CRANBERRY, Pa. – The most highly-anticipated event of every annual Development Camp is the scrimmage tournament. The enthusiasm derives from a number of factors: fans are excited to watch competitive hockey for the first time in weeks, fans are excited to get their eyes on recent draft picks and other touted prospects, and pundits are excited to watch something other than practice for the first time in days.
This year’s tournament at the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2025 Development Camp was played in front of a packed house at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, and the fans got what they came for. High pace, some big hits, and plenty of competitive, tightly-contested hockey to wet their whistles.
Team Stevens won the Michel Brière Trophy as champs when it was all said and done, but a full summary of Monday afternoon’s events are outlined below.
For starters, the tournament format was played in a round-robin format with campers split into three teams. Games were played with four skaters a side and a 25-minute running clock. Ties at the end of 25 minutes immediately went to a best-of-three shootout.
GAME 1 – STEVENS 4 vs. PATRICK 0
Team Stevens kicked off the day’s festivities with an explosive showing, much to the delight of the hundreds of Penguins fans who took time out of their Monday to watch (seriously, there was no space to be found in the stands or in the parking lot.)
Team Stevens notched a pair of quick goals to set the tone, then started stretching things out to put Team Patrick on its heels.
Quinn Beauchesne, who Pittsburgh drafted in the fifth round of this summer’s draft, had drawn a lot of positive attention for his play in practice this week, and he took it a step further in the first game of the tournament. The defenseman was omni-present on almost every shift in Game 1, throwing his weight around, activating in the offensive zone, and making some really impressive reads with the puck on his stick.
It was another 2025 draft pick, first-rounder Bill Zonnon, who ultimately extended Team Stevens’ lead to 3-0. Billy Z’s fingerprints were all over this dominant showing by Team Stevens, even without the goal. Zonnon pours the pressure on puck carriers and gives them no time to think, even in exhibition environments like this.
Eventually, a pair of AHL-contracted forwards combined to put the game away. Aaron Huglen forced a neutral-zone turnover and shuffled the puck to Nolan Renwick, who proceeded to bury an empty netter from the…
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