Category: Sports News

It's been almost three months since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Benjamin Kindel with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. 

Kindel was one of the top players in the entire CHL last year, finishing with 35 goals and 99 points in 64 games with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen. He's a really underrated goal scorer and has great vision in the offensive zone, but the best aspect of his game is his hockey IQ. He's always out-thinking the opposition while he's on the ice and is always in the right position. 

He got to play in the Penguins' first two preseason games and was noticeable in both. He showcased his skating during Monday's game against the Montreal Canadiens and got a few good chances against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, including a breakaway, but couldn't find the back of the net. 

Even though Kindel is expected to play for the Hitmen again this season, he may have earned himself another preseason game after his efforts on Wednesday. He's also really enjoying training camp thus far and found the first skate last Thursday to be "very competitive."

"Yeah, first day, I think it's a great environment," Kindel said. "A lot of great leaders and older guys showing the young guys how to work, and I think it was a very competitive first skate, and it was a lot of fun."

Kindel isn't the only player to describe this year's camp as competitive. Just ask Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

"I thought the pace of practice was really good, and a lot of competition within that, so that's what you expect from training camp," Crosby said after the September 18 practice. 

Kindel is also super impressed with Muse and the rest of the Penguins' coaching staff. 

Training Camp Proves Penguins Have More Talent Than You RealizeWhen Kyle Dubas took over as president of hockey operations - and, eventually, general manager - of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2023, the prospect pool looked quite different than it does now. 

"I'm really excited to continue working with them. They seem like great coaches and great people. They want to see all of us do our best, and try and get the best out of all of us, so I'm really excited to keep working with them," Kindel said. 

Kindel will be at Penguins' training camp for another practice on Friday as they get set for back-to-back preseason games. He won't be in the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, which could be a sign that he will play on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

It would be pretty big for Kindel to play in that game since it's expected that a lot of the Penguins' top players will play due to Marc-Andre Fleury's return. Kindel may not be ready for the NHL yet, but his time is coming. 

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When Kyle Dubas took over as president of hockey operations - and, eventually, general manager - of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2023, the prospect pool looked quite different than it does now. 

In 2022-23, the organization's top prospects consisted of names such as Owen Pickering, Joel Blomqvist, Sam Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and Filip Hallander. Fast forward two years, and all of thise names remain - but, arguably, not one of them is a top-five prospect in the pipeline.

The truth is that - in two short years - Dubas has done quite a lot of work to rebuild that pipeline. And that much is certainly evident if you've been taking in any of the 2025 pre-season action.

Through two pre-season games and four full practice days, there are several guys beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack - and most of them aren't among the group of aforementioned players. In fact, Pickering and Hallander are the only ones with, presumably, a likely shot at the NHL roster come puck drop on Oct. 7 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The others with a good shot at the roster? That would include guys like Ville Koivunen, acquired by Dubas prior to the 2024 trade deadline from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the package for Jake Guentzel. Guys like Harrison Brunicke - also part of the package in the form of the conditional first-round pick that turned out to be a second - who was selected 44th overall by the Penguins in 2024. And Rutger McGroarty - currently out indefinitely with an upper-body injury - who was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets for then-top prospect Brayden Yager.

There's also Avery Hayes, who - undrafted - was brought into the organization on an AHL contract prior to the 2023-24 season and has done nothing but raise his stock ever since. Even 2025 11th overall pick Ben Kindel has made a strong impression in camp up to this point, and he just turned 18 in April. 

For Penguins' Prospect, Training Camp Is A Family Reunion - And An OpportunityOn Jun. 28, something pretty special happened for Pittsburgh Penguins' forward prospect Avery Hayes. 

There are some pre-Dubas remnants in the mix, too. Forward Tristan Broz - selected 58th overall in 2022 - is making a strong case for himself, as his two-way play and ability to put the puck in the net are earning him more and more opportunities within camp. And goaltender Sergei Murashov, 21 - also drafted in 2022 (118th overall) dominated the ECHL and the AHL last season and continues to put up strong performances in the pre-season. 

