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November Penguins' Prospects Update: Forwards

It's a new season, and Pittsburgh Penguins' prospects are off to a pretty good start this season.

GM/POHO Kyle Dubas has managed to infuse the Penguins' organization with a lot of promising talent in the last two-plus years by acquiring prospects and accruing draft capital, and the Penguins' enhanced development staff has also helped young players already in the organization begin to find potential paths to the NHL.

In particular, the Penguins' prospect pool at forward has drastically improved. And quite a few of them are off to scorching starts this season. 

Here is our November Penguins' prospects update for forwards:

Rutger McGroarty

Given how McGroarty has played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) since his return to action, it shouldn't be long before he sees action in Pittsburgh.

After missing all of training camp plus the first month and a half of the regular season, McGroarty has appeared in five games for WBS and registered four goals and seven points. He scored in four consecutive games upon his return. 

The NHL club is ailing, and McGroarty is putting the puck in the back of the net like clockwork. The Penguins have a return-to-play plan for him, and it makes sense that they don't want to rush him back to the NHL for the sake of doing it.

But there comes a point when production, results, and need may outweigh whatever preconceived plan was in place. If McGroarty keeps this up for much longer - and the Penguins don't get healthy very soon - he should be in Pittsburgh. 

Avery Hayes

Hayes, 22, missed a few games due to injury this month, but he's picked up right where he left off prior to his injury.

In 15 games this season, Hayes has five goals and nine points - and three of his five goals have been game-winning goals. He seems to have that clutch gene, and it's a great quality to have alongside the defensive awareness, versatility, and special teams ability he brings. 

Hayes has already begun the first year of his two-year entry-level contract with the Penguins. He impressed in training camp and can play up and down a lineup.

Along with McGroarty, he's another guy that should see NHL ice sooner rather than later this season.

Penguins Send Two Forwards Back To Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonPenguins Send Two Forwards Back To Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonThe Pittsburgh Penguins sent two forwards back to their AHL farm team on Sunday.

Tristan Broz

Broz, 22, made his NHL debut Nov. 26 against the Buffalo Sabres, and it was a debut well-earned because of his play at the AHL level this season.

Prior to his call-up, Broz had eight goals and 13 points in 18 games, and his strong play on both sides of the puck stood out. Broz's positional versatility - he can play center and wing effectively - as well as his high impact on both the power play and penalty kill are qualities that made the decision on a call-up easy for the Penguins. 

Well, in addition to his production and ability to score goals, of course. 

Broz was a healthy scratch for the back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and Saturday. With a rough 7-2 loss against the Leafs, the Penguins next play the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, and they sent Broz back to WBS with some assumed roster movement otherwise on the way.

But if he continues what he's been doing at the AHL level this season, it won't be long before Broz is back in Pittsburgh again.

'He's A Great Player': Tristan Broz Confirmed To Make NHL Debut Wednesday Against Buffalo Sabres'He's A Great Player': Tristan Broz Confirmed To Make NHL Debut Wednesday Against Buffalo SabresPittsburgh Penguins' forward prospect Tristan Broz will make his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres On Wednesday

Atley Calvert

Calvert, 22, has cooled off considerably since his scorching start to the season. He has no points in the last six games and , unfortunately, does not make a huge degree of impact when he is not showing up on the scoresheet.

Still, the undrafted forward is still one to watch this season, as he has been a pleasant surprises during his organizational tenure so far.  He has six goals and 10 points in 20 AHL games, and he does tend to score in streaks and bunches. He's simply going through a cold stretch at the moment. 

In 2024-25, he had 13 goals and 36 points in 38 ECHL games and nine goals and 14 points in 26 AHL games.

Will Horcoff

In all honesty, we are running out of words to describe what Horcoff is doing for the University of Michigan Wolverines this season. 

After two wins against Harvard this weekend - in which he registered four goals, including the overtime game-winner on Nov. 29 - Horcoff is up to 18 goals and 26 points in 18 games on the NCAA season, which means he now leads the NCAA in both goals and points. 

The main knock on Horcoff coming out of the 2025 NHL Draft - when he was selected 24th overall - was that he needed to find the back of the net more often. Well, he's done that and more, and it's quite impressive for an 18-year-old who was the youngest player in the NCAA last season. 

The Penguins look like they could be getting a pretty special player here in Horcoff, and that 2025 first round is looking better and better, even with Bill Zonnon injured again and barely having played this season. 

