Pittsburgh Penguins assign top 2024 draft pick to the WHL

While all eyes will be on the Pittsburgh Penguins veteran core as they chase one last taste of Stanley Cup glory, the team are building a solid future with some very talented prospects. One of those names is 2024 second-round draft pick Harrison Brunicke, who survived this long at training camp through some thoroughly impressive performances both on and off the ice.

However, the team have now announced that the 18-year old blue liner will be headed back to juniors, with the team revealing that he has been assigned to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.

Last season, Brunicke, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 202 pounds tallied a solid 10 goals and 21 points in 49 games played with the Blazers, and given his combination of size, skill and hockey IQ, it's easy to see why the Penguins picked him in the draft. However, the blue line remains loaded with the likes of Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson and Ryan Graves, and while learning from them will be a huge help to Brunicke's career, he just didn't have a shot at making the roster this year.

However, many of those leaders on the blue line are ageing and could be on the way out of Pittsburgh soon, so if Brunicke can take a step forward in the WHL this season, at 19-years of age next summer, there's no reason why he couldn't compete for a roster spot with the Penguins then.