Much is the same after the first two days of training camp, but there may be a few more storylines starting to brew.
For today’s camp, Teams 2 and 3 took part in a scrimmage, while Team 1 practiced afterwards.
Some observations and notes on today’s camp:
– As mentioned yesterday, Sullivan likes his pairings in camp. That said, the Malkin-Rakell pairing was humming in these first two days. It seems like one of them is scoring or hitting a post in a good portion of their drills and shifts on the ice, and they’ve been in sync.
There is quite a lot of chemistry on display here in the earlygoing, so, hopefully, this is something that will carry over into the season. The Penguins are going to need both of them to find the back of the net regularly if the team is going to have a successful season.
– Kevin Hayes was excellent in today’s scrimmage. He made a couple of nice defensive plays, he set up Blake Lizotte for a goal, and he even outskated his way to a breakaway goal.
He added the empty-net goal at the end to secure the 4-2 victory for Team 3. Overall, a very good showing from him today.
– Valtteri Puustinen is another player that looks locked in right now. Like Sam Poulin, who was mentioned in yesterday’s piece, I think he’s well aware of what’s at stake for him this season.
His shot has been popping, and he’s here with an extra gear. Even if Puustinen making the NHL roster seems likely, he’s going to have to fight for playing time. At this early stage, he’s got a step on some other guys.
Related: Penguins Training Camp: Notes from Day 1
– Speaking of “some other guys” and “steps,” I was very high on McGroarty after the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, and even after yesterday’s showing. That’s still the case.
But I do think he looked a small step behind today. He has been grouped with the “NHL” part of Team 1, so he’s getting regular reps with guys like Drew O’Connor, Anthony Beauvillier, and Poulin. And there were a few instances of minsfired passes, cross-ups, and misreads today.
All of that stuff could easily be chalked up to nerves. However, I do think he needs to work on his edgework a bit. His skating needs to improve and get up to NHL speed, and that becomes more apparent when he plays alongside the NHL guys.
We’ll see how he progresses the rest of camp.
– There were a ton of scouts at camp today. There is a USHL event going on, so many of them were collegiate and USHL scouts. However, I did spot Utah Hockey Club Montreal Canadiens scouts.
Just like the line combinations, there isn’t too much to read into right now. It’s common to see scouts at training camp because it is their best opportunity to get a look at top prospects sharing the same ice with NHL players.
But given the Penguins’ logjam at multiple positions, it’s still something to take note of.
Related: New Penguins’ Forward Aims to Make Impression
– Head coach Mike Sullivan praised the work of Vasily Ponomarev in his presser today. He was impressed with his motor and his strong play at both ends of the ice, which is something I know we’ve previously discussed about him.
He also took the time to talk about Ville Koivunen and how he was one of the standouts at the Prospects Challenge last weekend.
It’s safe to say that there is some legitimate young talent in this organization, and the coaches are definitely taking notice of these guys.
– Unfortunately for Jesse Puljujarvi, I just don’t see a way he breaks camp this season.
His deployment has almost strictly been alongside the AHL players on the camp roster. There was an instance where he messed up a drill during Team 1 practice today, and Sullivan called him out. He’s generally looked a bit underwhelming so far.
There are going to be some tough decisions for management and the coaching staff going forward, but, as Sullivan pointed out in his presser, there are going to be some guys who fight for a spot and some guys who play their way out of one.
We’ll see how the rest of training camp goes, but at this juncture, Puljujarvi seems to be part of the latter group.
– Beauvillier stuck alongside Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust today. Again, it’s still early, but there appears to be some intrigue with that line combination.
Related: NHL Prospects Challenge: Penguins’ Prospect Stands Out in Game 2 Win