Penguins' Top Prospect Tied For First In NCAA In Points After Another Stellar GamePenguins' Top Prospect Tied For First In NCAA In Points After Another Stellar GamePittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff had another outstanding weekend for Michigan.

Cruz Lucius

Lucius - drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft and dealt to the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade - has put together a nice season for the Arizona State University Sun Devils so far.

He has 10 goals and 20 points in 16 games on the season, including a goal and seven points in the last five games. 

Lucius still has to refine some of the defensive details in his game, which has been a point of emphasis for him in his development. But his scoring touch gets better and better with each passing season, and he is on pace to surpass career-highs in both goals and points this season.

Takeaways: Penguins' 7-2 Loss To Leafs Calls For Some ChangesTakeaways: Penguins' 7-2 Loss To Leafs Calls For Some ChangesHeading into Saturday's matchup against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a>, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> had won two consecutive games and appeared to be crawling out of the November slump they found themselves in.&nbsp;

Zam Plante

While Horcoff leads the NCAA in goals and points, Plante leads the league in assists with 17.

The Penguins' 2022 fifth-round (150th overall) pick has seven goals and 24 points for the University of Minnesota - Duluth this season, and a lot of those assists have come on goals by his younger brother, Max, who has found the back of the net 13 times and is tied with Horcoff for the league lead in points. 

The 21-year-old center from Mannheim, Germany continues to climb his way up the prospects rankings for the Penguins, and after his junior breakout season with the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2023-24 - he had 26 goals and 71 points in 57 games - he has continued to follow through on his development as a playmaker at the NCAA level. 

Ryan Miller

Miller, 18, is on an absolute tear right now in the WHL. And it's beginning to look like he was one of several steals in the later rounds of the 2025 draft class.

One of three fifth-round draft picks (130th overall) by the Penguins this year, Miller has a WHL-best 19-game active point streak, which was extended Saturday with a two-goal, three-point effort for the Portland Winterhawks in a 7-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos. Overall, he has nine goals and 33 points in 26 games on the season.

The tenacious, net-driving forward has impressed early on this season, and he will be one to watch as the season progresses. If he can develop his offensive game even further, there is a chance that the Penguins could be getting yet another pretty decent two-way centerman in their system. 

Jordan Charron

Charron - one of the other fifth-round picks (154th overall) by the Penguins this year - has cooled off considerably since his scorching start to the season that featured seven goals and 11 points in six OHL games for the Soo Greyhounds. 

Since then, Charron has just 11 goals and 15 points in 21 games, which - although still formidable on the goal-scoring front - isn't quite the clip he was producing at before. Still, Charron's scoring ability, size, and speed have allowed him to become more productive this season, as he's following up on a 2024-25 campaign that included just 10 goals and 21 points in 48 games. 

If the 6-foot-2, 198-pound Charron keeps playing to his strengths and learns to use his speed and size even more to his advantage, he could unlock an even higher level of production.

Mikhail Ilyin

The 20-year-old Ilyin - who is playing out the first year of his three-year entry-level contract in the KHL for the Severstal Cherepovets - just seems to be getting better and better.

Playing on Severstal's top line this season, the youngster has increased his production quite a bit in comparison to last season, as his eight goals and 24 points in 32 games are far outpacing his previous career-high of 12 goals in 65 games during the 2023-24 season and 30 points in 64 games in 2024-25. He is also a plus-16 this season. 

A smart, skilled playmaker, Ilyin continues to show off his craftiness and vision with Severstal, and at 27th overall in KHL scoring, there is only one player younger than him - 19-year-old Yegor Surin, who was drafted 22nd overall by the Nashville Predators in 2024 - within the top-75 in league scoring.

That should say something about Ilyin doing what he's doing at his age in the KHL.

Melvin Fernstrom

It's probably safe to say that Fernstrom - a 19-year-old right wing acquired in the Marcus Pettersson trade last spring - has not had the start that him or the Penguins were hoping for.

The 6-foot, 187-pound forward has just two goals and two points in 24 games for Orebro HK of the SHL this season. The third-round pick (93rd overall) of the Vancouver Canucks in 2024 earned SHL Rookie of the Year honors last season with eight goals and 17 points in 48 games - and he is pacing just four goals and four points in as many games this season. 

The Penguins want Fernstrom to work on his skating, and the offense hasn't been shining this season, either. The youngster still has some growth to accomplish if he hopes to see NHL ice at some point, but the good news is that he's only 19 - and it's hard for teenagers to score in the SHL.

