PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens open training camp on Sunday with most of their stars returning and management is fairly sure of at least the players who will play on the top two lines.
That leaves only six opportunities for a number of players new and returning for the 56-game 2021 season.
“I think it’s going to be a really competitive situation in that bottom six,” said head coach Mike Sullivan on Tuesday. “There are young players like Sam Lafferty, that made significant progress last year. We added a guy, Colton Sceviour, in the trade market. We signed Evan Rodrigues back.”
“It’s going to make for a competitive environment. I think that’s what keeps us all at our best.”
Jared McCann (66g, 14g, 21a), Brandon Tanev (68g, 11g, 14a) and Teddy Blueger (69g, 9g, 13a) would appear to be locks, where exactly they play could be in question.
Zach Aston-Reese had off-season surgery and isn’t expected to be ready until mid-February, he would expect to be the fourth, but that spot is open until he returns.
Lafferty played in 50 games last year with 6 goals and 7 assists, as the fourth round pick from Holidaysburg has a strong opportunity to be in that mix. While bottom six is not always about points, Lafferty would need to improve on the long scoring draughts. He went from early December until mid-February with one goal and no assists in 19 games.
Rodrigues is interesting with his speed, nearly 200 games of NHL experience and still only 27 years old. He didn’t get much of an opportunity to crack the lineup after being acquired with Conor Sheary from Buffalo last year, playing in seven games with a goal. Rodrigues was part of the compensation for Kasperi Kapanen, but then signed back for a cap friendly $700,000 after he was released by Toronto.
Sceviour also came over in a trade, part of the return from Florida for Patric Hornqvist. The 31-year-old has played nine years in the NHL with 59 goals and 82 assists. He blocks shots, normally averages a couple of hits a game and plays on the penalty kill. Sceviour can also be an irritator generally on defense and specifically on the forecheck.
Pens also have a first round pick battling in that group. Center Mark Jankowski, 26, was selected 21st overall in 2012 by Calgary. He provides a physical frame at 6’4”, 212 pounds as he signed this off-season for 700-grand.
Then there are those hoping to break through from the minors-Anthony Angello, Nathan Legare, Sam Miletic and likely someday a top six winger in Sam Poulin. Plus the team added former Nashville Predators winger Frederick Gaudreau, who is trying to work his way back after 28 points in 42 games in the AHL last year.
“We’re real excited,” Sulllivan said. “It’s going to be a short camp. It’s going to happen fast. We are going to have to prioritize what we do with the group. We’ve put a plan together for that.”
“We are really excited to get back on the ice with the group of players we’ve assembled. We look forward to the opportunity to compete.”
Camp begins at PPG Paints Arena on January 3, the season begins in Philadelphia 10 days later.