Five more intriguing Penguins prospects

Over the weekend we took a look at the top-10 prospects in the Penguins' system, a list that aimed to take into account both a player's ceiling and their level of readiness now.

This list is a little different.

Today we'll look at five more prospects, but this isn't aimed to be a ranking. This isn't No. 11-15. These are just five more intriguing prospects. Guys who are a bit more of a wild card-type pick. They're further off than the guys who made the top-10 list, but they're guys who could have high ceilings or bring an element the Penguins need if they do pan out. 

With that in mind, here's a look at five of those interesting prospects in no particular order:

Mikhail Ilyin
Position: Wing
Age: 19
Size: 6-0, 181
Shoots: Left
Acquired: Fifth-round pick, 2023
2023-24 stats: 65 games, 12 goals, 17 assists (KHL)

When the Penguins drafted Ilyin last summer, he had split the previous 2022-23 season between the KHL and the Russian junior MHL. He only had two assists in 21 KHL games with the Severstal Cherepovets, but it was encouraging that the Penguins were getting an 18-year-old who was already getting the opportunity to play against grown men.

"Mikhail, we view as a really smart, 200-foot center," Penguins' director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor said of Ilyin after the draft. "He makes a lot of plays. Pass-first mindset, but he's really diligent with and without the puck. I think he's one of those guys that makes those around him better, makes his wingers better. Just a really smart player with and without it."

Ilyin broke into the KHL full-time this season, and he fared well -- his 12 goals and 17 assists in 65 games tied him for seventh in scoring on his team and seventh in goals. He had four assists in five KHL playoff games before Cherepovets was eliminated from the first round:

Ilyin then went down to the junior league for the MHL postseason, where he scored two goals and five assists in eight games.

Ilyin grew up idolizing Evgeni Malkin and told the KHL league site after he was drafted that he hopes to play with Malkin someday.

"It feels great to be drafted by such a club," Ilyin said of the Penguins picking him. "I would love to play with Malkin, but who knows if I will get a chance to do it."

Ilyin was one player I was considering for the top-10 list, but gave the edge to someone like Tristan Broz just because there's no telling when Ilyin ever makes it over to North America. He's signed with Cherepovets for one more season for now. With Ilyin being Russian, his signing rights never expire, so there's no rush to sign him and get him over here.

Kirill Tankov
Position: Center
Age: 22
Size: 6-2, 196
Shoots: Left
Acquired: Seventh-round pick, 2021
2023-24 stats: 42 games, 11 goals, 13 assists (VHL)

Tankov was expected to start to push for KHL time in the 2022-23 season ... until a fractured vertebrae in his neck from a hit behind in his opening game of the season in the Russian second league derailed those plans.

Tankov missed the rest of that season and started skating again in the spring before signing a two-year contract extension with his KHL club, SKA. After a full summer working to get back to his usual form, Tankov was ready for the start of this past season.

Tankov again started in the Russian second league, the VHL. He had one more goal and two more assists than he did two years prior in his rookie VHL season. He didn't take any major leaps, but it's encouraging that he didn't seem to miss a beat from the lost season that came from breaking his neck.

What was more encouraging was the way Tankov elevated his game in the postseason. He had eight goals and five assists in 11 games. His team's first-round series went the full seven games, and Tankov had seven goals and one assist in the first round alone. He had every single game-winning goal in the 4-3 series victory.

Tankov and his team were swept in the second round, but Tankov still had five points (one goal, four assists) in the four games. He was recalled to the KHL afterward for SKA's playoffs, but didn't get into a game before SKA was eliminated.

Tankov is just fun to watch. Super skilled, and he's got good size too. He could stand to improve defensively, and ideally he'd get some good KHL time before moving to North America, but there's no telling when that might happen. He's under contract with SKA for one more season. Like Ilyin, he's Russian, so his rights won't expire. He can take as long as he needs.

Taylor Gauthier
Position: Goaltender
Age: 23
Size: 6-2, 208
Catches: Right
Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing in 2022
2023-24 stats: 42 games, 2.23 GAA, .923 SV%, 4 shutouts (ECHL), 4 games, 3.87 GAA, .889 SV%, 1 shutout (AHL)

The Penguins are deep in goal. After Tristan Jarry, they have Joel Blomqvist in the minors, newly-signed Filip Larsson moving to North America next season, Sergei Murashov in Russia, and Gauthier.

