2026 DEVELOPMENT CAMP SCRIMMAGE NOTEBOOK

CRANBERRY, Pa. – As per tradition, the Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp ended with players duking it out in a 3v3 scrimmage tournament.

Players were divided into three teams: Team Barrasso, Team Murphy and Team Rutherford, named after legends of Penguins past. Each team would faceoff once in a 20-minute, round-robin matchup. The two teams with the best record would then meet in the final.

With the Michel Brière Trophy on the line, here’s how the action unfolded at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

TEAM BARRASSO vs. TEAM MURPHY

Ryan Miller was buzzing from the start of this one. Eventually, his stand-out work resulted in a pretty assist on a Tomáš Galvas goal that opened the scoring for Team Murphy.

Tiernan Shoudy solved 2025 third-round goalie Gabe D’Aigle several shifts later, knotting the score, 1-1. Travis Hayes lit the lamp midway through the contest, but his tally was quickly answered by Team Barrasso’s Tyler Dunbar, a camp invitee out of Union College (more on him later.)

Daniel Russell cleaned up a loose puck with 5:39 to go, pushing Team Murphy back to a 3-2 edge. However, three unanswered goals would follow from Team Barrasso.

First, Carter Sanderson executed a drop-shoulder power move, and lifted his shot to the top corner with 2:51 remaining. Then Harvard-bound invitee David Bosco broke loose for a breakaway with 74 seconds left. He made the most of his chance, giving Team Barrasso the lead. An empty-net goal by Sanderson locked things up, 5-3.

TEAM MURPHY vs. TEAM RUTHERFORD

This was another back-and-forth game for Team Murphy. Would they fare better this time around?

Team Murphy defenseman Broten Sabo was very active in this one, and he set up 2026 first-rounder Liam Ruck for the first goal of the game.

Team Rutherford responded swiftly, but invitees Liam Croskery and Alex McLean buried chances to create a 3-1 edge for Team Murphy.

The tables started to turn when Zam Plante (5th round, 2022) and Pierce Mbuyi (3rd round, 2026) connected to draw Team Rutherford within one. Plante drew oohs and aahs from the crowd that packed the bleachers with his spin-o-rama, backdoor pass right to the tape of Pierce Mbuyi for the finish.

Undeterred, Team Murphy kept their foot down and titled the ice. Russell rang a great chance off the postage. Defenseman Charlie Trethewey showed some separation speed for a breakaway, but elevated his shot over crossbar. Sabo came up with a brilliant block on Tyler Duke, then flipped a pass up to Miller, only to be thwarted by goalie Carter Casey twice. Even with time dwindling down, one couldn’t help but wonder if these missed chances would come back to haunt Team Murhpy.

The did.

An extra attacker goal by Jack Horbach set up by Mbuyi evened the scales, 3-3. Then Plante conjured a filthy with just 27.6 left on the clock. Three unanswered coals by Team Rutherford gave them a 4-3 victory and stunned Team Murphy. Team Murphy, coached by Tom Kostopoulos, went 0-2 in the round robin.

Plante dazzled throughout the rally, but the undrafted Casey deserved game MVP for his performance when his team was down by one.

TEAM RUTHERFORD vs. TEAM BARRASSO

Team Rutherford carried its swagger from the previous game’s comeback into this one, seizing a 1-0 edge early.

Maleek McGowan was upended in a corner battle with 6-foot-6 2025 second-rounder Peyton Kettles, and McGowan hit the boards with a thud. The 21-year-old stayed down for a minute, rare for a tough kid like him, but he eventually made it back to the bench under his own power. On the ensuing 3v2 power play, Horbach finished off a clean backdoor dish to make it 2-0.

Kettles continued to assert himself physically. He stands at 6-foot-6, but has a 7-foot-6 presence.

Plante launched an on-the-money stretch pass that sprung defenseman Brady Peddle ahead for a backhand, breakaway goal.

Down by three tallies, Team Barrasso pulled its goalie with four minutes left, which swiftly resulted in an easy ENG for Team Rutherford. On the next shift, McGowan got his revenge with a wraparound to close out a dominant win.

Now, with 1:53 left, defenseman Dryden Allen added an oh-by-the-way goal for Team Barrasso to avoid the shutout, but it was still a 5-1 final score. Perhaps Allen’s late goal served as a message-sender before…

THE FINAL – TEAM RUTHERFORD (2-0) vs. TEAM BARRASSO (1-1)

Team Rutherford coaches Brad Malone and Chris Butler had to love what they were seeing right from the hop, as their team shot off the starting blocks with an opening tally roughly 40 seconds in. Plante continued his prolific development camp scrimmage, burying a slick feed from Mbuyi.