Even in that case, though, it's not just about the drafting side of things. It's also about the development side of things. It's been widely chronicled how much the Penguins' scouting and development staff has expanded both under Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and under Dubas. The Penguins' organization has broadened its reach by sheer numbers from increased investment, and it has allowed them to become more individualized in their approach to prospect development. 

And it has certainly paid off, because even if the Penguins still lack that superstar, franchise-altering center or bona fide No. 1 defenseman in their organization, they seem to have a lot of potential in terms of the complementary pieces. 

Koivunen and Kindel have point-per-game potential at the NHL level, and they - along with McGroarty - certainly project to be top-six forwards. Broz, Hayes, and Filip Hallander could have ceilings as middle-six forwards and are probably, at worst, effective bottom-six players. Pickering should be a top-four defenseman in the NHL, and Brunicke certainly has the talent and potential to be a top-pairing blueliner. There are also other promising defensive prospects - Emil Pieniniemi, in particular, comes to mind - who should be NHL regulars. 

And Murashov, with all of his quickness, athleticism, cool confidence, and calm demeanor, seems to be the real deal and certainly has the best potential out of their pool of goaltenders to be a franchise guy for the Penguins in the future, however volatile the goaltending position can be at times. Dubas and the Penguins still very much believe in Blomqvist's potential, too.

Pre-season Offers Sneak Peek At Potential Future Defensive PairingWhen in the early stages of NHL training camp, it's not often wise to read into too much.

Perhaps the most intriguing part is that the pipeline doesn't end there. It still has guys like Poulin and Puustinen, and there are some players - such as 2025 picks Bill Zonnon (22nd overall), Will Horcoff (24th overall), and Quinn Beachesne - who are farther away from making an impact but certainly have the potential to. 

The Penguins' organization is proving that effective drafting and development matters. Of course, all of these players need to play regularly at the NHL level before any kind of final say can be had on what the future could look like. But, at the very least, the Penguins have a whole lot more "potential" impact players than they did two years ago.

This group of players - all near-NHL-ready - are giving fans in Pittsburgh some hope for the future, and for good reason. If the Penguins can draft or acquire that franchise-altering center in the summer of 2026, maybe the "hopeful future" isn't as far away as it seems.

And Dubas and his staff deserve a little bit of credit for that even becoming a possibility in the first place.

Penguins Send Promising Defensive Prospect Back To OHLThe Pittsburgh Penguins made another cut on Thursday, assigning defensive prospect Quinn Beauchesne to the OHL's Guelph Storm.

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Now that we are in late September, the 2025-26 NHL regular season is almost here. While this is the case, there are still some players who hit the free-agent market this summer who have yet to be signed. One of them is former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman T.J. Brodie.

Brodie became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this off-season after the Blackhawks decided to buy him out of the final year of his two-year, $7.5 million contract. Now, nearly four months after officially becoming a UFA, Brodie has yet to find a home for the season. He also has not signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the preseason going on. 

Brodie appeared in 54 games this past season with the Blackhawks, where he recorded two goals, eight assists, 10 points, 58 blocks, and a minus-18 rating. This was after he posted one goal, 26 points, 159 blocks, and a plus-17 rating in 78 games duirng the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Teams looking for more experience on their blueline could consider taking a chance on Brodie as a depth defenseman, but time will tell what happens on that front. In 962 career NHL games over 15 seasons split between the Calgary Flames, Maple Leafs, and Blackhawks, Brodie has recorded 58 goals, 300 assists, 358 points, and a plus-66 rating. 

The Buffalo Sabres are going to have a tough time contending for a Stanley Cup wild card position this year. But when this writer submitted his pre-season predictions for the Atlantic Division, he had the Sabres in…sixth place in the Atlantic, ahead of only the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. And while it pains us to predict more misery ahead for long-suffering Sabres fans, we wouldn’t be telling it like it is if we told you Buffalo wasn’t going to be picked as a playoff team by most pundits. They won’t be.

