Amanda Kessel has been spending a lot of time on the road lately. As Pittsburgh’s Director of Minor League Operations and Assistant General Manager of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, she has been following both WBS and Wheeling in their respective playoff runs.
Last week, she was in Wilkes-Barre as the Penguins played Games 1 and 2 of the Atlantic Division Final against Springfield. She then got a day at home before making her way to Wheeling for Games 6 and 7 of the North Division Final. On Tuesday, she flew to Boston, rented a car and drove to Springfield for tonight’s Game 5, where WBS can clinch and advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Depending on what happens, Kessel will either head back to Pittsburgh or to Wilkes-Barre, with her trusty big suitcase in tow. She brings it whether it’s a two-day trip or a 10-day trip, and while Penguins assistant GM and WBS GM Jason Spezza sometimes gives her a hard time about the size of her luggage, Kessel likes to be prepared for whatever comes her way.
“I'll wait to see what happens. But it’s like, this is what we do it for, right? We want to win,” Kessel said. “It's kind of a cumulation of all the work throughout the year, and this is the fun part. But definitely busy when you have two minor league teams that are pushing far in the playoffs.
“It’s a credit to the players, the staff. We try to give as many resources as possible and big into development, but the players, they're buying and doing the work and showing up in big moments as young players. It’s hard to go deep in playoffs. You're playing a lot of experienced veterans. It's fun to watch.”
When watching WBS, what stands out to Kessel is that the Penguins are a strong team from top to bottom.
“When I look at our forwards, D, goalies, there aren't really any holes,” she said. “That makes you really confident going into games, and then at different moments, we've had different guys step up.”
Bill Zonnon is one of those players, as the 2025 first-round pick has made an immediate impact since joining the group ahead of this series, scoring three goals in his first three games. Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas told the story of how WBS’ staff told Kessel that when they went to show Zonnon the systems before his debut, he had already studied them.
But even though Zonnon did his homework, Kessel was still surprised by how much of an impact he had right away.
“It's impressive. He's really good player, but he's young, he's coming into his first game, a big playoff game, and he's playing in a more limited role than usual,” Kessel said. “And he somehow keeps finding a way, any chance he gets, to score big goals for us. He’s a responsible player, but then to see him produce like that, it's fun. It's just impressive. He's exceeded expectations so far.”
While Dubas was asked about Zonnon, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke, and talked at length about those prospects, one player that’s been more under the radar is Tanner Howe.
The forward was drafted in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft, two slots after Brunicke. But Howe has dealt with injuries, tearing his ACL during the Western Hockey League playoffs, where he was teammates with Ben Kindel on the Calgary Hitmen. Howe underwent surgery last April before a months-long rehab process.
He made his pro debut with WBS in February, picking up eight goals and 16 points in 27 games before scoring his first playoff goal in Game 1 against Springfield.
“Everyone loves the kid,” Kessel said. “He's a complete warrior. I think he's versatile. He's somebody that can play in multiple different roles and excel at them. To see him come into this year, for a first-year young pro coming off an ACL surgery, he didn't really struggle. And I think it's credit to him, he works extremely hard. He’s somebody that is a winner, and you want on your team.”
Howe got his tally the same night Sergei Murashov pitched a shutout. The 22-year-old goaltender has gone 5-2-1 with a 1.80 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in the postseason thus far.
“Sergei, obviously, has been incredible,” Kessel said. “I think he instills a lot of confidence in the rest of the team to go out and do what they need to do, and that he's going to be there to back them up... You don't really see many weak goals on him, and it's not often that he has back-to-back bad games.”
Murashov has put together an impressive body of work since coming to North America ahead of last season. He’s always had a certain level of consistency, which he continues to improve.
“Every single day, he does everything possible to be the best,” Kessel said. “He's just dialed in every drill, practice. Takes care of his body. If he messes up on something, he will hammer that for the next practice. So, he just tries to keep mastering his craft every day, and it's fun to watch.”
Murashov is one of several players currently with WBS who have spent time in Wheeling, along with Avery Hayes, Finn Harding, Chase Pietila, Atley Calvert, and Gabe Klassen. Kessel said that yesterday, those guys were talking about watching their buddies competing in Wheeling, like Taylor Gauthier.
Like Murashov, Gauthier is posting sparkling numbers. He’s picked up eight wins in 12 starts, with a 1.86 goals-against average and .934 save percentage. Kessel said Gauthier made game-changing saves in Games 6 and 7 of their most recent series, and that he’s the backbone of their team.
“He's been huge,” Kessel said. “We've always had a lot of faith and trust in him as a player. He struggled a little bit with injuries at beginning of his career, and I think he's worked really hard on getting in the best shape possible, staying healthy. So, it was credit to him for putting in all that work. He was always a really good goalie, and I think it's all paid off now.”
Gauthier’s dream is to play for Pittsburgh one day, and that is what Penguins management wants their players in Wheeling to aspire to.
“We want guys there that we think can, at some point, help the Pittsburgh Penguins. So, we spend a lot of time investing in them and those players,” Kessel said. “We believe in all them. If we get even one guy that ends up playing games, or whatever it is, for the Pittsburgh Penguins, that really helps us.”
In his previous tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dubas successfully brought players from the ECHL to the AHL and then to the NHL, and he strongly believes in the three-tier development model, instilling those principles across the management group as a whole.
Over the last two seasons in particular, Kessel and Spezza have been working to find that balance between winning games and player development, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players.
“We're all really happy with how well things have gone this year, and the development that we've seen in so many of the guys that just came out of junior, that are on AHL deals, NHL deals,” Gauthier said.
When watching Wheeling, that group dynamic is what stands out to Kessel.
“It's a great group of guys,” she said. “We have a mix of younger and older guys, but mostly kind of younger guys that are fighting for their careers. This should all help them take a step, because they've played well. Any given night, anybody can score on the team. It's contributions from everybody.”
