If you’re like me, you’re happy with the fact that the Penguins at long last seem to be embracing a youth movement. Or at the very least, are on the verge.
Eighteen-year-old center Ben Kindel and 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke are making a serious bid to stick with the team for a full season. While they aren’t exactly kids, 25-year-old forward Filip Hållander and 24-year-old goalie Arturs Silovs have claimed roster spots as well. So did 22-year-old Ville Koivunen, at least until he was assigned to the Baby Pens to make room for veteran Bryan Rust.
It’s the greatest influx of youth the Pens have had since Rust and fellow kids Tom Kuhnhackl, Matt Murray and Conor Sheary were brought on board shortly after Mike Sullivan’s arrival in 2015-16.
Heck, count me among those who were disappointed we didn’t find room for young forwards Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes.
Still, it got me to wondering. Does going with youth necessarily guarantee success?
Welllll…not exactly.
After all, not every prospect is a bona fide NHLer, let alone a star-in-the-making.
A quick glance at some of the teams in the throes of a rebuild is instructive.
After bottoming out with a youth-laden team, the Sharks have surrounded their talented kiddie korps of Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa and Will Smith with a veteran cast that includes nine players age 30 and older.
The Red Wings, who’ve missed the playoffs nine seasons running, likewise have shifted to a more veteran makeup after going heavy with youth from 2021-23. Ditto the Senators, who now feature one of the older lineups in the league.
The poster team for not finding success after tearing it all down and rebuilding with youth?
Buffalo.
The Sabres have been younger than the league average, in most cases far younger, for the past 14 seasons. Despite an impressive array of young talent that’s included the likes of first overall picks Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, second overall picks Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, not to mention Dylan Cozens, J.J. Peterka, Jack Quinn and towering 40-goal man Tage Thompson, they’ve missed the playoffs in each of those seasons.
Closer to home, the ’83-84 “Boys of Winter” Pens were loaded with kids. They were without question the worst team in franchise history, and that’s saying something. Hot on their heels, the ’84-85 bunch featured no fewer than four teenagers, including the incomparable Mario Lemieux. They were nearly as bad.
On the flip side, the callow ’06-07 Pens (average age 26) jumped a staggering 47 points over the previous season. Of course, they were spearheaded by the superstar duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury in net.
The present-day Canadiens appear to be executing a relatively quick turnaround with a youth-laden team as well.
Those shining examples to the contrary, it appears most successful retool/rebuilds involve an optimal blend of emerging youth and veterans who are still capable of leading the way. The Kings rose from their post-Cup funk and turned things around much quicker than the Red Wings and Blackhawks, in no small part because they retained Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty to anchor their retool.
The downside? The Kings were never bad enough to draft a generational talent (see McKenna, Gavin). Perhaps part of the reason why they’ve struggled to advance in the playoffs.
The Pens under Kyle Dubas appear to be following the path established by the Kings while using Crosby, and to a lesser degree, Malkin, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, as centerpieces. Dubas has made great strides in restocking our talent pool, and has demonstrated that he’s not afraid to part with veterans who might be in the way (Danton Heinen, Ryan Graves). However, there’s obviously still a great deal of work to be done. Especially when it comes to finding the proper blend of youth and veteran talent.
