With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Harrison Brunicke

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 20

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 201 pounds

2025-26 NHL regular season statistics: Nine games, one point (one goal, zero assists), 15:43 of average ice time per contest

2025-26 AHL regular season statistics: 11 games, eight points (one goal, seven assists)

2025-26 AHL postseason statistics: Four games, two points (one goal, one assist)

2025-26 WHL regular season statistics: 24 games, 24 points (two goals, 24 assists)

2025-26 WHL postseason statistics: Four games, one point (zero goals, one assist)

Contract: In the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $845,833. Pending restricted free agent in 2029

(This contract is scheduled to “slide” to (i.e., begin) next season. Brunicke does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate)

Acquired: Second-round draft pick (No. 44 overall), June 29, 2024

This season: Harrison Brunicke’s 2025-26 season has been like a Johnny Cash song.

He’s been everywhere, man.

After a strong preseason in which he generated two points (one goal, one assist) in four games, Brunicke earned a spot on the season-opening roster. Primarily deployed on the right side of the third pairing with veteran Caleb Jones, Brunicke appeared in nine of the team’s first 14 games.

The high point of that stretch of games came in the Penguins’ home opener, a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Oct. 9, when he scored a game-tying goal in a comeback victory.

But by the time Brunicke hit the nine-game mark before the first year of his entry-level contract was formally tolled, the Penguins began to slow-walk him with seven consecutive healthy scratches between Nov. 6 and 22. That allowed them to assign him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League for conditioning purposes on Nov. 24.

In Northeast Pennsylvania, Brunicke was productive. Stationed on the right side of the second pairing, he accrued four assists in five games before being recalled to the NHL club on Dec. 7.

After another healthy scratch, he was loaned to Hockey Canada for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Junior Championship tournament. Helping his country win bronze, Brunicke had two assists in seven games.

The Penguins finally returned Brunicke to his junior club, the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, on Jan. 7, and he was dynamic at that level, generating exactly a point per game to complete the regular season. His play helped the Blazers return to the postseason for the first time since 2023.

Once the Blazers were swept out of the first round by the Kelowna Rockets, Brunicke was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once again on April 4.

Operating on the AHL Penguins’ first or second pairings, Brunicke totaled four points (one goal, three assists) in six games to complete that club’s regular season.

Once the AHL’s postseason began, Brunicke was entrenched on the right side of the top pairing. As the Penguins beat the rival Hershey Bears in an Atlantic Division semifinal series, Brunicke scored the series-clinching goal – while short-handed – in a 4-1 road win on Thursday.

The future: In the immediate sense, Brunicke and the Penguins will open the Atlantic Division final against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday. He figures to remain on the top pairing with left-handed veteran Alex Alexeyev.

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Beyond this season, there is plenty of reason to be buoyant about what Brunicke could mean for this franchise. And soon.

As one of the Penguins’ leading prospects, he is very much a threat to begin his NHL career in earnest next season. Even with the disjointed nature his 2025-26 season has had, he continued to develop at an accelerated rate.

And with the Penguins likely to let veteran Connor Clifton walk as a pending unrestricted free agent, there appears to be – at the very least – an opening on the right side of the third pairing on the NHL roster.

Like any prospect, Brunicke – who just turned 20 on Friday – still has some rough edges to work out of his game. But he has shown he is capable of playing the professional game.

It look like the future is now for Brunicke.