Notable injuries: Bill Zonnon, Tanner Howe

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New York Islanders Recall Forward Marc Gatcomb

The New York Islanders announced they have recalled forward Marc Gatcomb from the Bridgeport Islanders. 

He did not appear in the Islanders' game against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 30 after playing in a back-to-back with Bridgeport but with Kyle Palmieri out for the season he will likely earn some NHL minutes in the coming games.

Gatcomb has four goals and eight points in 15 games in the AHL this season and is pointless in one NHL game.

The 26-year-old has 25 goals and 62 points in 165 career AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks and Islanders. He has eight goals and nine points in 40 career NHL games, all with the Islanders. 

The Woburn, Mass., native originally turned pro in 2022 with the Canucks after four years with the University of Connecticut where he racked up 46 points in 124 games. 

The Hockey News' New York Islanders site also covered this move here.

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Dallas 6 Ottawa 1: Senators Put Up Another Rough Third Period Performance

Wyatt Johnston continues to make a compelling case to be on our Olympic team.

Johnston recorded his fourth career NHL hat trick, including two power-play goals, as the Dallas Stars dismantled the Senators 6-1 on Sunday night at American Airlines Center. Johnston now has an NHL-leading 12 power-play goals and finished the night with his second four-point game in less than a week.

Jason Robertson was also rolling for Dallas, scoring the game-winning goal and adding two assists in his 400th career NHL game. Mavrik Bourque and Jamie Benn also scored for the Stars, who are an outrageous 10-1-1 in their last 12 games.

For Ottawa, Jake Sanderson's goal provided the only run support for Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, who wasn't their savior, nor did he get much help. Ullmark's shaky early-season numbers have been improving in the past couple of weeks, but allowing six goals on 26 shots will undo some of those statistical repairs.

But Sens defenders had several instances where they left Dallas forwards open in dangerous spots, serving up high-danger opportunities for one of the hottest teams in hockey. Down 3-1 after 40 minutes, it marked the second consecutive third period where the Sens weren't very good.

Johnston and Robertson now share the Stars’ team lead with 16 goals each, tied for fourth in the NHL. Robertson has points in 10 of his last 11 games, with 13 goals and nine assists, while Johnston’s power-play performance keeps him in the discussion for Canadian international duty this February. Only six Canadian skaters have more points (30) than him.

“It would be amazing to go,” Johnston told NHL.com after his four-point performance on Wednesday in Edmonton. “For me, it’s just trying to do the best I can to help the Stars win, and that will also help my chances of trying to make that team as well. That would be awesome and a huge honour.”

Dallas backup Casey DeSmith stopped all 15 Sens shots he faced. The result drops Ottawa to 12-9-4, and 3-3 on this road trip, leaving them outside of the Eastern playoff picture and setting up a big game in Montreal on Tuesday.

For the record, the Sens now finish the month at 6-4-3. It's their first time above .500 for the month since 2016-17, but these past couple of November outings, including Friday's shaky finish in St. Louis, haven't exactly set the table for a promising December.

That being said, it is the end of a busy, difficult road trip, which, for all intents and purposes, is now over. The Senators have one more road game, but it's just up the road in Montreal on Tuesday.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

This article was originally published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Read more:

Ullmark Trades In Game Day Naps For Computer Games
Assessing Life Without The Tkaptain: What Do We Know Now About The Senators?
Senators Prospect Watch: Seven Future Sens Who Are Getting Noticed
Former Senators Prospect Finally Finds NHL Home With Rival Boston Bruins
NHL Insider Says Senators Are 'Looking To Hit A Home Run' On The Trade Market
Senators Have Big UFA Contract Decisions In Next Few Years (Who Stays And Who Goes?)

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Former Ottawa Senator Unleashes Beatdown On Red Wings Star Defenseman

Former Ottawa Senator Mark Kastelic reminded fans on Saturday night why he’s a player most NHL players don't look forward to tangling with. Now with the Boston Bruins, Kastelic got into a brawl on Saturday night with Detroit Red Wings star defenseman Moritz Seider, and the results were predictable.

This was only Seider's second NHL fight, and it represented a huge jump in skill and weight class compared to his first career scrap. According to HockeyFights.com, that one was against Nashville Predators' star forward Filip Forsberg two years ago.

