​Given that we are in the dog days of August, there is a whole lot of discussion regarding prospects and the best up-and-coming players in the NHL, as there is not much else to talk about right now. Last week, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman released both prospect pool rankings and a ranking of the best players under the age of 23. The highest-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins’ young player was winger Rutger McGroarty at 80, but one of the biggest surprises on the list was center Ben Kindel being ranked 92nd on the list in Tier 6, which he deems a “middle of the lineup player.”On this list, 46 players above Kindel have not yet played an NHL game. Meanwhile, Kindel spent the vast majority of the season as an 18-year-old – he didn’t turn 19 until Apr. 19 – holding down the third-line center position, playing solid two-way hockey, contributing on the power play, recording 17 goals and 35 points in 77 games, and showing off his hockey IQ and higher-ceiling puck distribution and playmaking skills. He also showed off a pretty nasty shot on several occasions, too. Holy SNIPE by Ben Kindel to get the scoring started 🔥🚨The 18 year old has 15(!!!) goals this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/VyRqd8qFgR— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 1, 2026Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Kindel has been overlooked. When the Penguins selected him 11th overall in 2025, many thought it was a reach. He was not designated by most as a legitimate candidate to make the NHL team out of training camp as a young 18-year-old, either, but he did. He was not expected to last beyond his nine-game NHL trial run, but he did because his body of work in those nine games was impressive and transcended his age.During the season, he was rarely talked about in national circles despite being one of three newly drafted players to stick in the NHL beyond nine games – the others being New York Islanders star defenseman Matthew Schaefer and San Jose Sharks rising star center Michael Misa. After the season concluded, most still weren’t talking about Kindel even though he ended up with a few Calder Trophy votes. Pronman wrote that Kindel profiles more as “a long-term third-liner, but he could be a top-six winger.”Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2026, No. 6: Scoring Winger’s Dominant NCAA Season Only The BeginningNext up on our 2026 THN Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects list is a sniping winger who, if he can build out a more all-around game and continue to score goals at a torrid pace, could be a long-term top-six solution for the Penguins in the future. But anyone with eyes who watched Kindel all season – and, particularly, kept tabs on his work at the center position – would probably come out with a different outlook.For starters, Kindel won 43.6 percent of his draws last season, which isn’t a bad number for a rookie. For perspective, Penguins’ captain and NHL legend Sidney Crosby had a 45.5 win percentage in the dot during his rookie season. He also, almost immediately, flashed keen two-way awareness and