Training camp and preseason in the NHL are all about getting ready for the season after a long offseason break. For the main roster guys, it is evaluating them and see what lines they should be on, getting ready for the season by knocking the rust off, and how they improved. However, for the younger guys, it is all about seeing who they are and their continued development. Another thing to look at for the younger guys is how they fare against NHL competition and if they may be NHL ready earlier than expected.
One of the more interesting storylines this training camp for the Pittsburgh Penguins is rookie Harrison Brunicke. Brunicke is just 18 years old defenseman from South Africa. The Penguins drafted him this past draft in the second round 44th overall. He has great size for a defenseman at 6’3, 196 lbs. Brunicke has spent the last two seasons playing for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. In addition, he also played for the U18 Canadian team. Despite being born in South Africa, Brunicke was raised in Canada and moved there as a young kid making him eligible to play for Team Canada.
In the 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Penguins rookie looked like the best player on the ice. According to GameScore, Brunicke was the best player on the team in terms of offense and defense individually. Many Penguins reporters and beat writers including Josh Yohe think he is the real deal and could even see playing time in the NHL as a 18 year-old rookie.
Harrison Brunicke’s Role Going Forward
Nobody expected Brunicke to compete for a role on the main roster this year. Mainly due to him being a second round pick this year, depth at the position, plus a more experienced prospect in Owen Pickering. Also, the preseason game before is one Brunicke would like to forget. His weaknesses showed as his poor positioning and inability to read plays showed. However, he was able to quickly bounce back and have a stellar game.
Most people expected him to not be in the NHL or even be in the AHL. Most people thought he was going to be in the WHL once again. However, after his last game, Penguins coaches and front office need to have a serious conversation about him being on the main roster.
In practice, he spent time on the third pairing with defenceman Ryan Graves. A reporter asked head coach Mike Sullivan if Brunicke could see a nine game trial and Sullivan responded “Yes, of course there is” which was definitely interesting to say the least as Sullivan is generally not favorable towards prospects.
Coaches & Players Thoughts
Sullivan after the game spoke very highly on the Penguins rookie and his play. In the game he logged his first professional point as he had an assist to Penguins forward Rickard Rakell.
“I thought he was terrific,” Sullivan said after the Penguins fell 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. “He’s making an impact. He’s so active in the rush, he’s active off the offensive blue line, he got a number of scoring chances, he was part of the goal, he’s defending hard. ?We’ve really liked his progress over the course of camp. I think his confidence is growing. I thought he had another terrific game.”
In two of the three preseason games he appeared in, the Red Wings game included, he played on the second line alongside veteran defenceman Marcus Pettersson. Pettersson like Sullivan, was also very pleased with his play.
“He wants to make plays out there, you can tell,” Pettersson said. “He doesn’t shy away from anything. I remember being young, so coming in, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, I don’t want the puck.’ But he wants the puck all the time. It’s fun to see. He wants to make plays, so he’s fun to play with.”
Brunicke will not be on the opening night roster as he got sent back to Kamloops. However, even if he does not, it is nice to know the Penguins have even more depth than they thought and even at 18 Brunicke can come in and make an impact. Also, it is nice to see they have another prospect panning out as generally the Penguins have had a poor prospect system for awhile. However, it is still possible, the Penguins could see Brunicke at some point this season in Pittsburgh.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