The incident came in the final seconds of the first period. Kastelic collided hard with Seider in the Detroit corner. The two began with some squawking and shoving, but them things quickly escalated from there.

Moritz Seider vs Mark Kastelic Nov 29, 2025Moritz Seider vs Mark Kastelic Nov 29, 2025Moritz Seider vs Mark Kastelic from the Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins game on Nov 29, 2025. via https://www.hockeyfights.com

It was a little surprising to see the Wings' prized defenseman being allowed to freely square off against one of the league’s tougher hombres with zero intervention from teammates.

Kastelic, a veteran of 38 pro fights, stands 6’4” and 234 pounds. Seider, while physically imposing at 6’2” and 210 pounds, is the smaller man and certainly not known for dropping the gloves. The mismatch was apparent almost immediately. Kastelic landed several powerful right-hand haymakers, leaving Seider on the defensive and ultimately overwhelmed.

Seider is a summer training partner and close friend of Senators' star Tim Stützle. Kastelic was drafted by the Senators 125th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons in the Sens' organization, two of them in Ottawa. He was dealt two summers ago as part of the deal that saw Linus Ullmark traded by Boston to Ottawa.

This article was originally published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Read more:

Ullmark Trades In Game Day Naps For Computer Games
Assessing Life Without The Tkaptain: What Do We Know Now About The Senators?
Senators Prospect Watch: Seven Future Sens Who Are Getting Noticed
Former Senators Prospect Finally Finds NHL Home With Rival Boston Bruins
NHL Insider Says Senators Are 'Looking To Hit A Home Run' On The Trade Market|Senators Have Big UFA Contract Decisions In Next Few Years (Who Stays And Who Goes?)

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Knicks improve to 10-1 at home with 116-94 win over Raptors

The Knicks built an early 24-point lead, and after a rough second quarter, bounced back to pull away for a 116-94 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

Here are some takeaways...

-- Making his seventh start of the season, Miles McBride hit four three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game to put the Knicks up on the Raptors. Following his fourth three, McBride had made 14 of his last 17 attempts from beyond the arc (h/t Fred Katz). The hot hand started to spread as Jalen Brunson hit his first three-pointer of the night, scored inside, and hit a baseline jump shot. 

Josh Hart was then left unguarded at the three-point line and took it in for an easy two-hand slam as New York took a 32-17 lead and Toronto called a timeout with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. Clarkson hit two straight three-pointers and forced another timeout, but it didn't help, as Guerschon Yabusele buried the Knicks' ninth three of the first quarter. They led 41-22 thanks to shooting 64 percent from deep (9-for-14) compared to the Raptors' 13 percent (1-for-8).

-- Tyler Kolek was all over the place to start the second quarter, grabbing an offensive rebound, scoring inside, and getting a steal. Hart kept the impressive shooting going with the team's tenth three of the game, but Scottie Barnes made three straight three-pointers of his own, causing Mike Brown to talk things over with his group. The Raptors continued on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 10 points before McBride hit a jumper.

After Sandro Mamukelashvili and Toronto made it a five-point game, the Knicks grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds and finally capitalized with Mikal Bridges hitting his second three-pointer of the game. Brunson shook off a cold quarter with an and-one jumper and then got a steal, leading to a Hart bucket inside to push the lead back to double digits.

-- Barnes dunked it with a second left as the Raptors won the second quarter, 30-18, and trailed by just seven points, 59-52, at halftime. The Knicks' hot three-point shooting disappeared in the second quarter, going 2-for-14 from deep. McBride still led the team with 14 points, while Brunson had 10 and Barnes paced Toronto with 16 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three.

-- Former Knick Immanuel Quickly scored five straight for the Raptors in the third quarter before Brunson countered with a scoop, and-one layup. Quickly then started chirping at Brunson and hit two more three-pointers to cut New York's lead to five points. He finished with 19 points for the game.

-- Hart stepped up in the third and scored eight straight points, including back-to-back threes. Bridges dunked it on the fastbreak to ignite the team and go up 84-68 with four minutes left in the quarter as New York continued on a 16-1 run to grow their lead back. Hart made another three-pointer with under a minute remaining to give him 20 points and the Knicks led 93-77 after three quarters.

