The Pittsburgh Penguins have invited 38 players to their annual prospect development camp, which will be held this Wednesday-Friday, June 27-29, at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
This year's roster
includes all four players selected at the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas last weekend - defenseman Calen Addison (2nd round; 53rd overall) and forwards Filip Hallander (2nd round; 58th overall), Justin Almeida (5th round; 129th overall) and Liam Gorman (6th round; 177th overall).
Penguins Invite 38 Players to their 2018 Prospect Development Camp
By
Media Release @penguins / Pittsburgh Penguins
Camp will begin with a pair of practices on Wednesday, June 27. Team A hits the ice from 2:15-3:00 PM; Team B follows from 3:15-4:00 PM. Goaltenders from the respective teams will take the ice 20 minutes prior to their team's time slot for individual work.
Of the 38 players invited (22 forwards; 12 defensemen; 4 goaltenders), 13 have been drafted by the Penguins. Two undrafted free agents signed prior to the 2017-18 campaign - forward Sam Miletic and goalie Alex D'Orio - are also on the roster. Tobias Lindberg, who was acquired by the Penguins as part of the three-team trade that netted Derick Brassard, will be in attendance. Lindberg was re-signed to a one-year contract last week.
The on-ice portions of this year's development camp will be headed by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli and his assistants, J.D. Forrest and Tim Army. They will be joined by Penguins' scout Kevin Stevens, newly-hired Wheeling Nailers head coach Mark Dennehy, Penguins' goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo and Penguins' skills development coach Ty Hennes. Attending as a guest coach will be Marco Sturm, a former 14-year NHL veteran who coached Team Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics.
Off-ice activities during camp will be run by the Penguins' player development staff - director of player development Scott Young and player development coaches Jarrod Skalde and Tom Kostopoulos. Last week, the Penguins added Kostopoulos and Chiodo to their development staff.
On Friday night, beginning at 7:00 PM, all players will once again be broken into four teams to compete in a 3-on-3 tournament. This year, campers will have added incentive to win, as the victors will receive the Michel Briere Cup. Earlier that morning, the teams will hold traditional game-day morning skates. Team B skates at 10:30 AM, followed by Team A at 11:30 AM.
Thursday's practice sessions will be held at 9:45 AM (Team A) and 10:45 AM (Team B). Goalies will take the ice 20 minutes before their respective groups.
All practices are open to the public free of charge.
As in past years, development camp will feature a variety of off-ice activities focused on helping players transition to becoming a professional athlete.
In addition to the 2018 draft picks, here is a list of other past draftees attending this year's camp: Defensemen Clayton Phillips (3rd round; 93rd overall), Antti Palojarvi (6th round; 186th overall) and Will Reilly (7th round; 217th overall), plus forwards Jan Drozg (5th round; 152nd overall) and Linus Olund (5th round; 155th overall) from 2017; and forward Kasper Bjorkvist (2nd round; 61st overall) and defensemen Ryan Jones (4th round; 121st overall), Niclas Almari (5th round; 151st overall) and Joe Masonius (6th round; 181st overall) from the 2016 class.
Below is the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2018 Development Camp Practice Schedule at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex:
Wednesday, June 27
2:15-3:00 PM - Team A Practice
3:15-4:00 PM - Team B Practice
Thursday, June 28
9:45 AM - Skills Session (Team A)
10:45 AM - Skills Session (Team B)
Friday, June 29
10:30 AM - Team B Morning Skate
11:30 AM - Team A Morning Skate
7:00 PM - 3-on-3 Tournament
