The 2019-20 season didn’t quite go as planned for Mike Vellucci in his first year behind the bench for Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League.
Those Penguins lost several key players to injuries, call-ups or waiver claims. They had trouble scoring. And they had won just 29 of 63 games and were 12th in their conference Monday when the AHL officially canceled the rest of its season.
Obviously, winning games is important at the AHL level, and that’s back-to-back years without an appearance in the Calder Cup playoffs. But the primary objective down in Wilkes-Barre is to groom prospects for the contending club in Pittsburgh. Vellucci certainly got the job done in that regard.
“Did I think we were going to do better? Yes. … But I really liked the development of the young guys,” Vellucci, also the AHL club’s general manager, said Monday. “A lot of them came a long way and played in a lot of key situations.”
Now that the AHL season has been called off, leaving Vellucci to oversee their development from afar, we asked the coach for his thoughts on the play of and progress made by nine prospects and one prominent veteran in 2019-20:
NICLAS ALMARI
Almari, whom the Penguins drafted in the fifth round in 2016, completed his first season of North American pro hockey in 2019-20. The Finnish defenseman had seven points and a minus-8 rating in 51 games. He turned 22 this week.
“Tough year a little bit transitioning from European hockey,” Vellucci said. “But he has all the tools. He just needs to get used to the culture off the ice and on the ice and develop the mental part of the game, being a pro. There were a lot more games and practices than he was used to. But he’s a very good prospect.”
JORDY BELLERIVE
Bellerive, a productive scorer at the junior level, also finished his first season as a pro. Instead of going back to the Western Hockey League, the undrafted forward got a meaningful role in the AHL, scoring a dozen goals in 53 games.
“How do I describe Belly?” Vellucci said. “He came to me and said, ‘How do I not get sent back to junior or to the ECHL?’ I told him to be the ultimate pro, work hard at every practice and every game like it’s his last shift. And he took it to heart. He got better and he played key minutes for us down the stretch.”
KASPER BJORKQVIST
A muscle-bound winger whom the Penguins picked 61st overall in the 2016 draft, Bjorkqvist watched his first pro season get wiped out by injury. After rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder last offseason, he played in just six AHL games before a knee injury shut him down. He had one point and a minus-3 rating.
“He was playing injured with that knee and was coming off a shoulder injury. But he’s a warrior. I love the kid,” Vellucci said. “We were very disappointed when he got hurt because he was showing great progress in a short time. But he’s worked hard this season. I expect very good things from him next year.”
CASEY DESMITH
DeSmith took it hard last fall when the Penguins picked Tristan Jarry to be the top backup to Matt Murray. After a slow start, the 28-year-old goaltender was nearly unbeatable in November. At one point, he allowed seven total goals while winning six starts in a row. DeSmith cooled off and finished with a .905 save percentage.
“Up and down, and not really his fault. Getting sent down was not easy on him, but we understood it,” Vellucci said. “Once he got over that hurdle mentally, he was outstanding for a long stretch. We had a good goalie but he had a tough year mentally when he was sent down, but he handled it extremely well.”
JAN DROZG
Drozg, a fifth-round draft pick in 2017, split his season between Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling. The winger had two power-play goals among his eight points in the AHL but was a minus-11 in 32 games. He had 23 points in 24 ECHL games
“All the tools in the world. Probably our most skilled forward,” Vellucci said of the young Slovenian. “He just needs to learn how to play the game the right way and he did it as the year went on. … This year was a great learning experience for him, and we expect him to be a really good player for us next year.”
ADAM JOHNSON
The speedy winger appeared in seven early games for Pittsburgh, notching two points before being sent down. That was the last we saw him at the NHL level, as WBS teammates such as Anthony Angello and Thomas Di Pauli were picked for later call-ups. Johnson put up 34 points in 48 AHL games.
“He had a slow start and a great finish. He has a lot of tools,” Vellucci said. “Had some injury issues this year that slowed him down, but he’s a very good prospect and a good person and he was playing his best hockey at the end.”
PIERRE-OLIVIER JOSEPH
The skinny defenseman had the highest profile by far of the kids playing down in Wilkes-Barre. Joseph, a former first-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, was acquired in the Phil Kessel trade last summer. He missed a chunk of the season with mononucleosis. Once he was cleared, Vellucci kept him busy.
“Mono set him back but, to me, he was outstanding,” Vellucci said. “He got better every game. We didn’t protect his minutes at all. He played 26-27 minutes, power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5. He played it all. He got stronger as the games went on. Very intelligent player. He’s going to be a top-four defenseman in the NHL.”
EMIL LARMI
Pittsburgh signed Larmi last spring after the Finnish goalie backstopped his team to a Liiga title. In his first year in North America, Larmi was up and down, in part due to a health scare midseason. He won just two of his nine AHL starts and had a .883 save percentage. He also played 11 games in the ECHL.
“Started off extremely well then got injured,” Vellucci said. “He came back from that after a long layoff and struggled a little bit. So he went down to the ECHL, played really well, came back up and had some good games and some struggles. Very good prospect. It’s tough for goalies the first year after coming out of junior or coming overseas. I expect him to rebound and have a great year.”
JON LIZOTTE
Lizotte has defied expectations at every rung during his climb up the hockey ladder. He wasn’t a lock to remain up in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But the blue liner ended up playing 59 games, and his plus-16 rating was tops on the team.
“The ultimate warrior,” Vellucci said. “Doesn’t do anything outstanding but does everything well. He’s a good player, character guy. He played a lot of minutes.”
SAM MILETIC
Miletic, in his second season in WBS after signing with the Penguins as a college free agent, scored nine goals, and his 23 assists ranked second on the team behind Johnson. The forward was the team’s lone All-Star representative.
“Sam was hot and cold, but he’s a heck of a prospect. He wants to get better, watches video, practices hard. He’s learning to be a pro,” Vellucci said of Miletic, who just turned 23. “He’s going to play in the National Hockey League.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: May 12, 2020, 2:10 p.m.