In many ways, this is only fair. When you as an organization that’s enduring a 14-year drought without playoff hockey, you’re not going to get the benefit of the doubt in predictions. You’re going to have to prove you’re worthy of the expectations of you. You’re going to have to earn praise, not expect it.

While there is the possibility that Sabres GM Kevyn Adams’ blueprint for success is going to pan out in Buffalo’s favor, you have to ask yourself – which team in the Atlantic will the Sabres unseat as a playoff team?

Will it be the Toronto Maple Leafs? Highly unlikely. Same goes for the defending Cup-champion Florida Panthers, or the Tampa Bay Lightning? Can’t see it happening. The upstart Montreal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators? More likely than the other three teams we’ve talked about in this paragraph, but still, the odds are in those teams’ favor. 

So it will not only take the Sabres making a dramatic improvement, but an unexpected step back from a team more proven than Buffalo is, for the Sabres to make the playoffs this season. That’s not an anti-Sabres message. That’s a realistic approximation of the situation. The odds will be against Buffalo, and that’s just something the Sabres will have to deal with all season long.

Sabres Set To Play One Of Most Pressure-Packed Seasons In Team History -- Can They Finally End Playoff Drought?The NHL’s 2025-26 season is nearly here, and the Buffalo Sabres are being cautiously optimistic about their chances of ending a 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought. You don’t see Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, coach Lindy Ruff or Buffalo’s players making grand pronouncements guaranteeing the Sabres will make the playoffs. Nobody under the Sabres’ umbrella will be handing out dressing room white-board material to their opponents in the highly-competitive Atlantic Division.

In fact, good teams that have changed their narrative have used their status as an underdog as motivation. And if that’s what it takes to stimulate the Sabres into making it into the playoffs this year, then, you’re welcome for the motivation.

The Sabres are under no illusions about the high degree of difficulty of the task ahead of them this year. They know most people aren’t picking them to end their playoff drought. But optimists will say Buffalo has a clean slate with a new experiment in dressing room chemistry, and stranger things have happened than the Sabres being a playoff team this season. 

Sabres 2025-26 Player Expectations: Will We See A Major Improvement In Play From New First-Line Winger Benson?We’ve nearly made it to the start of the NHL’s 2025-26 regular season, and here on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site, we’ve worked our way through our player-by-player series in which we analyze expectations for each Buffalo player this coming year.

You never know for sure until you play the games, right? That has to be a key message for this Buffalo team. They can play free and loose knowing people are expecting very little of them. They can be a little indignant about it, as a matter of fact. Whatever attitude gets them into the playoffs will be fine by Sabres fans, and low external expectations could turn into a positive. 

The Philadelphia Flyers had a pretty busy off-season, as the Metropolitan Division club brought in multiple new players. Among their newcomers is Christian Dvorak, as the Flyers signed the 29-year-old forward to a one-year, $5.4 million contract in free agency.

While Dvorak may not be the flashiest of players, the potential for him to be a strong addition to the Flyers' roster is certainly there.

By signing Dvorak, the Flyers have brought in a veteran two-way forward who should improve their top nine. His versatility also makes him an interesting addition, as he is able to play on both the power play and penalty kill if needed. Thus, he will be a player who comes in handy for the Flyers, as he can work in multiple situations.

Dvorak spent this past season with the Montreal Canadiens, where he put together a bounce-back year. In 82 games with the Canadiens during the 2024-25 season, he recorded 12 goals, 21 assists, and 33 points. He has also recorded at least 30 points in six out of his nine NHL seasons, so he undoubtedly has the potential to give the Flyers decent secondary offensive production.

Overall, there is no real harm in the Flyers signing Dvorak for the season. It is going to be very interesting to see what kind of season he puts together for Philly in 2025-26 from here.

When the Ottawa Senators signed Lars Eller this summer, GM Steve Staios knew he'd landed another well-regarded, steady NHL veteran for his collection. Eller has long been respected around the league as a reliable, detail-oriented forward capable of playing in the bottom-six forward group, bringing veteran poise and Stanley Cup-winning experience.

