(TNS) — Harrison Brunicke was too good for juniors. But that doesn’t mean he could not get anything out of returning to the Western Hockey League.

“People say that there wasn’t a lot to learn going back to junior,” the 20-year-old defenseman told the Post-Gazette after a recent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton practice. “But for me, that just rounded out my game.”

That’s been showing in the American Hockey League playoffs.

After wrapping up his WHL season, Brunicke joined the Baby Penguins late in the regular season. He’s been one of their best players in the postseason as they have advanced to the Eastern Conference final of the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“His maturity level with his puck decisions has grown by leaps and bounds,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald said. “He’s very assertive. He’s defending well … He’s been outstanding.”

Brunicke’s 2025-26 season has had more twists and turns than an episode of “The Pitt.” MacDonald jokes that he has played on five teams.

Brunicke made the NHL club out of training camp as a teenager but played just nine NHL games. After a long stint in the press box, Brunicke was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan in November. He then joined Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

After his disappointing performance there, Pittsburgh’s front office shipped Brunicke back to the Kamloops Blazers in January. That’s where he remained until his second stint with the Baby Penguins began in early April, after the Blazers’ season ended.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster looks quite a bit different than it did during Brunicke’s conditioning loan back in the fall — hence why MacDonald quipped that he’s played on five teams.

Brunicke, who turned 20 this month, has been a far more effective AHL player this spring. MacDonald said he even looks more physically mature — and Brunicke’s dense playoff beard backs that up.

“At that age, it can happen quite a bit,” MacDonald said. “I saw that through two years of [coaching] junior hockey. What you see at the start of the year from what you see at the end of the year can be drastic.”

At his end-of-season press conference on May 12, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas pushed back on the notion that the first half of the season went poorly for Brunicke, even though the prospect barely played throughout November and December.

“He was able to do great work here off the ice with our staff — skating, strength, power — and that has served him really well,” Dubas said.

The front office staff gave Brunicke specific things to focus on in Kamloops — including defending the rush, killing plays earlier and generally being more sound in the defensive zone. With added strength and time spent learning from NHL blue-liners, Brunicke was able to apply those lessons against lesser competition.

“I’m feeling more comfortable at the areas that I was a bit weaker in, and that’s just making me a better player overall,” Brunicke said.

He leads the Baby Penguins with a plus-8 rating in the first nine games of the playoffs after he had a plus-6 rating in the final six games of the regular season.

Brunicke is also learning how to translate his skating prowess and puck-handling ability into greater production — with some help from Erik Karlsson.

The prospect felt like he was creating a lot of chances but not burying them with Kamloops. So he asked the NHL’s highest-scoring defenseman over the past 17 years for some tips.

Brunicke didn’t reveal the secrets Karlsson shared. But he did say he was thrilled to get a response from Karlsson, whom he looked up to as a kid.

“Anytime you can get feedback from those guys, it’s pretty special,” Brunicke said.

Brunicke had no problem burying a feed from Tristan Broz in the first period of Saturday’s series-winning victory against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Brunicke now has two goals and two assists in the AHL playoffs after reaching a point-per-game in juniors for the first time this season.

As the top defense prospect in the Penguins’ system, Brunicke is a critical part of the organization’s future — especially once Karlsson and Kris Letang are no longer manning the right side of the Pittsburgh blue line.

With his athleticism and offensive upside, it would be a huge boost for Pittsburgh if Brunicke can again make the NHL roster out of camp next season and stick around in his second try.

His AHL playoff performance indicates he’s trending in that direction.

“I got a taste of it, and it’s not a good feeling getting sent down,” Brunicke said. “So I’m gonna do my job to get there as soon as possible.”