The Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas have a tough decision to make within the coming days. They can either send young 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke back to his junior team or keep him in the NHL full-time.
The only problem as of late has been that Brunicke has sat in the press box in 3 of the last 4 Penguins games which does not bode well for his chances of remaining on the roster. Yes, head coach Dan Muse has said that there is a development plan in place for him and forward Ben Kindel.
But to be scratched in 3 of the last 4 games, especially after having a rough game against the St. Louis Blues on Monday, is not a good sign. Brunicke needs all the learning opportunities that he can possibly get.
Dubas and company need to make the right decision and let him stay on the roster for the rest of the season. They need not decide to send him back to his junior team and let him re-develop bad habits from there and bring them back to the NHL next season.
Brunicke does not have much if anything left to learn at the junior level. He is good enough for the NHL and way too good to be sent back to his junior team. Watching a 19-year-old defenseman in the NHL who has barely played that style of hockey, is going to come with mistakes.
Brunicke is not going to be this perfect player that plays flawless game in and game out with very little NHL experience. There are going to be good games for him and there are going to be bad games for him. But the only way to right his wrongs the right way is to keep him in the NHL.
So this decision should be easy for the Penguins front office. Keep Brunicke in the NHL and let him play every now and again and stay on his development plan rather than go back to juniors. Please do the right thing Dubas, Penguins fans are counting on it.