The interminable, historic wait is almost over for Penguins defenseman Ron Hainsey.
No NHL player has played more regular-season games than Hainsey’s 906 without experiencing postseason hockey.
That run will end this week, and Hainsey’s thrilled to finally get to experience the Stanley Cup playoffs firsthand, instead of watching them on television.
“I’m ready,” Hainsey said. “It was great to lock up home ice on Thursday. We have a week to get prepared and get ourselves fully focused on Columbus. I’m very excited to get going and be part of what we hopefully can turn into a great run here.”
If the Penguins do make a run, Hainsey and his unique personality could wind up becoming a big factor. On a team with a bunch of talented but young and quiet defenseman, Hainsey is the opposite.
He’s 36, full of confidence and doesn’t have much use for silence or beating around the bush. Once you get to know him, Hainsey’s also funny, sarcastic and completely unafraid of shaking things up.
“He calls it like he sees it,” said Penguins associate general manager Bill Guerin, who coached an 8-year-old Hainsey at the Gary Dineen Hockey School. “I don’t think there’s much he wouldn’t say to anybody.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he manages Hainsey much like he does Patric Hornqvist, and that’s with this simple directive: Be who you are, and we’ll love you for it.
“I think diversity is good for a group,” Sullivan said. “I think it adds personality to our team. I think if we were all the same we’d be boring.
“I love Patric Hornqvist on the bench because he wears his emotions right on his sleeve; it’s my job to make sure I keep him in check. I don’t ever want him to lose his energy, his fire or his passion. I think that brings personality to our team.
“I think Ronnie’s one of those guys. I think he brings another dimension to the personality of our group that I think helps us be the team that we are.”
Hard-hat worker
Hainsey’s grades were awful.
So much so that, at 16, he was forced to work for his parents’ construction company, doing manual labor in searing heat after spending his mornings in summer school.
“It was meant to be punishment at first,” Hainsey said. “Kind of take away every summer day when I wasn’t doing well in school.”
Hainsey’s swagger manifests itself in a personality that would play well on a job site — ample sarcasm, the ability to bust chops, a say-anything-to-anyone attitude.
“There was certainly a lot of that then,” Hainsey said of the good-natured ribbing. “There’s certainly a lot of that in my close group of friends where I’m from. My grandfather was very much like that.
“There were definitely a few lessons there.”
Do not take any of this to mean that Hainsey is a jerk to his teammates or has become an attitude problem within the Penguins dressing room. Both are 180 degrees wrong.
His personality is simply more overt than a quiet type such as Justin Schultz. He’s also much more likely to criticize a teammate’s poor performance than, say, Olli Maatta.
“He’s a veteran player who has played a lot of games in the league,” Sullivan said of Hainsey. “He’s been through a lot. I think he can share those experiences with our group.”
Hainsey’s humor and confidence show up in sly ways.
The construction company his parents owned was actually an offshoot of his grandfather’s. Here’s Hainsey explaining how, at 16, he was able to bypass normal labor laws and operate the equipment: “The only 15-, 16- or 17-year-olds who can work in construction are the owner’s children, otherwise you have to be 18 to handle the machinery. If you’re the owner’s child, you can work. … At least that’s what my parents told me. Maybe that was a lie, and that’s what got me to do it.”
Golf is also one of Hainsey’s passions, but his game has taken a hit the past couple of years since his twins were born. Between work and family, there hasn’t been a lot of time to get out.
“I used to be good,” Hainsey said. “Or at least I used to think I was good.
“If I can practice a lot, I can be good.”
Easy transition
Acquired for a second-round pick in 2017 and minor league forward Danny Kristo Feb. 23, Hainsey had several links to the Penguins.
He grew up in Bolton, Conn., near Nick Bonino. He played previously for general manager Jim Rutherford in Carolina. In the most recent lockout, Hainsey and Trevor Daley played for Hamilton in the American Hockey League.
But none of those connections are as tight as the one with Guerin, and that seems appropriate given their similar personalities.
Neither sugarcoats much. They’re somehow able to give you a hard time but also come off as likable. Jokes are plentiful.
Guerin said he kept tabs on Hainsey as he worked his way through the USHL, NCAA and AHL. When Hainsey got to the NHL, the two shared dinner and beers on several occasions.
“I liked his fit for our dressing room because he’s got a good personality,” Guerin said. “He’s a funny guy. He’s got a little grit to his personality. He’s not quiet. That’s always good for a locker room, in my mind.”
Brian Dumoulin certainly has noticed. Hainsey has been paired with Dumoulin most of anyone. He has been impressed by how easily Hainsey has been able to garner respect inside the Penguins dressing room.
“Sometimes you see a new guy, and they can be a little bit shy or something,” Dumoulin said. “Ronny’s the type of guy who has been in a lot of locker rooms, he’s got a strong personality. He keeps the room light. That’s nice to have. He’s come in here, and he’s already comfortable. I think that’s definitely beneficial to us.”
In 14 games for the Penguins this season, Hainsey has three assists, and he’s a plus-9, a stark turnaround from five consecutive seasons as a minus player (total: minus-60).
Furthermore, Hainsey is skating 20:48 per game, second among average ice time for a Penguins defenseman behind what Kris Letang logged before he was injured. Hainsey’s 3:06 of short-handed ice time per game leads the group.
“I think he’s a good fit for us,” Guerin said. “His playing style, he doesn’t overthink the game. If there’s a guy ahead of him and he’s open, he just gives it to him. Plain and simple, and it’s off his stick. There’s no complicating things.”
Rutherford has loved Hainsey’s confidence, too.
“Certainly nothing fazes him,” Rutherford said. “That’s important as we get to this time of the season.”
And now, Hainsey can experience what exactly this part of the season feels like.
“It’s certainly something to be excited about with this group,” Hainsey said. “I’ve been in the league for over 16 years. My second year in the American Hockey League, I made the Calder Cup finals and played until June.
“Even that was in my second year, you kind of think that’s going to happen all the time. Not having a great opportunity like this for so long, it’s something to be pretty excited about.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 9, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
