Coach Sullivan: All Players Back in Pittsburgh, Excited for Opportunity

Midway through his virtual media availability with local reporters on Wednesday morning, head coach Mike Sullivan provided an update that is sure to excite the Penguins' fan base:

"To my knowledge, everybody's (at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex participating in Phase 2) right now," Sullivan said. "The last player to arrive was Patric Hornqvist, who's going through the quarantine and testing protocol that the league has mandated. But right now, we have our full complement of players in Pittsburgh."

Further good news on where the Penguins stand as they get set to hopefully transition from Phase 2 of the NHL's Return to Play plan to Phase 3, training camp later this month on July 10 came within Sullivan's answer to his very first question of the morning. While giving his thoughts on what he expects from the level of play when games resume, Sullivan gave insight on the Penguins' collective mindset as they continue to prepare for an eventual qualifying round matchup with the Montreal Canadiens that they hope leads to a 14th-consecutive playoff berth once competition resumes.

"I guess I can just speak for how I feel about our players in Pittsburgh, but in my conversations with a lot of our players, I know they're excited to play," Sullivan described of the opportunity that lies ahead. "I know how much of an opportunity they see in front of them. Obviously, we've got to go out and earn it, but I think that drive and that motivation to win a Stanley Cup is going to force players into a quick adjustment process."

Sullivan hopes that adjustment process will be much quicker for his team because as a group, they've actually never stopped engaging throughout the pause on the 2019-20 season that began on March 12 when the COVID-19 pandemic that has plagued the entire planet began wrecking havoc on the United States. Since then, not only have the players returned in large numbers to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex to resume on- and off-ice workouts, but before that the players also virtually took part in weekly team meetings with the coaching staff.

"One of the things that we did on a weekly basis was we picked certain topics of our team concept, the coaches prepared video for the players," Sullivan explained in detail about the team's weekly meetings. "You know, we went into these breakout meetings where we have small groups with coaches facilitating each group and we discussed and had video examples of the concepts that that we're talking about and the details of how we're trying to play."

"These guys have seen this on a weekly basis, so we're talking the language on a weekly basis with them. My hope is that those (virtual) meetings will be very productive when we start to get back together and then get on the ice."

Another advantage that Sullivan is hoping will help to guide his club during these unprecedented times is the team's strong leadership group. Led by captain Sidney Crosby and alternate captains Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, the Penguins are blessed to possess a core that has not only been fortunate to capture three Stanley Cups in its time together, but those players have also been through a multitude of adverse situations alongside one another. That experience should help those players guide the rest of the club through what will be an experience unlike any in their previous hockey careers.

"Well I think it's invaluable to have the experience level that we have on our team and the leadership that we have on our team," said Sullivan raving about his players. "I think these guys have been through a lot in their careers, and because of that, they have the benefit of perspective. And so I think it serves them well in these uncertain times like this.

"I know in the discussions that I've had with our guys, and in particular our leadership group, these guys will look at look at what's in front of us as a great opportunity. And so they're trying to do everything within their power to make themselves ready and to prepare themselves for that opportunity because they also know how hard it is to win. … So that leadership, that experience for me is invaluable at this time."

Once training camp does begin, the on- and off-ice preparations will be much different than what you typically see at the outset of an 82-game regular season. Because the roster is already set and roles have been cast, instead of player evaluation, Sullivan noted that the primary focus of camp will be, "how do we return the chemistry and semblance of the team concept that we've played all year." So the on-ice structure will more resemble a typical regular-season practice.

Sullivan noted one challenge during camp will be transitioning from what he described as "summer hockey mode" into a more competitive mindset. To help facilitate that, there will be game simulations and intra-squad games sprinkled into the camp schedule, something you would normally see during a preseason camp.

"We are going to put our guys through game simulations," Sullivan described of his staff's approach. "We'll have (intra-squad) games throughout the course of training camp to make sure that we give our guys an opportunity to feel the game day scenario and put their bodies through that process so that we can try to help with that transition back into that competitive mindset that's so necessary to have success in this league."

Now that the players have shed the majority of the rust that built during their time away, and the coaches have worked hard to put a plan into place, all that's left is for the players to remain safe from both Covid-19 and injury, and for the days to continue ticking off of the calendar. Because as you can tell from Coach Sullivan's availability, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to tackle the challenges that await them in the coming weeks.

The NHL's current Return to Play plan calls for Phase 2 - skates and workouts in smaller groups of 6-12 players - to run through July 9. Training camp for the 24 teams participating in the Return to Play is currently slated to begin on July 10.