It was a bit disconcerting to hear Mike Sullivan's booming voice from the media level when the Penguins opened their preseason slate on Sunday with split-squad games against the Blue Jackets, scheduled for 1 PM in Pittsburgh and then 7 PM in Columbus. But for logistical reasons, he had to observe both games instead of coach.
Pittsburgh's Split-Squad with Columbus "A Fun Day with a Lot of Hockey"
While the organization mostly divided and conquered, a group that included head coach Mike Sullivan managed to attend both games
"I haven't watched a game up top in a long time," he said. "It's a very different vantage point. It's an easy game from up top, because you can see everything develop, and the game looks a lot slower than it does when you're down at the ice level. You're not as emotionally attached to it as you are when you're on the bench. So it was very different from my standpoint."
Part of what Sullivan loves the most about his job is being in the heat of the battle, so it wasn't an ideal experience for him. But it was a necessary one for a coach who firmly believes that nothing is inevitable when it comes to the roster.
"I think it was important that all the players knew that I was going to have the opportunity to see them all perform," Sullivan said. "So, I thought it was important for me as the head coach to make sure that I was at both games."
And that means a lot to young players like 23-year-old defenseman P.O Joseph, who's fighting for more time in Pittsburgh this season after spending the majority of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
"I think it says a lot about the organization," said Joseph, who played in the second game. "They want to see everyone. I feel like everyone has a chance to show themselves. It's not the scrimmages, it's a full game against another team. So I think it just shows how they focus on every single guy here, and they want everyone to perform."
For the rest of the organization, it was about dividing and conquering, which wasn't too difficult with all of the extra staff in town from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Pittsburgh assistant coach Mike Vellucci, WBS head coach J.D. Forrest and WBS assistant coach Kevin Porter were behind the bench for the first game, which the Penguins won in overtime, 3-2. Jason Zucker got the winner after Corey Andonovski, who signed in the spring as a college free agent out of Princeton, scored the equalizer with less than a minute remaining in regulation.
The team charter left before the first game finished, so Sullivan - along with general manager Ron Hextall; president of hockey operations Brian Burke; and other members of the management, hockey operations and development staffs - headed downstairs late in the third period to board a bus to Columbus for the second game. They arrived just in time, getting to Nationwide Arena during warmups.
"I think everyone in this organization is committed to giving these guys an equal viewing so they know they got eyes on them, and we can evaluate them fairly and they can show us what they have," director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. "So we wanted to see everyone play today."
During the three-hour drive, the group talked a bit about players and scheduling. "I think a couple of us closed our eyes for a few minutes," Kostopoulos said with a smile.
"Then we all like talking hockey, so we got to discuss the first game a little bit and what we thought on the way here, and then get ready for the second one. It's been a fun day with a lot of hockey."
Pittsburgh assistant coach Todd Reirden, skills coach Ty Hennes and WBS assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank ran the show for that contest. The Penguins had more of a developmental roster while the Blue Jackets dressed virtually all of their stars, including Johnny Gaudreau, who made a huge splash when he chose to sign with Columbus as a free agent this summer. He collected three assists in his team's 5-1 win.
It was quite a challenge for a young Pittsburgh team, but Joseph said it was one that they embraced after a long summer and three days of training camp practices, and Reirden was proud of their effort.
"This situation is about the process of developing players into NHL players," Reirden said. "This is going through ups and downs; how are you going to respond if you make a mistake; and still keeping your work ethic where it needs to be and continuing to improve. We're just going to continue to try and make small improvements in a number of areas, and that'll be something we evaluate as a staff after today watching those two games."
Here are the lineups from Sunday.
GAME 1: PIT 3, CBJ 2 (OT)
LINES
Jason Zucker-Teddy Blueger-Kasperi Kapanen
Rickard Rakell-Drew O'Connor-Valtteri Puustinen
Filip Hallander-Sam Poulin-Kyle Olson
Jamie Devane-Jonathan Gruden-Corey Andonovski
Ty Smith-Chad Ruhwedel
Marcus Pettersson-Mark Friedman
Isaac Belliveau-Jon Lizotte
Casey DeSmith and Filip Lindberg split the game between the pipes.
GAME 2: CBJ 5, PIT 1
LINES
Danton Heinen-Ryan Poehling-Josh Archibald
Drake Caggiula-Radim Zohorna-Alex Nylander
Raivis Ansons-Sam Houde-Nathan Legare
Ty Glover-Jordan Frasca-Lukas Svejkovsky
Xavier Ouellet-Jack St. Ivany
P.O Joseph-Taylor Fedun
Chris Ortiz-Mitch Reinke
Dustin Tokarski played the entirety of the game.