Gauthier spent much of his second pro season in the ECHL with Wheeling. With Blomqvist getting most of the starts in Wilkes-Barre, splitting time with Magnus Hellberg (and later Ludovic Waeber after Hellberg was traded for Waeber), there just wasn't often an opportunity for Gauthier to get many AHL games. Wilkes-Barre remained largely healthy in goal throughout the season.

Gauthier made the most of his year in Wheeling, winning the award for ECHL Goaltender of the Year. That's all the more impressive after I made the trip to Wheeling in the playoffs to speak with Gauthier and learned that he had been dealing with a lower-body injury almost the entire season, one that might require surgery this summer.

"He's been the backbone for our team," head coach Derek Army told me of Gauthier. "He played in every huge game. We rode him hard down the stretch. The advanced analytics of it, his numbers on high, high-end chances are off the charts. No one in the league can even touch him. You saw his play. I mean, it's the reason he's arguably the MVP of the league."

It's the consistency that stood out most -- In his 42 regular-season games, Gauthier allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of them. 

Spending time in the ECHL isn't the end of the world for a prospect, and that's especially true for a goaltender. Wheeling alone has produced 61 future NHL players -- the most of any ECHL team -- and 16 have been goaltenders, with Casey DeSmith being the most recent example. He started out in Wheeling as the team's No. 3 goaltender his rookie season.

With the number of goaltending prospects already in the system, it'll be a real challenge for Gauthier to crack the Penguins' NHL roster. But he's certainly making it difficult to ignore him.

For more on Gauthier's season, check out this in-depth feature from Wheeling.

Isaac Belliveau
Position: Defenseman
Age: 21
Size: 6-2, 185
Shoots: Left
Acquired: Fifth-round pick, 2021
2023-24 stats: 70 games, 14 goals, 24 assists (ECHL), 2 games (AHL)

The Penguins are deep in goal. They've made a lot of progress in restocking the forward prospect pool over the last year. But defense is the area of the pool that's still pretty weak after top defense prospect Owen Pickering. Belliveau is one of the better bright spots on the weaker blue line.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had a crowded blue line this season, including a number of veterans. With Belliveau making his professional debut, he started the year in Wheeling in an effort to get him real playing time. Aside from a two-game stint in the AHL near the end of the season, there just wasn't an opportunity for him to get real AHL time during the year. 

"Belliveau's been fantastic for us," Army told me during his team's second round of the playoffs. "Belliveau's one that I think is going to play in the NHL someday."

Belliveau is a a two-way defenseman who likes to play with the puck and join the rush, and is a good skater. He's got decent size already. Army thought that the area in which Belliveau progressed the most over the course of the season was just his consistency, both with his confidence with the puck and his decision-making away from the puck.

Army praised what he called Belliveau's "mean streak," too. That was definitely on display during the playoffs, when he was getting under the skin of opponents.

Belliveau seems set to break into the AHL full-time next season, with a number of those existing older defensemen being on expiring contracts. Defensemen generally take longer to develop. But if he can put together a good, full AHL season in 2024-25, maybe we're talking about him as a call-up option the following year. As it stands, there isn't a ton of competition.

For more on Belliveau's season, check out this in-depth feature from Wheeling.

Luke Devlin
Position: Center
Age: 20
Size: 6-3, 196
Shoots: Left
Acquired: Sixth-round pick, 2022
2023-24 stats: 28 games, 6 goals, 2 assists (NCAA)

Devlin's not close to going pro yet, let alone pushing for NHL time. He was only a freshman this past season at Cornell. But he's interesting because he brings an element that's not super prevalent among the system's other forward prospects.

Devlin's a power forward, described as "old-school tough" in his pre-draft scouting reports. He's physical and aggressive. The Penguins like his compete and ability to play a responsible game, and think he moves pretty well for a guy his size. He was a late bloomer when it came to his height, so he grew up really working on his skating and other parts of his game. 

Devlin's gotten bigger since the Penguins drafted him. He was listed at 185 pounds during his draft year two summers ago, and then weighed in at 196 pounds before his freshman year at Cornell. That added size was clear at last summer's development camp -- he looks huge. 

It seems like the only two ways to get big, physical guys who can also actually play hockey are to have them be homegrown or to severely overpay for them in free agency or trades. It would be nice if Devlin could turn into that for the Penguins.