Penguin Prospect Update: early December 2025

The Penguins have a ton of prospects playing far and wide outside of the organization. We’re tracking their progress intermittently, here’s the biggest stories and notes to know around the next wave of young players.

Horcoff going supernova

Will Horcoff is tearing up the NCAA in an epic way right now.

A four-goal, five-point weekend against Harvard has put Horcoff at the top of the scoring list in the NCAA and in the spotlight of the biggest hockey podcast in the world.

We’ve said it since summer and in every recap since, Horcoff’s game is simple but effective. He gets to the front of the net and he has the hands and that little extra touch to finish. His effectiveness is off the charts these days, like clockwork he will get to a great scoring position, get the puck and put it in. Don’t take our word for it, here are a few recent highlights to drive the point home. Horcoff is more than just a goal vulture in a derogatory sense, he’s just so lethal in the danger areas.

Unsurprisingly after this onslaught of production this season (18 goals and 26 points in 18 games), Horcoff has made Team USA’s preliminary roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships. He’ll be doing a lot more than that, The Athletic recently projected him to be one the second line.

If it weren’t for Ben Kindel breaking the mold for draft+1 players outside of the top 10, Horcoff’s super-charged development would be the top story for the organization. There’s still a long way to go, and it’ll be interesting to see how Horcoff fares in the WJC’s against the elite under-20 players in his age group. At this point, if the trajectory keeps pointing straight up, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to sign him when Michigan’s season ends and see NHL time at the tail end of this year. That would be a big leap to get to where a lot has to keep going as well as it has been, but the possibility for another fast-tracked forward is going to gain more steam with every goal that Horcoff punches in.

Ryan Miller’s streak continues

Ryan Miller, a fifth round pick in 2025, is up to points in 19 straight games in the WHL. Jesse Marshall has a great video breakdown of Miller’s play — which is a lot more than just the gaudy and consistent point production.

Some other recent mid/late round picks like Jordan Charron and Kale Dach have been doing well producing goals and points in juniors this year, but Miller has been the headline story for the Pens’ Canadian junior prospects so far with his incredible streak. Assuming that Kindel stays in the NHL in 2026-27, could Miller be the Pittsburgh 19-year old player to be sent to the AHL next season? They have some choices between Bill Zonnon, Peyton Kettles, Charron, Dach and Quinn Beauchesne, but arguably Miller is positioning himself at the front right now for a player showing readiness to take the next step up the ranks early.

Lucius staying hot

The 21-year old senior acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade is having a great season for Arizona State. Lucius has a team-high 10 goals and his 20 points rank second. This OT goal shows the skills, he’s continuing to make good things happen and put together a strong case to be signed this spring by the Pens.

Fernstrom’s chance?

After winning the SHL’s rookie of the year award last year, it’s been a year to forget for Melvin Fernstrom. His boxcar stats are basically non-existent (2G+0A in 24 games). The good news is he scored a goal for Sweden in a 5-1 loss to Finland in a WJC tune up. Hopefully Fernstrom can use World Juniors to show his stuff and gain some confidence after what’s been a trying and limited season-to-date so far.

Plante leading NCAA in assists

I’ve admittedly been sleeping on Zam Plante (5th round pick back from 2022) but the 21-year old sophomore is first in the NCAA with 17 assists in 16 games for Minnesota-Duluth.

Right now it looks like a lot of the magic is coming from playing with his brother, Max, a second round pick of Detroit in 2024. Zam is an older collegiate player but clearly has some chops and playmaking ability. It’ll be interesting to see how far he can go, certainly this strong season has to have increased his stock and put him on the pro radar moving forward.