Top Penguins Prospect Finding Offensive Game at Michigan

The Pittsburgh Penguins were thrilled to take forward Will Horcoff in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. The organization selected the 6’5” center and son of former NHL player Shawn Horcoff with the 24th overall pick, adding another forward to their developmental system.

The scouting reports on the Penguins draft pick were generally unanimous. Horcoff was viewed as an extremely intelligent and hard-working forward who projected as a second or third-line center at the NHL level. The one knock on him was his offensive ceiling.

That criticism is quickly disappearing after how his season with the University of Michigan Wolverines is going. The sophomore center is playing in his first full NCAA season, and he looks like one of the top forwards in all of college hockey as he finds his offensive game and continues impacting the game on both sides of the puck.

Through his first eight games of the season, he’s recorded seven goals and four assists for 11 points. He’s already surpassed the goal and point totals he posted as a freshman, when he scored four goals and 10 points total in 18 games. He currently ranks second on the Wolverines in scoring.

Power Play Specialist

One way the Wolverines have kicked off his offensive game is by smartly using him on their power play. With his size and offensive zone awareness, he is an ideal candidate for different roles on that unit. He’s an obvious candidate to play in front of the goaltender, but he can also be a puck distributor along the blue line or play along the bumper/half-wall and set up shots near the net.

The result is that he’s burying his opportunities. Four of his seven goals have come on the power play, and the Wolverines tout one of the nation’s most feared power play units.

Hockey player prepares for face-of — Mar 7, 2025; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Will Horcoff (44) gets set during a face off against Penn State during a Big Ten Tournament quarter final game at Yost Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Multi-Point Efforts

Horcoff can take over a game and dominate, and the Wolverines have experienced that a few times already this year. He’s recorded multiple points three times already this season, highlighted by a hat-trick against Mercyhurst University. Over Michigan’s two-game sweep of Mercyhurst, Horcoff recorded five goals.

His other multi-point effort came against the Robert Morris Colonials. He netted one goal and added two assists in a dominant 10-2 Wolverines victory.

Exactly What the Penguins Want to See

The Penguins selected three forwards in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. 11th overall pick Ben Kindel is in the NHL right now. Winger Bill Zonnon is recovering from an injury right now, but he was beyond impressive in his first training camp with the organization. Now, Horcoff is playing like a future top-six forward. It’s exactly what the Penguins want to see out of their draft picks as they continue rebuilding the future core of this team.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!