LONDON, Ontario — Penguins forwards scored two goals in three games during a prospects tournament in 2011.
They might have overachieved.
After all, nearly half of their centers and wingers in that competition were on tryout contracts.
And it showed.
That won’t be the case in the tournament that begins with a game at 4 p.m. today against Montreal at Budweiser Gardens. Only two of the Penguins’ 16 forwards are on tryouts, and their lineup is sprinkled with young players who can reasonably be expected to turn up in the NHL this season.
A couple, Bryan Rust and Scott Wilson, already have.
Rust appeared in 14 NHL games last season, while Wilson got into one during the regular season (he was injured in his debut) and three in the playoffs.
Conor Sheary seems ready to contend for work in the NHL, too, and Oskar Sundqvist certainly shouldn’t be ruled out.
“We’re actually excited about the forward group we have,” associate general manager Jason Botterill said.
Although Daniel Sprong, the Penguins’ second-round draft choice in June, isn’t likely to crack the NHL lineup this fall, management is eager to see how he fares against this level of competition. Tyler Biggs, a first-round draft choice in 2011 who was acquired from Toronto in the Phil Kessel trade, will have a chance to impress his new bosses, as well.
Although only unsigned draft choices, tryout candidates and players on entry-level contracts are supposed to be eligible to participate in the tournament, the clubs — Toronto and Ottawa are the others sending squads to London — tend to be flexible about allowing exceptions.
Although Russian winger Sergei Plotnikov, signed as a free agent in July, meets the eligibility criteria, he isn’t on the Penguins’ roster. That’s because, while he’s on an entry-level deal, Plotnikov is 25 years old and played in the Kontinental Hockey League for the past four seasons.
Botterill believes Plotkinov will get more out of informal workouts in Cranberry with his future teammates than he would from competing against younger, less-experienced players in London.
The Penguins’ goaltending should be solid — the tandem of Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry figures to be together with their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre this winter — but their defense will be far more suspect than in previous years.
In the past, their prospects-tournament defense has featured the likes of Olli Maatta, Simon Despres, Scott Harrington and Brian Dumoulin, among others. The unit has a quality headliner, Derrick Pouliot, this time, too, but the drop-off after him is quick and severe.
Five of the other seven are on tryouts. Only Harrison Ruopp and Clark Seymour are under contract, and neither is likely to show up in the NHL anytime soon.
It’s pretty compelling evidence of how the Penguins’ pool of defensive prospects, once one of the organization’s greatest strengths, has dried up. Or, more to the point, grown up.
“Our real strength in years past has been on defense,” Botterill said. “This year, we’ve brought in quite a few guys on tryouts to see how they perform. It will be interesting to see how some of our tryout guys handle the tempo.”
Dave Molinari: dmolinari@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: September 11, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
