Brunicke will be joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.
Harrison Brunicke, one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top prospects will be joining the team’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as his season in the WHL has ended.
Brunicke’s stock has continued to rise since being drafted in the second round in 2024 with the 44th overall pick, which was acquired when the Penguins dealt Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 6’3” defenseman nearly made the Penguins’ team last fall and still has another year of eligibility in juniors but will soon be getting his first look at life in the AHL.
In an interview with the Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel, Brunicke said he’s looking forward to joining the team.
“With how good that Wilkes-Barre team is doing, that is pretty special. Hopefully, I’m able to go there and reunite with those guys and have some fun,” Brunicke told the PG. “As far as I know, that is the plan. I think it’s as soon as we can, basically.”
Video from Brunicke’s play for Kamloops shared by The Athletic’s Jesse Marshall showed some of the skills in the young defenseman’s arsenal.
This dude is absolutely ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/91YwttrMDk
— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) March 25, 2025
In the video, Brunicke collected a puck in the defensive zone, used a spin move to deke around an opponent as he entered the neutral zone, stickhandled around a Kelowna defender and managed to get a shot off that went wide of the net.
“This dude is absolutely ridiculous,” Marshall said.
Brunicke will be joining the AHL soon enough, but until then stay tuned for a full mixtape of his play on Jesse’s YouTube page.