The clear downside is that the Penguins struggled through a long, steady decline over the past three seasons. Once upon a time, this organization was the most stable in hockey. Now, they’re a shell of themselves looking for prospects to complement or replace aging stars.
And to the organization’s credit, they’ve done a fine job, finding high-end prospects like Rutger McGroarty. But McGroarty, while productive, isn’t the prospect Penguins fans need to be excited about. Instead, turn your attention to Ville Koivunen, whose first full season in North America was a resounding success.
Koivunen, the Carolina Hurricanes second-round pick in 2021, came to the Pens in the Jake Guentzel deal in 2024. He dominated for Karpat that season, racking up 56 points and 22 goals in 59 games before he put up another 13 and five goals in the Liiga playoffs. He also looked good in some AHL action with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Penguins got a ringer in Ville Koivunen and he’s just now scratching the surface
His success last season foreshadowed what was coming this year, in which he racked up 56 points and 21 goals in 63 contests. His success gave him reps with the big club and, as you may’ve guessed, Koivunen played lights out.
No, he didn’t score a goal in the eight games he appeared in. But with seven assists, he racked up nearly a point per game. He also logged nearly two shots on net per contest, and spent an average time on ice of 18:07, easily earning top-six minutes.
He also showed a knack for getting in front of shots, recording one block per contest, and he showed off his ability to create turnovers with three takeaways. Not a bad start to one’s NHL career if you ask me, right? But wait, it gets even better.
Koivunen did see over two-thirds of his starts occur in the offensive zone, or 68.4 percent of them to be exact. Still, his 52.7 Corsi For, while it could’ve been higher, is more than good enough for me, considering how new he is to the NHL game.
Look for Koivunen to grow substantially after the 2025 offseason
Some argued back in 2024 that the Penguins could’ve gotten more out of the Jake Guentzel trade, and maybe they’re right. But you can deny they ultimately ‘lost out’ on this trade, since the Hurricanes never won the Cup with Guentzel and he ended up heading down to Tampa to continue his career with the Lightning.
Meanwhile, Koivunen’s shown off his incredible upside, and you can expect that to continue as he gets more acclimated to the game. There’s no doubt that he will put in the necessary work this offseason with an even better and broader approach to his game once September rolls around in just four short months - time flies, don’t it?
Anyway, it won’t surprise me if we see him graduate to the Penguins big club once the puck drops in just five short months - did I mention time flies? Should he open the season in the Penguins lineup after an incredible breakout year at the lower levels, look for him to get close to that point per game mark throughout an 82-game campaign.