Building the Engine

After Will Horcoff recorded 25 goals in 40 games last season with the University of Michigan, Kyle Dubas was left with one major takeaway.

“Will showed he can do the most important thing, which is that he can score,” Pittsburgh’s President of Hockey Operations and GM said of the 2025 first-round draft pick.

“He's a player that puts everything into hockey, and he can score at a very high level. He doesn't need many looks to score, so we're obviously thrilled with him. We know he's going to put the work in. Especially as the pace and the engine continues to grow and expand, we feel that he's obviously going to be a major impact player.”

It is a big summer for Horcoff following his first full campaign with the Wolverines. He had joined them midway through his draft-eligible season, which was 2024-25, after starting out with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Last summer, he was mainly focused on filling out his 6-foot-5 frame.

“I feel like my first half year I was there, I looked like a baby deer out there,” Horcoff said with a laugh. “I think I went into school like, 193, 192. And I'm probably 205, 207 now. The secret there is just eating, making shakes. But definitely put a lot of weight on, and just felt more confident, kind of in all aspects of my game, in my second year.”

It helped Horcoff get out to a scorching hot start, as nineteen of his goals came through the Dec. 5-6 series with rival Michigan State. But right before the holiday break, Horcoff hurt his shoulder.

“I just kind of knew that once the season was over, I'd probably have to get it done,” he said.

So, the Michigan native played through it while representing the United States at the 2026 World Junior Championship, where the Americans finished fifth. He played through it as the Wolverines made an impressive run, winning the Big Ten Tournament and advancing to the Frozen Four.

Along the way, Horcoff’s goal scoring tapered off, but he doesn’t blame the injury.

“Obviously, my shoulder affected me a little bit, but I would not say at all that's the reason why I had that second half,” Horcoff said.  

When Penguins Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos looks at that stretch of Horcoff’s season, he feels that at times, the 19-year-old forward simply lost his rhythm a bit.

“But that's something that he knows, he understands, and he's working on,” Kostopoulos said. “Just to build that consistency, and just be able to play. If the puck's not going into the net, to have a B game. So, it's all things he's building in his game and working on. He's a very intelligent kid and player.”

After the Wolverines lost to Denver in the NCAA semifinals, Horcoff had surgery to repair his shoulder. He was about nine weeks into his recovery during this year’s Development Camp, which ran from June 29-July 3, as part of a summer of rehab and strength building.

“He knows he's got to work on his skating. He wants to build his engine, just to last longer and be able to give more in his shifts,” Kostopoulos said. “When you see him kind of overpower guys in the O-zone, and finding space in shooting areas in the slot, those are real talents. Now, can he beat guys with his feet? Can he beat guys out of the corner? Can he build that strength on the puck? And that's what he'll work on.”

In the fall, Horcoff will return to U of M for another season.

“I just think for my development, it's the best decision, and a lot of the guys on that Michigan team are going back as well. I just think we have something to prove,” Horcoff said. “Obviously, coming up short last year, we're super hungry for a national championship.”

In Ann Arbor, Horcoff will live off-campus with some of his teammates, including Dakota Rheaume-Mullen, who was a free-agent invitee to Development Camp.

“He's awesome. He jumped in with us halfway through our freshman year, and we just had so much fun right away,” Rheaume-Mullen said. “We were always hanging out in each other's dorm rooms, and then this year, now we're roommates in a house. So, kind of like going through that process with him again, like, learning to cook a bunch and take care of a house and all that fun stuff.

“I think as you notice, I'm talking about off the ice stuff, just because I feel like even with him and our team, we just have so much fun away from the rink. But at the rink, like he's just so competitive, and I think like for all of us, just like seeing that and watching that. All the stuff he does off the ice kind of trickles down to us too. So yeah, that's fun to see.”