Before Filip Kral earned his recall to the NHL this week, his partner as of late down in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was Harrison Brunicke, arguably the Penguins' top defense prospect.

Brunicke, 18, still won't be eligible to play in the AHL full-time until the 2026-27 season -- next year, his options remain the NHL or back to the WHL. But because Brunicke's junior team, the Kamloops Blazers, failed to qualify for the postseason, Brunicke is eligible to finish the year in the AHL.

Brunicke has now skated in seven AHL games, earning an assist in his first game. He's a minus-4 in those seven games. He's been playing on the power play, and he and Kral served as the Penguins' second defense pairing.

I asked Kral on Tuesday what he's seen from Brunicke so far.

"He's doing a pretty good job, actually," Kral told me. "He's a great skater, he can make plays. He's still trying to do ... much, sometimes. But that's what it takes. I'm trying to talk to him about it, coaches trying to talk with him about it, and he's doing a great job with it."

When Kral says Brunicke is trying to do "much," he's really talking about some of the things you see Brunicke do that he could get away with in the junior level, and he's learning he can't do now as a pro. Things like holding onto the puck too long to try to make a play, or bank the puck off the boards in an attempt to make a pass to himself, both of those things have led to Brunicke being stripped of the puck and directly to an opponent's goal. But for a guy as young as he is, he's largely handled the adjustment well, and those mistakes serve as valuable learning opportunities as he prepares to push for an NHL spot out of camp next season.