Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: #15 - Ty Glover

Last time we looked at Ty Glover in the 2022 Top 25 Under 25 series, he was an undrafted forward out of Western Michigan University looking to prove himself in the AHL. How does he stand in the Penguins’ prospect rankings following his first full campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton?

2023 Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed

#25: Daniel Laatsch
#24: Cooper Foster
#23: Thimo Nickl
#22: Dillon Hamaliuk
#21: Mikhail Ilyin

#15: Ty Glover, F

2022 Ranking: #22

Age: 23 (Oct. 1, 2000)

Acquired via: 2022 free agency signing (contract runs through 2024-25)

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 200 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:

It was a tough season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which, like their major-league counterpart, missed the 2023 postseason. They finished with a 26-32-8 record, good for 29th in the league.

It was also a difficult start for Glover. Known at Western Michigan for his aggressive presence in the crease, he struggled at first to establish himself as a net-front threat in the AHL.

Glover collected just two goals and two assists in his first 32 WBS games after missing some time due to healthy scratches and injuries.

His first breakthrough came October 23. Planting himself by the corner of the net paid off with his first professional goal.

He found more offensive success in the final stretch of the season, adding five goals and three assists over the final month and a half of the WBS Pens’ campaign.

At July development camp, WBS Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest called Glover the “most improved player” of the 2022-23 season, per DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Taylor Haase.

“With him, it’s just continuing to progress in his execution and raising the level of that and really kind of defining his game, and what he’s doing to be successful,” Forrest said. “It’s sticking to that, not veering and trying to be a different type of player than what’s going to help him be his best. He made a lot of steps, he might have been our most improved player throughout the season. He’s got a lot of raw skills, you just need to kind of mold it a bit.”

Meanwhile, director of player development Tom Kostopoulos credited Glover’s improvement to his speed.

“He was flying out there,” Kostopoulos said. “Man, his speed was so noticeable, I’m sure you all saw it. In straight lines, he can fly. I think his energy and his attitude is contagious. It just spreads and the guys love him.”

Haase wrote that the Penguins “liked what they saw” in Glover’s first season, and that the team hopes to develop him into a power forward as he works toward the NHL.

Seth Rorabaugh wrote more on Glover’s progress for the Tribune-Review:

Glover is still very raw but there’s plenty to be intrigued with.

There is plenty of potential for him to develop into a legitimate bottom-six NHL forward. But plenty of refinement is still required.

Glover is going to get more ice time and opportunities in the AHL next season.

As Rorabaugh pointed out, the combination of likely NHL roster spots for Alex Nylander and Drew O’Connor and Filip Hallander’s departure for Finland will thin out an already shallow WBS offensive corps.

In addition, Glover is expected to become a “staple” of the WBS penalty kill next season, according to Kostopoulos.

With more ice time coming his way, Glover could set himself up for a potential NHL call-up in the final season of this three-year contract if his development stays on track next season.

Glover made an appearance during the Penguins’ 2022 preseason, so Pens fans could see him again as soon as this September.