2024 round 2 #46 overall by Pittsburgh Penguins
Tanner Howe is a 5″11 183lbs left wing who loves to use his body to play through contact. He creates offensive zone entries and maintains possession in puck battles along the boards. He loves being in the slot and scoring greasy goals. He reminds me of Patrick Hornqvist who loved to be in the slot.
Tanner Howe is another great find by Dubas. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2024 draft. He is exactly the type of player the penguins need.
I expect him to become a solid middle 6 type player that will be hard to play against despite his smaller built. He possesses a great 2 way game to completement his grittiness.
Many people doubted Howe’s abilities by saying that he was a Connor Bedard product. Howe still had a very productive season once Bedard went to the NHL posting 77pts in 68gp in 2023-24. Slightly lower than with Bedard when he had 85pts in 67gp in 2022-23. Howe has shown that he has the ability to play along side superstars which is an underrated trait to have.
Tanner was traded from the Regina Pats (8-17-6) to the Calgary Hitmen (15-9-4) on November 21st 2024. This was a great move for his development as the Pats were struggling. As a result of the trade his production increased.
Howe currently has 16pts in 16gp and I expect him to be above a point per game this year. He just turned 19 on November 28th and has another year of WHL eligibility left. I think what would be best for his development would be to make the jump to pro next year. A few years in the AHL could be beneficial to him as he has already showed that he can produce in the WHL.
If I could compare him to a current NHL player it would be a less productive Brad Marchand/Patrick Hornqvist type player. A pest to play against that will try to get under the opponents skins and has a strong presence in the slot.
Howe made Team Canada’s 2025 World Junior Team so look out for him during the tournament.
NHL certainty: 8.0
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