3 Things: Sprong practices, injury/lineup notes
1. SPRONG PRACTICES
Daniel Sprong skated with the team after the Penguins announced on Saturday morning that he had been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
It's been a process for Sprong to return to the Penguins after he made Pittsburgh's opening night roster in 2015 and suited up for 18 games, and he's grateful for the opportunity.
"I'm just excited, you know? Just excited to be here and play," he said. "There's been a lot of development going on in my game over the last couple years, from going back to juniors, to injury and having a good start in Wilkes. The coaching staff really helped me with video and everything. So just excited to be here."
The 20-year-old winger is fresh off scoring a hat trick on Friday night against Hartford, his second of the season. Overall, Sprong, the Penguins' top draft pick in 2015 after being taken in the second round, has gotten off to a terrific start with WBS, as he has 18 goals - which ranks second in the AHL - and 28 points in 29 games.
And those totals come after he dominated the QMJHL in his last year with Charlottetown despite missing the majority of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, posting 32 goals and 59 points in just 31 games.
While the Pens will certainly be looking for him to bring that offensive ability, it's imperative that he also bring a defensive awareness if he wants to have success at this level.
"He's one of those guys that he's a goal scorer, and he can shoot the puck," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "But there's more to the game than that. There's a lot of other elements to the game and that's where I think Clarkie (Donatelli) and his staff down there and our coaching staff has tried to communicate with Daniel that we're asking him to become a complete player.
"When he does that, that's when we think he can have a positive impact on the Pittsburgh Penguins and become an NHL player. But certainly, his scoring ability is I think what we all get excited about and we're hopeful that he can help us in that capacity."
Becoming a complete player is something Sprong has been working tirelessly on. And he feels like he's been better with his 200-foot game and creating more opportunities for himself and his team.
"I've been working on just being more physical and going more to the dirty areas to get scoring chances," he said.
But that doesn't mean Sprong will hesitate to use that shot of his, which is his strongest asset and what stands out the most about his game.
"He's got a good shot and he's got a good release and he's got good velocity. He's accurate," Sullivan said. "Obviously his shot is the thing that jumps out the most because he shoots the puck better than most of his peers."
While the coaching staff told Sprong to play his game while still being responsible in all three zones, they had one more message for him.
"Just have fun," he said. "I'm excited to be here and ready to get going."
2. INJURY UPDATES
Justin Schultz joined the team for practice wearing a gray no-contact jersey. The defenseman has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury after getting hurt on Dec. 5 versus the New York Rangers.
"It's good," he said of his progress. "It just sucks being out. You can't do much about it. Just got to work hard in the gym and now on the ice and just get back as quick as I can."
He couldn't keep the smile off his face when talking about how good it felt to be back with his teammates after skating on his own for a couple of days.
"I was losing my mind not being around them," he admitted. "It sucks. Like I said before with my concussion, it's not fun when you're alone in Pittsburgh and everyone is on the road. You want to get back as quick as you can and I'm close, so I'm happy."
Sullivan said that the next step for Schultz will be full contact, and then he will become a game time decision.
"Today was a big step for him," Sullivan said.
Matt Murray also skated with the team after missing Friday's game in Carolina with an upper body injury, and had no limitations.
"I feel good," he said. "I had a good day today. I felt really good."
The goaltender suffered the injury at some point during Pittsburgh's 5-4 shootout win over Columbus on Wednesday.
"Not exactly sure when it happened," he said. "Got looked at after the game and decided it was best to keep me out. Feel a lot better now."
Finally, Kris Letang, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, took the ice as practice was wrapping up wearing a gray no-contact jersey.
"He came on the ice at the end of practice. Obviously non-contact, but that's an important step for him as well," Sullivan said. "These guys are all getting closer."
3. PRACTICE INFO
Evgeni Malkin was the only expected player absent, and Sullivan said he didn't feel well today. Bryan Rust (upper body) and Chad Ruhwedel (upper body), who are both on injured reserve, were also missing.
Here was the Pens' workflow without Malkin…
Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist
Sheary-Sheahan-Sprong
Hagelin-Wilson-Kessel
Kuhnhackl-Rowney-Reaves
Dumoulin-Hunwick
Maatta-Corrado
Cole-Oleksiak
Schultz skated on the extra pairing with Andrey Pedan.
In terms of putting Sprong with Sheahan, Sullivan said that the coaching staff is trying to create balance throughout their lineup so that they have scoring threats and responsible two-way players on every line.
"Daniel is a guy that obviously his scoring ability is his strength and that jumps out at everyone," Sullivan said. "So he's worked hard at his overall game. He's going to get a great opportunity here to help us at this point in time and we'll see where it all shakes out as far as what we want to do line combinations-wise. But that's something the coaching staff will discuss here moving forward."
