolina in the Jake Guentzel trade.
White added another one a few minutes later, getting up to a 2-0 lead.
Yellow, despite the rough start to this game as well, did look much more competitive in this matchup. It took them a while, defenseman Brady Peddle, a third round selection by Pittsburgh this year, snuck one past the netminder to put Yellow on the board.
Not that long after, defenseman Chase Pietila also scored, knotting the game at 2-2, heightening the tension.
The tournament didn’t feature a ton of physicality, but this game did get a little chippy. After a stoppage in play in the second half of the game, White’s Tommy Budnick (a camp invite) and Yellow’s Travis Hayes (a fourth round pick this year) exchanged some shoving and cross-checks, eventually being separated.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to Horcoff in the final, because he looked really, really good. On a busted play, Lucius gave the puck away but fought to claw it back, getting it over to Horcoff who ripped one past Lindbergs to put White back on top.
It looked as if White was going to take it, securing a ticket to the final, but they iced the puck with 12.9 seconds left to go, giving Yellow one last chance to tie the game and push it to a shootout. Harrison Brunicke, the team’s first pick at 44th overall last season and captain of Yellow, came in the clutch and put one behind BriseBois to even it at 3-3.
For Brunicke, it was a big sigh of relief after he rang one off the post earlier in the game.
Horcoff’s one disappointing moment in the tournament came in the ensuing shootout, when he missed a shot. Kindel, who had a quiet day altogether, did make some noise when he went forehand-backhand to score the first goal of the shootout.
Lucius did respond for White, building upon a strong second game for the college product, but Brunicke served as the hero in this one. He scored for Yellow to put them back in front, and White’s Oliver Tulk was stopped by Lindbergs, capping off Yellow’s comeback to get to the final.
Game 4 (Championship): Stevens (Black) vs Patrick (Yellow)
Back at the FedEx Rink, a rematch of the first game saw a much more competitive game between the two.
In net, Kotai returned for Black, but this game served as the first action for Gabriel D’Aigle, a third round pick by the Penguins in 2025.
These teams were playing complete pond hockey early on, trading chances and rushes. Yellow looked like a completely different group this time around, and unlike last time, was able to strike first. Pietela got the goal, picking up the loose change and putting Yellow up 1-0.
Yellow was able to build on their lead, with sixth-round selection Carter Sanderson adding a tally to double his team’s lead.
Beauchesne drew the only penalty in this one, giving Black a power play and a chance to get back in the game. On the ensuing 4-on-3, Miller fired one past D’Aigle to get his team on the board.
That penalty ultimately sparked a comeback for Black. Swanson, who after an electric first game was rather quiet, got back into the swing of things and scored to tie the game.
Black nearly took the lead seconds later, but Miller and Beauchesne couldn’t score on a 2-on-1 chance.
Black dominated a lot of the final few minutes, pushing the puck and putting a lot of pressure in the offensive zone. Yellow was on their heels, but was able to rely on D’Aigle, who was lights out with the seconds ticking down, including a glorious glove save with around five seconds to go.
In fitting fashion, the tournament’s championship could not be solved in 25 minutes.
In the shootout, D’Aigle put a stop on Zonnon, and Kotai responded with a toe save on Kindel.
Miller scored for Black in the second frame, and unlike last time, Brunicke couldn’t get one past the goalie, leaving the game in the hands of Caden Taylor, a camp invitee. Taylor’s goal secured the win for Black, giving them the Michel Briere Cup.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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