Penguins prospect Tristan Broz avoiding unnecessary pressure to crack NHL roster

Lately, life has been good for Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Tristan Broz.

Since April, when he inked his three-year, entry-level deal with the Penguins, Broz has taken stock of being in the organization.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I spent a lot of time (in Pittsburgh) this summer with the intention of getting myself familiar with everybody, the city — it’s been awesome. It’s a pretty great life. Most days, the hardest thing I’m thinking of doing is what I want to eat for dinner. Showing up to the rink every day and doing the thing I love the most — it’s a lot of fun.”

Broz, 21, got a taste of action with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins shortly after signing in late April, appearing in two games during their brief Calder Cup playoffs appearance.

This weekend, Broz is building on that experience by joining the Penguins at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, N.Y.

With preseason camp looming, Broz understands the tournament in Buffalo represents an additional opportunity to showcase to Penguins management what he can do.

“I want to try to come in here and push as hard as I can to make the roster in Pittsburgh but just understand that it’s a process day to day,” he said. “Wherever I start, I’ll just need to prove that I can play this game at this level to be really successful and have a big impact in every game. I don’t think there’s an expectation to start (with the Penguins). My goal is to try to make the team in camp, but if that doesn’t happen, I’ll go down and push as hard as I can every day to get back up.”

So far in Buffalo, Broz, the Penguins’ second-round draft pick in 2021, has centered the club’s second line, skating with Ville Koivunen and Beau Jelsma.

In the Penguins’ first contest, a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins’ prospects Friday, Broz scored a pair of goals.

Broz’s first goal came on a slick pass from defenseman Isaac Belliveau. A while later, Broz found the back of the net on a 3-on-1, skating with Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty.

“He was around the puck, made some really good plays off the rush, competed hard,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald, who’s leading the Penguins in Buffalo. “Him and (Koivunen) were great together and made a lot of plays. Great job finding some space, like on that first goal, finding that weak side dot for that seam. A lot of good stuff.”

Broz, a left-handed shot listed at 6-foot and 178 pounds, made it a point to add as much muscle as he could this summer to toughen up. As a result, he weighs about 205 pounds.

Broz’s two-goal performance to open the Prospects Challenge earned praise from McGroarty, arguably the Penguins’ top prospect heading into the preseason.

Sharing the ice in Buffalo has led to some chemistry developing among the two, who had familiarity with one another dating to last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“I honestly didn’t realize how actually nasty he was,” McGroarty told reporters in Buffalo. “He has sick skill. Obviously, I saw what he did with the two overtime winners in the Tournament, so it was fun being on the ice with him. … Him and I have gotten more comfortable skating together.”

As Broz works toward that reaching the NHL, he’s doing so in a stress-free manner.

“I feel like I’m in a really good place,” he said. “I don’t think anyone is really expecting me to make Pittsburgh out of camp, so it’s kind of nice to not really have those expectations. It feels like I’m kind of just playing with house money.”