Emotions define Tristan Broz's rise as a Penguins prospect

Tristan Broz was hot. And it wasn’t because it was July.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect was taking part in a development camp scrimmage tournament during the 2024 offseason and the team he helmed was eliminated first.

The stakes weren’t particularly high. It was hockey in the summer, after all.

But Broz was so angry, he blurted out salty language to express his fury.

“I want to win, even when it’s July,” Broz said on the 10th day of the month. “I’m (ticked) off that we lost right now. Every day I come in, I’m here to win.”

Broz is back here — the NHL roster to be precise — as of today after being recalled last Monday from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

“It’s a dream come true,” Broz said following a practice last Monday. “I mean, just been through so much to get here. Like, what a journey it’s been. When (assistant general manager Jason Spezza) told me, I dropped my knees. I was like, this is … man, it’s been a lot of emotion and a lot of hard work and, really, a lifelong commitment to getting better and loving the game to get here.”

Under former general manager Ron Hextall, the Penguins drafted Broz in the second round (No. 58 overall) in 2021. Having grown up in Bloomington, Minn., he made his collegiate debut as a homegrown product of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

But any hopes of enjoying glory at home never materialized as Broz labored through an underwhelming freshman campaign in 2021-22. Those struggles led him to leave the Land of 10,000 Lakes and head to the Rocky Mountains via a transfer to Denver.

With the Pioneers, Broz blossomed and led that school to its 10th NCAA championship in 2023-24 as a junior. That season, he posted 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 43 games and scored the championship-winning goal in overtime.

Following that success, he turned professional, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins in April of 2024.

His first full professional season in 2024-25 was productive as he generated 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) in 59 games and might have gotten a recall to the NHL level along with forward prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty but a bout with mononucleosis in January impeded his development a bit.

Broz, who turned 23 on Oct. 10, seemed like a threat to make the NHL roster out of training camp as he had a solid preseason, scoring two goals on five shots in four games. But he wound up being among the final cuts from camp and was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Oct.4, three days before the start of the regular season.

“I thought I had a really good camp and put myself in a really good (position), had a chance to make it,” Broz said. “It didn’t go my way. But that’s how life works sometimes. You can’t just quit. So, I just kept playing hockey and doing the thing I love, and kept working hard at really everything. I wouldn’t say it was one thing. But just be more consistent and just continue to get better at everything, learning game by game.”

Primarily skating as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top center, Broz emerged as that club’s top goal-scorer (eight) while generating 13 points overall in 18 games.

Brozer’s on the board! pic.twitter.com/gHBDtx7NGd

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 12, 2025

“A high-skilled guy,” said Penguins forward Danton Heinen, who spent the first handful of weeks of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. “Played with good pace. A high hockey IQ. He’s a real good player. He’s obviously a guy that wants to produce, wants to create offense.”

He is also a guy who really gets angry when he fails to win. He occasionally dispenses four-letter vocabulary when speaking with reporters after losses in games (or scrimmages).

Where does that emotion come from?

“I think just passion, love, care for the game,” Broz said. “Maybe I could do a better job of masking it sometimes. But I think it just comes from loving it so much. It’s impossible not to care. When you love something so much, you’re emotional about it.”

For now, Broz is enjoying the triumph of finally reaching the NHL. He got the news Nov. 23 while he and the other members of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were riding the bus home following a road game against the Providence Bruins.

“I was actually playing cards and I missed (Spezza’s) call,” Broz said. “I texted him something back, like, ‘Can I call you back in 10 minutes?’ And I showed (defenseman Owen Pickering), and he’s like, ‘What are you doing? Go call him back!’

“So I went back, in the (bus) bathroom, and called him.”

Broz got the call to make his NHL debut Wednesday in a 4-2 home win against the Buffalo Sabres. Opening as the third line center, Broz logged 11:30 of ice time on 15 shifts and had two shots.

Modest totals to be sure, but they illustrated how far Broz’s journey has brought him since that frustrating freshman season at Minnesota.

“I’ve come a really long way,” Broz said. “Hopefully, got a long ways to go still, too. But it’s been a great journey. I’m so thankful for all the people that have helped me. Really just grateful for this game. I hope that never goes away.”

Upon his recall, the passionate Broz offered thanks to those who guided him through his circuitous journey to the NHL.

Before fielding questions from reporters, Broz read off the names of his coaches at various levels of the sport.

“I’d like to thank God, my family, my parents, my grandparents,” Broz said. “I’d like to thank all the coaches in my life. Bernie McBain, my youth hockey coach; Greg May, high school at Blake (Minn.); Pierre-Paul Lamoureux, Cary Eades (Fargo Force – USHL); David Carle, Tavis McMillan, (Dallas Ferguson), (Ryan) Massa (Denver); all the coaches (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Kirk MacDonald, Nick Luukko, Brad Malone, Sheldon Brookbank), all the boys down there; and everyone that’s helped me along the way.

“It takes a village to get here, so I’d like to thank all those people.”

Much like that hot day in July last year, Broz was emotional on a chilly gray Sunday in November last week.

“My mom was crying and my dad was just grinning ear to ear,” Broz said. “They were so happy, and they’ve put so much into this, emotionally, financially, just a time commitment, driving me to rinks. So, it’s just as much their moment as it is mine. And yeah, they’re super happy. It was really cool.

“So yeah, it was really an emotional moment.”