The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hit the end of the line in the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs last night, dropping a 2-1 overtime game to the Toronto Marlies in Game 6. It was a bitter pill for a team to swallow to run out of gas and yield to an older, stronger opponent, but one that planted many promising seeds for the future.
Here were the lines for the Pens, this graphic isn’t even accurate as Owen Pickering (who took warmups) was a very last minute scratch, adding to the injury pile on the blueline. Alex Alexeyev returned from injury, but with Pickering, Phil Kemp, Sebastian Aho and Finn Harding all unavailable, WBS needed to rely on ECHL callups in Emil Pieniniemi and David Breazeale in an elimination game.
Wilkes took a lead early in the period, a very nice pass from Avery Hayes setup Aidan McDonough for a power play goal.
Ultimately it would be the final goal of the WBS season. Toronto’s Easton Cowan scored in the second period to tie the game, leaving the teams clinging to that 1-1 battle for a large portion of the night.
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In overtime, it was former Penguin (and WBS Penguin) Alex Nylander delivering the goal to end the series and send Toronto to the Calder Cup Final.
In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for WBS, and their season comes to an end as a result. They had some chances, including Tanner Howe getting a great look just a minute prior to Nylander ending the game. The opponent had something to do with the outcome as well, have to give credit to them. Toronto was a very well-coached team playing a 1-1-3 neutral zone trap that was difficult to fight through to earn quality scoring chances (not to be confused with the high number of shot total that Wilkes usually ended up with). The Marlies got great goaltending along the way from Artur Akhtyamov and had some savvy vets who could pop out and make WBS pay at key moments. That all contributed.
The team would probably not blame the injury situation, but there’s no doubt that played into things. It’s hard, if not impossible, to win a playoff series with four of a team’s top six or seven defensemen all hurt by the end of it. And yet, the Pens only conceded two goals in almost 74 minutes in Game 6, a testament to Sergei Murashov (37 saves on 39 shots for the game) and their team will to keep battling.
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In the end, WBS fell short and their season is over. In the wider picture, there’s much to be proud of for the players and see a lot of promise for the future.
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Murashov has to be at the top of that list as an emerging young goalie. Last season Murashov only got to play one AHL playoff game, this spring he got in 15 of them (posting a .931 save% and 2.11 GAA along the way). This run will likely provide direct, tangible benefits for Murashov’s future and development as a player.
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Harrison Brunicke’s topsy turvy season trying to find a place to stick ended on a sweet note. Many considered him the best player on the ice in more games than not down the stretch. With all the defensive injuries and then ECHL callups in the lineup, the Pens often resorted to double-shifting defensemen. Brunicke was a beast, a big development change from about six-eight months earlier when he played choppy in the NHL and then not much better in a short AHL stint in late 2025. Fast forward to the middle of 2026 and it was like a different player for how much growth he was able to inject into his game.
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Tristan Broz led the team in points, with 11 (3G+8A) in the 15 games. As always in his career, when a team that Broz is on scores a big goal in a crucial moment, he has that knack of having something to do with it. Who knows what that means for his future next season, but as always he acquitted himself well in the AHL once again.
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Bill Zonnon turned pro on the fly in the middle of the AHL playoffs and ended up with four goals and three assists in 11 games. Very impressive stuff from him, the youngster will need some time to round out his game but the best part is that he’ll never be as inexperienced or in as peripheral a role in the future as he was in this playoff and Zonnon still managed to make a difference.
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Mikhail Ilyin in some ways was even less experienced than Zonnon for AHL playoffs in terms of lack of familiarity with the North American style, rink sizes and all that after five AHL regular season games, and Ilyin still ended up tied for second on the team in playoff scoring (2G+7A). Ilyin’s talent level is legit and there’s good reason to be hopeful about how the adaptation process is going to show he can succeed in this environment. Early signs are pretty good.
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Agreed with the note here from Jonathan Bombulie about Ville Koivunen standing out after the whistle. Next training camp (when he needs waivers to go to the AHL) is literally now or never for him, here’s to hoping he shows up with the same moxie and nerve to try and stand out, which he hasn’t done much at the NHL level.
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Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes played like players who aren’t long for the AHL. Both, you would think, will be under serious contention for an NHL roster spot out of camp. It can always be dangerous to pencil anyone in right now (especially before trades and free agent signings flood the deck with plenty of options) but at the same time, you would also have to think these two have done everything asked of them to show what they were supposed to show.
In all, that’s a wrap on the 2025-26 WBS Penguins team. They fall a little short of the promised land, which is a big shame for an organization that has never won a Calder Cup. While they will benefit in the years to come from what Pittsburgh hopes is a continuing stream of talented young players, the immediate future probably won’t be as bright for WBS next year if they have to deal with the immediate or eventual NHL graduations of players like Murashov, Brunicke, McGroarty, Hayes, Broz and Koivunen. One way or another, this was sort of the crest of the wave for this mini-generation of those prospects, a trough could follow before the next batch gears all the way up again. It’s never a fun ending to come up short, but this team has a lot for the organization to be proud of both on individual and overall areas of growth and achievement following this AHL season.
