Sidney Crosby called this year’s Training Camp presented by UPMC “really unique," because of the competition for jobs.
“Typically, there might be a little less, there's one or two spots. This year's probably the most competitive – looking back at other years – that I've seen," the captain said.
After two-plus weeks of practices, preseason games and plenty of meetings, video and 1-on-1 conversations behind the scenes, the Penguins finalized their 22-man opening-night roster for the 2024-25 season.
A few notable names are missing at this point due to injuries, like Bryan Rust, who is dealing with a lower-body injury. The top-six winger was put on injured reserve retroactive to last Sunday, which means he is eligible to come off at any time.
“But I would rather be more cautious with Rusty. If you don't chain him down, he will play... it is day-to-day in essence... but I want to be protective of it not developing into something far worse,” Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said, referencing the situation Rust dealt with last November.
Additionally, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is week-to-week after sustaining a lower-body injury in a preseason game in Detroit on Oct. 1; forward Blake Lizotte is out with a concussion after getting hit in the face with a puck in the Hockeyville game on Sep. 29; forward Matt Nieto has been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve; and forward Vasily Ponomarev has been designated as Injured Non-Roster.
Having acknowledged those absences, here are the projected lines Pittsburgh will use when they host the New York Rangers on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena:
Drew O’Connor-Sidney Crosby-Anthony Beauvillier
Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Rutger McGroarty-Lars Eller-Jesse Puljujarvi
Kevin Hayes-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari
(Valtteri Puustinen)
Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Jack St. Ivany
(Ryan Shea)
Tristan Jarry
Joel Blomqvist
We’ll take a quick look at each position, starting with the FORWARDS… whose goal is to play fast. That’s the word every player used when asked about the team identity. “Fast, physical… hungry around the net… and just a lot of skill,” Rickard Rakell said.
TOP-SIX
Anthony Beauvillier skated with the captain for essentially the entire camp. Mike Sullivan said the forward’s speed and the way he hunts pucks earned him a look there, as Crosby likes playing a pursuit game.
On Crosby’s other wing is Drew O’Connor, who’s gotten high praise from both management and the coaching staff for how his game has evolved. Sullivan feels the 26-year-old is on a similar track to Rust in terms of his development. “He gets better and better every single year that he's here,” Sullivan said. “I still think there's another level to his game. He brings size, skating ability, he's got some finish to his game... he's got a quiet confidence about him now that I think is evident when you watch him play.”
Evgeni Malkin’s line will look to pick up where they left off last season, as they had a strong finish and built some chemistry. “We bring something different to the line, each of us,” Michael Bunting said. “I feel like I'm more of the kind of guy who gets in the corners, gets in front of the net, grinds it up; Raks has his skill and his shot, and then you know, obviously G does exactly what G does.”
BOTTOM-SIX
Dubas feels that this year’s group either has a longer history of production, or they are younger. He wants their approach to shift from purely defense to more of a 200-foot mentality, as the Penguins need goals. “We need to defend our (butt) off with that group, don’t get me wrong… but we want them to be guys who can produce as well,” Dubas said. He used Cody Glass, acquired from Nashville late in the offseason, as a prime example of what the Penguins are looking for in the bottom-six. The 25-year-old has been more of an offensive player his entire hockey life, but can also provide staunch defensive play.
“He’s come in here and he’s done a lot of good things 5-on-5, especially later in camp during exhibition games. He’s also been very good on the penalty kill, and has sort of adapted,” Dubas said. “He’s got it quick.”
They could also use more goals like the one they got from Jesse Puljujarvi in the final preseason game. Sullivan called him “one of the best surprises of training camp, from our standpoint.” Read more about his journey to this point.
Dubas added that they don't want to just jam skilled young guys into a fourth line and force them to start in the defensive zone, get the puck out, and change. "We want those guys to start to be able to use their skill and talent," he said. Dubas has been impressed with what Rutger McGroarty has shown in that regard, along with his intelligence and instincts, and ability to read and make plays.
"He’s just a hockey player," Dubas smiled. "I know that gets thrown around a lot, but that, to me, is what he is. He's smart, he's competitive, and that was why we wanted to make the trade for him."
