As an organization, the Youngstown Phantoms have made their goals apparent. One of those is getting their guys ready for the NHL.

That goal isn’t just limited to players.

After two years with the Phantoms, Brandon Dennis is moving on to the NHL, taking on an amateur scouting role with the Pittsburgh Penguins, focusing on the midwest region.

“It’s great,” Dennis said. “My family’s from Pittsburgh. I grew up a Penguins fan. I used to go to the Penguin camps when I was a kid with (Mario) Lemieux, Ron Francis and Darius Kasparaitis. I was on the ice with those guys as a kid at those Penguins camps at Southpointe, and grew up a Penguins fan. Before I was in Youngstown, I scouted with Chicago in the USHL, and so that’s always been kind of a passion and what I wanted to do.

“Coaching and coming in with Youngstown definitely, I think, just gave me a different perspective of being in the development pipeline and, you know, being around the rink and getting to know the guys. So that was an awesome experience. I would have taken a scouting job in the NHL for a number of teams, but being a fan when I was growing up and my family’s from there, it’s pretty special (to do it with Pittsburgh).”

Dennis arrived with coach Ryan Ward for the 2022-2023 season as an assistant and helped the Phantoms win the club’s first Clark Cup Championship that same season.

This past season, he was an assistant coach, as well as director of hockey operations. Over the last two seasons, Dennis did a little bit of everything with the Phantoms, assisting on the video side and was directly responsible in helping arrange the “Cleveland Classic” at Huntington Bank Field (named FirstEnergy Stadium at the time) in 2023.

“The thing that (Dennis) brings to the table is he is just infectious,” Ward said. “He’s a positive person. The guys love him. The staff loves him. He is full of energy, full of enthusiasm, and does his job very well. He came in here, learned a lot, grew as a person, grew as a hockey coach, and ultimately, made it to the next level, which we’re super proud of.”

Ward reiterated the organization’s development philosophy and how it extends past the players on the ice.

“I’ve said it many times. We want to be a stepping stone of development for our players and to be able to push people on to higher, higher levels, and that’s no different with our staff,” Ward said. “We’re super proud that (Dennis) came in here and helped us change the culture in Youngstown. He helped us win a championship, and he did a lot of unbelievable things, whether it’s just building the brand or the Cleveland Classic or partnerships for the players to enjoy different things. He did a phenomenal job, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. He’s a great colleague and an even better friend, and he’s an incredible human being.”

Taking on the role of an amateur scout in the Midwest region means Youngstown will be on Dennis’ radar. As the Penguins move into a stage of rebuilding their prospect pool, amateur scouting will become more and more important for the Penguins.

While every team has a different philosophy of what type of skills and play styles they value, Dennis had success with the Phantoms in acquiring talent and is hoping to help the Penguins do the same.

“I’m still going through the process of learning exactly (what the Penguins look for),” Dennis said. “Every organization is different in what type of players they look for. For me, it’s a highly-competitive player who’s intelligent and a good teammate and works at both ends of the ice. In short, that’s kind of what I look for to identify players off the start. Obviously there’s a lot of things and tangibles that go into it as well, but being a good person, being a competitive player and being smart and working at both ends of the rink is important.”

As Dennis moves on to where every young hockey fan dreams of reaching, albeit in a different way than most dream to make it, the memories and lessons from the last two years will stick with him for a long time.

“One thing I’ll miss for sure is the relationships you build with the players showing up to the rink every day, going to work and watching these kids chase their dreams and have success. That’s why we do it, and that’s definitely a big thing that I’ll miss,” Dennis said. “But I can’t say enough about the Youngstown organization, ownership and everybody involved giving me an opportunity. I definitely wouldn’t have this opportunity without coming to Youngstown. I’ll be seeing those guys a lot. Hopefully they’re in the Clark Cup Final and I’ll be back in town for that one for sure.”

The Penguins’ season begins on Oct. 9 at home against the New York Rangers. Youngstown’s season begins on Sept. 18 as a part of the USHL Fall Classic against Tri-City in Cranberry, Pennsylvania.