-- Kolek connected with Clarkson and Karl-Anthony Towns for big dunks early on in the fourth quarter, while Brandon Ingram made back-to-back threes to keep the Raptors close. Mitchell Robinson showed hustle and grabbed multiple offensive rebounds, but missed his foul shot and Towns recorded an O-board of his own and scored inside. KAT then made his first three-pointer of the game to push the NY lead to 23 points, 106-83, with seven minutes left in the contest.

The Knicks were able to empty the bench for the final 3:37 and held on to win, 116-94. Towns shook off early shooting struggles to lead the team in scoring with 22 points, while Brunson finished with 18 points on 6-for-19 shooting. New York dominated the rebounding battle, 61-40, including 25 offensive rebounds (seven from Robinson) -- their most in a game since 2019.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

Hart was all over the place against the Raptors, giving the Knicks much-needed energy in the third quarter after a bad end to the first half. He finished with 20 points, including four three-pointers, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks travel up to Boston to face the Celtics on Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.

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Todd McLellan Calls Out &quot;Disconnect&quot; Between Red Wings' Position Groups

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While the Detroit Red Wings were able to salvage a point in the standings during Saturday evening's 3-2 shootout setback against the Boston Bruins, it was the fourth straight game in which they were unable to pick up a win. 

During their losing skid, the Red Wings have allowed a total of 19 goals, including a worrying six goals against on Nov. 26 against the NHL-worst Nashville Predators, who hadn't scored more than five goals in a single game all season long. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

It continues a concerning trend for the Red Wings which has seen them dip to a -13 goal differential, which is ranked 28th overall in the NHL. For a team that wants to be better defensively, that kind of statistic needs fixing. 

After surrendering six goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday afternoon, many of which were the result of defensive miscues, head coach Todd McLellan acknowledged that while the team has shown they can play well, there's a disconnect between the forwards and defensemen. 

"We don't get 13 wins 25 games in without having a team that can play well enough," McLellan said. "Are we playing well enough? No, we're not. Why aren't we? There's a little bit of disconnect between forwards and (defensemen) right now.

"Then in a team game, you sometimes get punished as a team, score-wise, momentum-wise, win-loss wise, for individual mistakes," he continued. "That happens. Team breakdowns are much more repairable than just an individual faux pas." 

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The losses against the Lightning and Predators were the reverse kind of performance the Red Wings showed in victories over the New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken, during both of which they were defensively responsible. 

McLellan laid out the facts plainly - until the Red Wings decide to improve their game management, these kinds of issues will continue to persist at an uncomfortable rate. 

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Blackhawks Score 5 Unanswered, End Losing Streak With Comeback WIn

The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center on Sunday afternoon. After losing five in a row, the Blackhawks were looking for a big performance to get out of their funk. 

This plan did not get off to a good start, however, as the Ducks had a 3-0 lead about halfway through the first period. It was as sloppy a start as the Blackhawks have had this season. 

At 17:57 of the opening period, on the power play, Connor Bedard hit Frank Nazar for a shot that was deflected in by Tyler Bertuzzi to get the Blackhawks on the board. That 3-1 Ducks lead bled into the first intermission. 

In the second period, which has been the bad period for Chicago this year, they were magnificent. It could be their best middle frame of the season. While outplaying Anaheim, they scored two goals compliments of Ryan Greene and Colton Dach to tie the game. At the second break, the game was tied 3-3.

Early in the third period, the Blackhawks were awarded a power play thanks to some good work by Artyom Levshunov, but Alex Killorn scored a short-handed goal for the Ducks. Jeff Blashill then successfully challenged the play for offside, so the goal did not count, and the game remained tied. 

Ducks goalie and former Blackhawks Petr Mrazek left the game with an injury midway through the third, which forced them to put in Ville Husso. 

Quickly after that, Connor Bedard made a magical play to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead. He found the puck all alone in front of Husso and put a brilliant move on him to score. It’s a tough break for Husso, fresh in the game, but Bedard alone with the puck is difficult for any goalie. 

Bedard wasn't done there. He made it a four-point game with his empty net goal. Now, Bedard has 37 points in 25 games played. 

That 5-3 score stood as the final. They scored five unanswered goals to earn the comeback win and end their five-game losing streak. 

Teuvo Teravainen Update

Ahead of the game, the Blackhawks had Teuvo Teravainen listed as a game-time decision. He needed to take warmups to decide if he was good to go. It turned out that he was fine, and he had an assist in the win. 

Watch Every Blackhawks Goal

What's Next For Chicago? 

Up next for the Blackhawks is a long road trip. That will begin on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

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