Dubas reiterated that nothing had been guaranteed for the 20-year-old, who went on to earn his spot, with Dubas praising how McGroarty got better as the level raised. He'll have to keep that going moving forward. "I'm happy for him that he starts today on the roster, but he'll have to earn everything from this point out," Dubas said.
As for the DEFENSE, that top-four has plenty of talent.
Dubas said that Erik Karlsson showed exactly why you acquire a player of his caliber at the end of last season. He skated, took charge, and shot the puck rather than “trying to slap pass it through five people every time – which he and I have had many discussions about, and became awfully effective because he kept the defense off balance, defended harder,” Dubas said. The goal is for Karlsson to continue that sort of play.
He clicked with Marcus Pettersson, who said the key was lots of communication. That helped them get on the same page. “We kind of think the game a similar way,” Pettersson said before adding with a smile, “obviously, he’s a couple more notches on the scale than me, but I think we kind of process it the same way.”
Matt Grzelcyk, who had spent his entire career with the Bruins before signing with Pittsburgh, has settled in nicely alongside Kris Letang. Grzelcyk played with another elite talent in Charlie McAvoy in Boston, so it’s been a relatively smooth transition. “He's a really good two-way defenseman. He's got great mobility, can skate really well. His first pass and breakouts are outstanding. So, it's easy to read off a guy like that,” Letang said. “We're still getting to know each other, but it's been really good overall.”
- As for the current third pair, what a difference a year makes for Jack St. Ivany. The 25-year-old did a tremendous job building his game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season before seizing his opportunity down the stretch. He then quietly put himself in a position to make the roster out of camp.
Right now, he's skating alongside Ryan Graves, who's looking to bounce back after a tough first year in Pittsburgh. "He’s a proud professional. He wants to come in and have a good season, and we’ll get going on Wednesday night and he’ll have more than enough opportunity to get moving in the right direction," Dubas said.
If St. Ivany stays alongside Graves, Sullivan said they would be looking for that pair to be "hard to play against, (a pair) that's good in their own end, that's strong at the net front, that defends the rush well with their size and their range and their reach and their mobility... and they have the ability to chip in on the offense, whether it be off the offensive blue line or making an outlet pass, things of that nature.”
- It's worth noting how pleased the Penguins were with Harrison Brunicke, who got re-assigned to his junior team after a fantastic showing. (Read more about the 18-year-old here).
“This is a guy that we're really excited about, and feel strongly that he's going to be an impact player for us,” Sullivan said of the 2024 second-round pick. “The question is, what is in his best interest for the development of his overall game to ultimately get him to that impact aspect. The hockey operations group felt it was the best decision for him would be to go back to junior, and play a significant role in his team and continuing to grow his overall game. But we couldn't be more encouraged with Harry's overall camp. He made a huge impression on everybody.”
- Finally, regarding GOALTENDING, the lower-body injury was a tough break for Alex Nedeljkovic. He was outstanding in the final weeks of the regular season, posting an 8-1-3 record and playing a key role in Pittsburgh’s playoff push. With Nedeljkovic sidelined to start the year, Tristan Jarry and 2020 second-round pick Joel Blomqvist are officially the Penguins tandem for the foreseeable future.
The Penguins want Jarry to respond after a year of ups and downs, where he tied for the NHL lead with six shutouts and became the first goalie in Penguins history to score a goal, but struggled with consistency.
“He came into camp in the best shape that he's ever come in, and that's a credit to him and how hard he's worked in the offseason. Now, he's got to take that work and put it into action on the ice,” Sullivan said. “So, we all believe in Tristan. He's a quality NHL goaltender. We think there's another level to his game, and the expectations are high. So, we're going to push him to be at his very best.”
As for Blomqvist, the 22-year-old is entering his second season of professional hockey in North America after playing in his native Finland. Blomqvist is coming off a tremendous rookie campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, getting named an AHL All-Star.
“I think his season last year earned him the right, if this situation were to occur, to be able to come in and start to go,” Dubas said. “Obviously the first (preseason) game in Buffalo was a struggle, and then he was able to steady himself and then turn in very good performances throughout the rest of the preseason. So, that's what I like about Joel, and I'm excited for him. It's a great opportunity for him that he's earned.”
