"I Dropped to My Knees": A Dream Call for Broz

Tristan Broz was playing cards on the bus home after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 1-0 win over Providence on Saturday night, and ended up missing a call from Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza.

At first, Broz texted and asked if he could call back in 10 minutes. But after showing Owen Pickering his phone, “he's like, what are you doing? Call him back!” Broz said with a laugh. “So, I went back, in the bathroom, and called him.”

He received some life-changing news: the rookie forward was being called up to the NHL for the first time and will make his debut on Wednesday against Buffalo.

“It's a dream come true. I mean, just been through so much to get here. Like, what a journey it's been. When Spezz told me, I dropped to my knees,” Broz said after Pittsburgh practiced on Monday. “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. So yeah, it was really an emotional moment. Really special.”

Broz gave arguably the best interview a player in his position has given in that locker room, saying he would like to thank some of the people who have helped him get here, if that was all right with the media:

“I’d like to thank obviously my family – my parents (Paul and Elizabeth), my grandparents. I’d like to thank all the coaches in my life. Bernie McBain, my youth hockey coach; Greg May, high school at Blake; Pierre-Paul Lamoureux, Cary Eades, Fargo; David Carle, Tavis McMillan, Fergie (Dallas Ferguson), (Ryan) Massa, Denver; all the coaches in Wilkes – Kirk (Kirk MacDonald), Luuks (Nick Luukko), Bugsy (Brad Malone); Brooky (Sheldon Brookbank) last year; 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.”

Broz said that sharing his news with them made the whole situation feel less surreal.

“Just seeing their reaction, it was really cool,” said the Minnesota native. “My mom was crying and my dad was just grinning ear to ear. They were so happy, and they’ve put so much into this, emotionally, financially, just 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.”

Penguins Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos has called Broz one of their most intriguing prospects to follow these last few years, since being drafted in the second round (58^th overall) in 2021.

"He's been through some adversity and battled it and has been very resilient," Kostopoulos said.

Broz turned pro in the spring of 2024 after winning the NCAA championship in his second season with Denver and third in college hockey after transferring from Minnesota following his freshman year. The title capped off a season where Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said Broz “went through a lot.”

When Dubas had gone to watch Broz in early February of that season, he was playing wing, in their bottom-six, and had just come off the power play. But through injuries came opportunity, and Dubas loved how Broz responded through all the bumpiness, becoming the team’s top-line center and thriving in that role.

Broz then had to deal with some more adversity last season, coming down with mono in January and missing over a month, which essentially set him back to square one.

“I thought he did a good job getting himself back and going by the end of the year,” WBS Head Coach Kirk MacDonald said in the summer before predicting, “I think he's going to have a huge year for us.

"I think a big thing to remember is he only played center, basically for a year and a half, and he's done a great job with it. I know he's coming (to training camp) with the goal to play here. But from that standpoint, I think there's opportunity for him to have a big role this year and then knock on the door. Because I really thought before he got mono, he was going to play up in Pittsburgh this year. He was outstanding for us.”

Broz did have a strong camp, but was ultimately reassigned to WBS, where he did exactly as MacDonald said, and the door in Pittsburgh opened. At the time of his call-up, his eight goals were first on the team and tied for 11th in the AHL. His 13 points (8G-5A) are third on WBS, and since the beginning of last season, no one on WBS has scored more goals than Broz (27).

“I thought I had a really good camp and put myself in a really good (position), had a chance to make it. It didn't go my way. But that's how life works sometimes. You can’t just quit,” Broz said.

“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.”