Duke fought to keep a puck alive in o-zone, resulting in a look for Horbach right down Main Street, but the former Badger was robbed by 17-year-old invite goaltender Matthew Humphries.

Jake Livanavage had a slap shot miss wide, but Sanderson grabbed the rebound off the end boards and slammed it behind a sprawling Casey, leveling the field at 1-1.

After allowing the tying goal, Team Rutherford came right back on a transition led by Mbuyi. However, Peddle hit the near post.

The Team Rutherford bench was in an uproar shortly after the officials missed a blatant too many men infraction by Team Barrasso. Of course, Team Barrasso grabbed the lead moments later. Team Barrasso hit the post, and the rebound fell behind Casey. Shoudy swooped behind the goalie and swept it in to an emphatic “good goal” call by the referee with 13:15 left to play.

Mbuyi kept insisting on getting in the guts of the play, but failed to equalize. He was thrashing in 1-on-3 net-front battle for one failed look, followed by a defensive stick lift on Sanderson that led directly to a chance the other way. No dice.

Both clubs swapped goalies for the remaining 10-and-a-half minutes with Team Barrasso up, 2-1. Casey was replaced by Xavier Wendt. Humphries exchanged spots with Joseph Skidmore. All four goalies were at camp as invitees.

Mbuyi gave another sprited effort on the backcheck, then an angle pass of the board almost sprung the hot-hand Plante on a breakaway. But offside was called. Team Barrasso’s Kale Dach hammered a snap shot off the post, and on the next chance, Mbuyi would not be denied. The recent draftee took a pass from Peddle and whipped it through Skidmore with six minutes remaining. Tie game, 2-2.

Speaking of recent draftees, a short-side, bar-down snipe by Markus Ruck with 4:08 to play put Team Barrasso back on top, 3-2. Dunbar crushed a one-timer with authority with 93 seconds left, extending that lead to 4-2.

Mbuyi hit his signature one-timer from the right dot to pull Team Rutherford back within one with 31.9 to go. Team Rutherford pulled the goalie again, trying to create another stunning comeback. Peddle was denied on dish by Plante. Then Sanderson jammed things up in high ice, throwing things out of sync for Team Rutherford. Team Barrasso got a clear, and icing was called with under two seconds left. Yet Team Rutherford won the draw to Mbuyi, who was DENIED the hat trick 0.1 on the clock. That giant save by Skidmore secured the title for Team Barrasso.

OTHER NOTES

• Pierce Mbuyi was a force in all three of his team’s games, but particularly in the final. The Ruck twins drew a lot of media attention when Pittsburgh took them 22nd and 39th overall last weekend, appropriately so. That said, the Penguins may have snatched a gem in the mid-rounds with Mbuyi.

• Jack Horbach has some real jump in his step. It’s easy to see why he drives defenses crazy – not just because he refuses to quit on a play, but because he can close in so fast. Also caught that Horbach shook the referees hands after the final game.

• Daniel Russell was slick and elusive, just like Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans saw during his late-season ATO. Ryan Miller was a force for Team Murphy, as well. It’s a shame that their second game got away from them, because another game of Miller would have been a welcome sight with the way he was boogieing out there.

• Carter Sanderson has some serious beef to his game. Challenging power moves, and he gets a lot of mustard on his shot. Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos had this to say about Sanderson after the tournament: “Our (USHL) scout out there really loved him. We asked him to work on his puckhandling skills, his shot and his skating, and I think all three have improved. I think his overall game has improved a ton. I was happy to see him making plays out there at three-on-three. At the end of the day, he’s going to be a five-on-five type of  physical player, but to be contributing and making plays, scoring goals at three-on-three, it’s good to see. His coaches and teammates love him. He’s all heart.”

The Penguins knew that Sanderson was looking at a longer development path when they took him in the sixth round in 2025. That said, he’s a name to keep in mind at future events like this. Sanderson will play in the WHL for the Calgary Hitmen this season, and he is committed to join the University of North Dakota for the fall of 2027.

• Brady Peddle was looking increasingly confident the longer the scrimmage games progressed. He’ll attend Michigan State University this year, a program that is expected to challenge for the National Title.

• Tyler Dunbar is an interesting invitee. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and looks like he has a solid build. He shows poise and patience with the puck, unbothered by pressure. Dunbar had a breakout season this past year, to put it mildly. The defenseman had two points (1G-1A) in 31 games across two seasons with Colorado College. He transferred to Union College, where he popped off for 12 goals and 32 points and a team-best+17 rating.

He’s not under contract, but the organization clearly has the 22-year-old on its radar.