The Penguins announced their 2020-21 training camp roster on Monday, a list that includes 23 forwards, 13 defenseman and four goalies.
Yes, Sidney Crosby got an invite. Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will also be there when camp opens at PPG Paints Arena on Jan. 3.
However, the more intriguing names from the announcement are those on the roster’s fringe.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has said on numerous occasions he’s looking for young, hungry players to help reinvigorate his club after back-to-back, first-round flameouts. The top 2019 draft picks — Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare — have both earned opportunities at camp. The Penguins plan to give both a good look before deciding where they might play this season.
Other young forwards include college free agents like forward Drew O’Connor, a 22-year-old Dartmouth product and Hobey Baker Award finalist. The New Jersey native may have been overlooked in the NHL draft because he was reportedly only 5-foot-8 out of high school. However, O’Connor is now listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, blossoming into an interesting prospect with skill and size.
In terms of young defensemen, prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph is knocking on the door for a shot at the NHL. The young lefty is seemingly blocked by free agent addition Cody Ceci and, possibly, Juuso Riikola. College free agents Cam Lee (another lefty) and Josh Maniscalco (a righty) are two more young defensemen who will be trying to impress at camp.
The NHL’s new taxi squad makes these training camp battles a bit more intriguing. Each club will carry between four and six players in the event of illness or injury. Teams may take different approaches here. Some might want to keep a prospect around practices to take a more hands-on approach to his development. Other clubs may give the preference to veterans who have some NHL experience.
The more-experienced players on the fringe include right handed Zach Trotman, a 30-year-old with 91 NHL games under his belt. Kevin Czuczman, 29, is another similarly experienced defenseman. Both would be good candidates for the taxi squad.
In terms of the forwards, Radim Zohorna, 24, played the last six seasons in the Czech Republic’s top professional league. He’s a massive player at 6-foot-6 and 233 pounds. Frederick Gaudreau, 27, signed this offseason with the Penguins. He brings 280 games of AHL experience and 84 games of NHL ice time. Penguins fans may remember the name after he scored Nashville’s game-winning goals in Game 3 and Game 4 against the Penguins in the Stanley Cup final.
Another forward to watch is Jordan Nolan, who signed an AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Dec. 5. His contract can be changed to an NHL deal at any point. The 6-3, 219-pound forward brings great size to a Penguins team that’s mostly built for speed.
When it comes to the four goalies at camp, Tristan Jarry is obviously the new No. 1 and Casey DeSmith is slated to be the backup. Each team also will need to carry a third taxi-squad goalie, which will likely be Maxime Lagace, who signed a one-year, two-way contract this offseason worth $700,000 at the NHL level. He has 17 NHL games under his belt, with 16 of those coming during the Vegas expansion season in 2017-18.
Camp will also be a chance to get a first look at a number of newcomers. That includes the major offseason acquisition (Kasperi Kapanen), two blue liners who could make up a new-look third pair (Mike Matheson and Ceci) and free agent forwards who are expected to step right into the bottom-six (Evan Rodrigues and Mark Jankowski).
The Penguins drop the puck on the 2020-21 season on Jan. 13 in Philadelphia. They play the second half of that two-game series on Jan. 15 before returning to Pittsburgh for the home opener against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 17.
The Penguins will eventually trim their active roster to a maximum of 23 players and then form their taxi squad.
Here is the full training camp roster:
Forwards:
Anthony Angello
Zach Aston-Reese
Teddy Blueger
Sidney Crosby
Josh Currie
Frederick Gaudreau
Jake Guentzel
Mark Jankowski
Kasperi Kapanen
Sam Lafferty
Nathan Legare
Evgeni Malkin
Jared McCann
Sam Miletic
Jordan Nolan
Drew O’Connor
Sam Poulin
Evan Rodrigues
Bryan Rust
Colton Sceviour
Brandon Tanev
Radim Zohorna
Jason Zucker
Defensemen:
Cody Ceci
Kevin Czuczman
Brian Dumoulin
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Cam Lee
Kris Letang
Josh Maniscalco
John Marino
Mike Matheson
Marcus Pettersson
Juuso Riikola
Chad Ruhwedel
Zach Trotman
Goalies:
Casey DeSmith
Alex D’Orio
Tristan Jarry
Maxime Lagace
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
First Published: December 28, 2020, 7:34 p.m.
