Penguins Training Camp is Underway: "There's a Real Feeling of Excitement Around This Room"

After weeks and months of talking about what this Penguins team looks like on paper as the roster came together over the summer, we finally got to see the group take the ice on Thursday, with Training Camp presented by UPMC getting underway.

“Obviously, it's been a long time away from the rink,” Kris Letang said. “To be able to get back in the room and see the guys and see the new faces, it's pretty exciting. Obviously on the ice, the first day is always a little bit scrappy, it's not pretty. But it’s a way to get the butterflies out of your stomach and get going, so it was fun.”

The lineup built by President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas and his team consists of 58 players, split into three teams – which should make this one of the most competitive camps from a sheer numbers standpoint that Head Coach Mike Sullivan has overseen in Pittsburgh.

“There's probably been more turnover on our team this year than any of the years that I've been here – from a player personnel standpoint and even from a hockey operations standpoint, for that matter,” Sullivan said. “So, it's an exciting challenge, it's a great opportunity for us.”

Sullivan said the goal is to create some competitive balance and ensure there are NHL-caliber players on all three teams, which is important for the daily scrimmages. The coaching staff also wanted to mix in some younger players with more veteran guys, not only for evaluation purposes, but as a learning experience.

“For example, it's not by accident we have Brayden Yager playing on (Sidney Crosby)’s team,” Sullivan said of Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-round pick. “I think it's a great experience for a guy like Brayden to be able to watch Sid and how he carries himself and the things he does to prepare himself and his routine. Tanger’s on that team as well. I think those guys just provide such great examples of what it takes to be successful in this league, how to be a good pro.”

Finally, there are some combinations that the Penguins are intrigued about, that they may actually use during the season – like deploying a bottom-six trio of Noel Acciari, Jeff Carter and Matt Nieto. But of course, as always, Sullivan said not to read too much into the lines.

“We're trying to give guys an opportunity to do what they do best, set them up for success, and also give our veteran guys what they need to prepare themselves for Game 1,” he said.

We went around the locker room and checked in with a few of the guys about their mindsets going into the 2023.24 season after seeing the franchise’s 16-year playoff streak come to an end in the spring. Here’s what they had to say…

Kris Letang: “I think we all kind of left frustrated and maybe (with) disbelief, also. But we all have something to prove to ourselves, to our teammates, that we were way better than that, and we can accomplish better. The beauty of things is the Cup was won and it's over, you know? Every team is starting from scratch, and we have to build something good. Try to get up to speed and get everybody on board as quick as possible.”

Bryan Rust: “I think the moves in the offseason, not only personnel-wise but organizationally, I think everyone’s excited about that. I think we’re a better team. Everyone’s excited and got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder from what happened last year, especially the returning guys. I think we’re kind of excited and ready to roll.”

Rickard Rakell: “I think everyone in here is really excited just to go to work, come back, see everybody. We’ve got a lot of new faces in here, and I think that's a lot of excitement for us.”

Marcus Pettersson: “Everybody’s really excited about a new start. Everybody feels like it’s been a long summer. We’ve thought about it a lot, what happened last year. Certainly, no one’s happy about it. Hopefully, being a real competitive camp will help us have a good start to the season. I think there’s a real feeling of excitement around this room now, and the whole organization, with so much change. We can start on a new fresh slate and have a competitive camp.”

P.O Joseph: “We have some anger in the room, we want more than last year. With the way things ended up last year, we want more from the get-go. So, I think everyone is just excited to get along together, first of all, and kind of know each other a little bit more. After that, just battling with each other. I think that's the main thing, and that's the fun thing about hockey. So, we all want to get there as soon as possible.”

Lars Eller: “Just when I look around, I think we have a really good mix of players that have gotten the job done before, and new players that are hungry to prove themselves. I think the whole team - not having been here in the room but knowing what happened to them last year - I think there's a strong feeling of redemption. I think that's a good thing, that we have that hunger to prove ourselves, and are hungry to win. We have all the qualities to be competitive with any team, so I'm really excited.”

Tristan Jarry: “I feel much better compared to last year. Obviously last year wasn’t ideally how I wanted it to play out and I think coming into this year we’re excited. We have a different team, a lot of new faces and I think our team is only going to be better.”

Reilly Smith: “I think (the hunger here) is very similar to what we had in Vegas. We missed playoffs and then the next year we won the Stanley Cup. And I think there’s a big positive of being able to rest throughout the summer. Obviously, this group is hungry, you can tell it from the first day I stepped in this locker room. Having a fresh team is as important as anything right now.”