It’s the most…wonderful time…of the year!
(You’ll also hear me say this at the trade deadline.)
With training camp starting this week, the 2023-24 NHL season is on the horizon, so cue up the hot stove and the cold ice, hockey season has begun!
Today marks the first day of on-ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp. Earlier today, the Penguins’ PR team released the rosters for training camp. There are 60 players divided into three teams, as you can see below:
During his time in Toronto, the training camp teams that Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations and general manager Kyle Dubas (it really is a mouthful) and their coaching staff put together made it pretty obvious who was expected to make the team, who was earmarked for their developmental teams in the American Hockey League (AHL)/ECHL, and who was heading back to Junior hockey.
Interestingly enough, that is not the case with this roster. If anything, it highlights exactly who will be given opportunities to make this team to start the season.
For starters, two teams have 17 skaters and goalies, while the third team has 24 skaters/goalies. All teams have a mix of returning Penguins and prospects. So, let’s dig deeper and see if we can find potential line combinations and defensive pairings.
Team One: The Stars Have Arrived
While Jake Guentzel is skating at camp, he is absent from any team due to an ankle injury that will keep him out of at least the first five games of the season, it’s notable that both Alex Nylander and offseason acquisition Rem Pitlick are on this team. Why? Because so are first-liners Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby. That is not a coincidence. Both Nylander and Pitlick have top-six-level offensive skills, and as we’ll see when we look at the second line, this is a sign that the plan is to give one of these players a chance on the first line to start the season.
This is a smart move by the hockey ops and coaching staff. Give both Nylander and Pitlick a chance with Crosby & Rust that they wouldn’t normally have and see if either of them steps up. If they do, you suddenly have more depth when Guentzel returns, and have the potential to put out three offensive units. On the flip side, if neither takes advantage of this opportunity, you can expect to see one or both waived or traded by the end of training camp. Neither player is young or a prospect, and teams are known for quickly moving on at this time of year from players they no longer believe in.
On the defensive end, newcomer Ryan Graves and Penguins’ legend Kris Letang are both on this team. This confirms the preseason thought that Graves would step into the departed Brian Dumoulin’s spot alongside Letang. Many of us have believed that the plan would be for Crosby’s line to be paired with Letang’s defensive pair on Pittsburgh’s first five-man unit, and this training camp roster has confirmed this is indeed the plan.
The presence of Ty Smith, as well as players on tryout contracts like Austin Wagner and Libor Hajek, seems a lot like a situation where head coach Mike Sullivan would pull Crosby and Letang aside during camp and ask if these three players feel like a fit. If it’s borderline for any of them to make the team, the thoughts of respected veterans could be the deciding factor in any of these players either making or not making the team.
Team Two: Electric Boogaloo
Pittsburgh’s key acquisition, Erik Karlsson, can be found on this team. Alongside Karlsson of note is Marcus Petterson, who Karlsson is expected to be paired with this season, and two-thirds of the second line, Evgeni Malkin and fellow newcomer Reilly Smith. Electric to say the least!
Related: Penguins’ Crosby & Malkin Both Have Shot at 100 Points
It’s worth noting that both Andreas Johnsson and former top prospect Sam Poulin are on this team. For Johnsson, it’s a perfect opportunity for him to show that he still has the skills that Dubas loved to see in Toronto, and likewise for the hockey ops team to see what Johnsson brings to a top-six line at this point in his career. For Poulin, it’s a great measuring stick to see if he has overcome the concerns about his skating, or if he still looks like an AHL player.
Of meaning, maybe only to me, is the fact that Radim Zohorna is on this team. As we have seen none of the guaranteed bottom-six players on either of these teams, it is not a positive sign for how the hockey ops team views Zohorna. He will really have to stand out on this team to have any chance of starting with the big club this year.
Team Three: A Melting Pot of Questionable Decisions
This team features several players expected to be a part of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards this year:
Jeff Carter
Lars Eller
Noel Acciari
Matt Nieto
Drew O’Connor
You will also find both Chad Ruhwedel and P.O. Joseph here is a sign that they’re expected to be the third pairing to start the season (not a good sign unless Joseph takes two steps forward this season and can carry that unit, as Ruhwedel is what he is at this point). Dimitri Samorukov is an interesting depth piece on defense. If he was a right-handed shot, I’d tell you he was a dark horse to make the team. He can play bottom-six minutes at the NHL level, though at this point he’s a true tweener between being an AHL star and a borderline NHL player.
Also of note is the presence of goaltender Garret Sparks. 2018 was a career year for Sparks, as he won two awards in the AHL (Lowest Goals Against Average and Top Goaltender), and led the Toronto Marlies to the Calder Cup that year. His flameout in Toronto was very real, and he has bounced around both the AHL and even the ECHL since. If at age 30 Sparks has figured everything out again, he could be someone you see wearing the Penguins’ jersey at some point this season.
