{"id":935302,"date":"2026-07-14T23:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/935302\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T23:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:07:21","slug":"penguins-prospect-ranks-2026-real-depth-feast-or-famine-15-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/935302\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Prospect Ranks 2026: Real Depth, Feast or Famine (15-11)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Closer than the outer reaches of the back five of the top 20, which has a couple of players expected to get to the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>\u2018 real growth in prospect depth becomes quickly evident in the next batch of prospects. <\/p>\n

Interestingly, the back five had fewer question marks than this next batch of five Penguins prospects<\/a>, and that is because there are some potential home runs that carry a high degree of risk. Feast or famine types. <\/p>\n

As a refresher, the scoring system to rank the prospects is a three-tiered rating system from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), rating a player\u2019s full potential, their potential to play in the NHL this season, and a combined score of their likelihood to reach the NHL and their impact when they arrive. <\/p>\n

Some players can have a high ceiling but are unlikely to reach that level of impact at the highest level. Our 14th-rated prospect is a primary example of a talented player that isn\u2019t forecasted as a top-six winger at the NHL level, but just might get there anyway and be an exciting player. <\/p>\n

Penguins Prospects 15-11<\/p>\n

15. Ryan Miller (3-1-3) <\/p>\n

Ryan Miller,<\/a> 19, was a fifth-rounder in the large 2025 Penguins draft class and is a much-needed center. Unexpectedly, we absolutely loved what we saw at the recent Development Camp. He was a revelation. <\/p>\n

Miller played a couple of games with the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins after his WHL season with the Portland Winterhawks ended last season, but the org didn\u2019t toss the emerging pivot into the playoff fray. <\/p>\n

After 31 points (16-15-31) in 50 games in 2024-25, Miller exploded last season with 30 goals and 76 points in 65 games. He also earned 78 penalty minutes, signaling his physical game is also progressing rapidly\u2013no, he doesn\u2019t back down. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s got great wheels, adequate size (6-foot, 181 pounds), offensive vision, and plays with some hate. What\u2019s not to love? Director of player development Tom Kostopoulos delivered his best quotes of the week regarding Miller. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought his skating was really powerful. His puck skills look good. He\u2019s a competitor, I don\u2019t know, he might be the standout in our organization among prospects that want the puck, who play with hunger in a desperation to win puck battles,\u201d Kostopoulos said. \u201cIf you guys ever watched him last year in Portland, he will rip your head off to win a puck battle, and it\u2019s contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kostopoulos said Miller had a little more work to do, but the only reason Miller isn\u2019t much higher on the list is that he was a fifth-round pick just a year ago. <\/p>\n

14. Zam Plante (4-1-2)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about time to find out what the Penguins have here. Zam Plante<\/a> will turn 22 in August and was the Penguins\u2019 fifth-round selection in 2022. After a couple of successful seasons with the USHL\u2019s Fargo Force, Plante went to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he plays on a line with his younger brother, 2026 Hobey Baker winner Max Plante.<\/p>\n

Plante, a center by trade, has put up big numbers at UM-D, scoring 50 points (20-30-50) in 40 games, but that\u2019s not the concern. At 5-foot-9, 172 pounds, his lack of size clouds his NHL future. Plante has nice speed, offensive instincts, and makes every shift count. As one of the veterans, he starred at the recent Penguins Development Camp, but is he strong enough and quick enough to overcome his size impediment to play in the middle at the NHL level?<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like any game you put this kid in\u2013he excels at the five-on-five. He thinks his way out on four-on-four. He can make plays, three-on-three,\u201d said Kostopoulos. \u201cI thought he stood out probably more than anyone (Friday), just creativity, his hockey sense, and then he can finish. He can make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 22, if he were an urgent NHL prospect, it would seem the Penguins would bring him into the fold now, especially given the organization\u2019s lack of centers. However, he is returning to college to play with his brothers, Max and incoming freshman Victor, both of whom were drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n

13. Tanner Howe (3-2-3) <\/p>\n

Tanner Howe<\/a> made the list primarily on reputation and expectation. After the Penguins selected Harrison Brunicke with the 44th overall pick in 2024, they snagged Howe with the 46th pick. Howe was part of Team Canada\u2019s World Junior squad and comes with a pedigree of a potential middle-six winger with sandpaper and offensive finish. <\/p>\n

However, injuries have sidetracked his career. He underwent knee surgery for a torn ACL in April of 2025, which cost him a good chunk of last season, and before that, a significant shoulder injury at the start of the 2024-25 season erased most of that season, too. <\/p>\n

As a second-rounder with loads of potential, he made the list. Unfortunately, he was not a primary impact player in the quarter-season with the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins, undoubtedly due to simply playing catch-up from two seasons lost. Yet he still posted 16 points (8-8-16) in 27 games. <\/p>\n

With a healthy summer and a good start this season, he could be in line for some injury replacement work at the NHL level before making a full push for full-time NHL work in 2026-27. <\/p>\n

12. Gabriel D\u2019Aigle (4-1-1.5)<\/p>\n

There is a reason that Penguins vice president of player personnel Wes Clark refers to the director of goaltending Jon Elkin as \u201cSir Jon Elkin.\u201d It seems when Elkin speaks in the scouting meetings and at the draft table, Penguins management listens. <\/p>\n

D\u2019Aigle, 19, is a big, athletic, but very raw goalie who was a 2025 fourth-round pick. Last season, he made his pro debut with the Wheeling Nailers after his QMJHL season ended, and the 6-foot-4, 213-pound goalie lost two of the three games, but allowed just eight goals in those three games with a .925 save percentage. <\/p>\n

It helped greatly that Wheeling knows how to play defense, something in which his Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL does not specialize. Fortunately, Victoriaville was greatly improved last season, and D\u2019Aigle\u2019s save percentage increased by a whopping 25 points to .908 as the team made the playoffs, with D\u2019Aigle being a primary driver of their success. <\/p>\n

He has all of the tools to be a very \u2026 very good goalie, but he also has some typical young netminder flaws, such as getting out of position because of overreactions and some technical rough spots that need to be refined. <\/p>\n

You may notice that D\u2019Aigle\u2019s score is lower than the players behind him on the list. And the simple answer is that D\u2019Aigle could be a five at the NHL level or a one. We lean toward the higher impact, but scored him a 1.5 because of the uncertainty. <\/p>\n

He is probably several years away, and goalie development is wildly unpredictable. He could be a starting NHL goalie or never make it past the AHL (see also: Joel Blomqvist, who is fighting that battle now), but we really like his chances. <\/p>\n

11. Marcus Ruck (4-1-3)<\/p>\n

Did the Penguins get a first-round talent in the second round because teams knew the Ruck twins had to stay together? <\/p>\n

After selecting Liam Ruck with the 22nd overall pick, the Penguins sat on Markus for Day 2. There were rumors that the Penguins tried to trade back into the first round just to make sure they got Markus, but after the boys and their agent told teams they were a package deal, teams acquiesced.<\/p>\n

Ruck, 18, is slight but is a next-level playmaker who led the WHL (and CHL) in scoring by feeding Liam, who had 45 goals in 68 games. Instead of lighting the lamp, Markus Ruck was the center on their line and tallied 87 assists with 21 goals for 108 points in just 68 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season.<\/p>\n

Ruck will need to get stronger, fill out, and most importantly, improve his skating to get to the highest level, but a center with 87 assists in 68 games is one to watch. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: gabriel d’aigle<\/a> Markus Ruck<\/a> Penguins Prospects<\/a> ryan miller<\/a> tanner howe<\/a> zam plante<\/a> <\/p>\n

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