But when training camp opened earlier this month, Eller wasn’t available, still recovering from off-season abdominal surgery. The absence was frustrating for a player who was, no doubt, anxious to show his new team that there are plenty of miles left on that 36-year-old body of his.

Now, on day eight of camp on Thursday, Eller was finally skating with his new teammates at 100 percent and participated fully in all drills for the first time as a Senator.

“It felt great,” Eller said after his first full session with the team. “I’ve been missing getting some contact and getting up to speed, so I’ve been slowly ramping up to this point today, and it was good to be out there with the guys and actually participating 100 percent. It’s never fun watching on the sidelines, so a good step forward today, and I feel good about where I’m at at this stage.”

Eller is generally seen as the Sens' probable replacement for Adam Gaudette, who mainly played at fourth-line center last season and posted a career-high 19 goals. After Gaudette signed with the San Jose Sharks over the summer, Eller isn't likely to come in now and replicate that number of goals, but in fairness, if Gaudette had stayed, he probably wouldn't have either. Meanwhile, Eller is bigger and faster and will probably produce just as many points.

Oh, yes. And Eller also brings the tasty intangible of another Cup ring into the room.

Now that he's feeling better, the next challenge for Eller is not just getting his fitness up, but also mastering Ottawa’s systems and tactics, and the finer details of how the team wants to play.

“Yeah, the last couple of days we’ve been going over some video, watching, but the best thing is going out there and learning the systems by doing it and maybe making some adjustments along the way,” Eller said. “So now we’re getting up to that point where I can participate in the drills and learn by doing. They’ve been good at communicating with me and taking the time I need to get up to speed with things. I’m sure we’re going to be doing more of that the next week or so.”

As for when Sens fans might see him in a game, Eller says there’s no firm date circled.

“I think this step right now is you want to be fully participating in practice, which was the first day today, and you probably need a little more of that before you play in a game.

"We haven’t put a timetable on that, but it’s probably not too far away.”

While the timing remains uncertain, what is clear is Eller’s impression of his new teammates — and his role in helping them take the next step.

“Young and hungry, determined, they’re passionate and they’re willing to learn and put in the work so there’s a good energy in the room, I would say,” Eller said. “I just look forward to being a part of that, helping where I can, and trying to get the best out of our young players, make the next step, and I try to set the bar for all of those things as a veteran player. I pull everybody in the same direction.”

For the Senators, having Eller healthy and fully up to speed will be a welcome addition. The guy is a proven commodity who knows how to win and how to lead. Those are nice assets for a team with bigger goals now than just making the playoffs.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

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Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers have a plan for how he wants to utilize Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick. 

Over the past two seasons, Quick has provided a steady backup presence for Shesterkin, helping revive his NHL career. 

Since Quick’s arrival, Shesterkin started 55 games during the 2023-24 season and 61 games during the 2024-25 season. 

Meanwhile, Quick started 27 games during the 2023-24 campaign and 24 games during the 2024-25 campaign.  

With Sullivan entering New York, will he balance out these two goalies’ workload in the same manner that Peter Laviolette did?

Sullivan emphasized the importance of utilizing both goalies in order to get the most out of them. 

He also understands that the NHL is changing in terms of balancing out workloads between two goalies, and Sullivan is prepared to adapt to that new mantra. 

“We have an idea of what the workload should be in order to set up both guys for success,” Sullivan said. “Here's what I'll tell you, in today's game, it's hard to go wire-to-wire with one goaltender. The second goalie is required. 

Mike Sullivan Intends To Build Similar Relationship With J.T. Miller As He Built With Sidney Crosby For ten years, Mike Sullivan had Sidney Crosby as his captain with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“We think in Shesty and Quickie, we’ve got two really solid guys. I think they can be complementary with one another. We're going to try to set both guys up for success, because ultimately that sets the Rangers up for success… I think for those reasons, it makes sense to make sure we have an eye on the workload and we manage it appropriately.”

For years, Sullivan had to deal with faulty goaltending play with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but with Shesterkin and Quick by his side, he shouldn’t have to worry about that issue any longer.