In many settings, Mark Friedman would at best be described as a “piece of work” and at worst be called something that can’t be printed in a newspaper.
In the hockey world, guys like him get labeled something else: “a beauty.”
Evan Rodrigues started laughing out loud when asked to describe Friedman.
“What you see on the ice is kind of what you’re getting off the ice,” said Rodrigues, still chuckling as he exited the interview room and walked down the hall.
Friedman, who has stepped into a regular role with Mike Matheson sidelined by an injury, has played just 19 games for the Penguins over the last 13 months. But there have been memorable moments of agitation in seemingly every one.
In his first game against the Philadelphia Flyers last year, it looked like half of his former teammates wanted to fight him. He got ejected from an exhibition this fall. Even during an American Hockey League conditioning stint last week, he shouldered someone after the whistle and was immediately surrounded by Hershey Bears.
So, wait. You are saying the 26-year-old is that crotchety off the ice, too?
“That’s just me,” Friedman said. “And I want to be as straight as an arrow.”
Mostly, his Penguins teammates and team staffers are amused. Just a beauty being a beauty. But over the years, sure, he has rubbed folks the wrong way.
His father, Jeff, explained that genetics are probably to blame for that one.
“He comes from a long line of ornery Friedmans,” he said Tuesday. “My late father was a devil with a huge heart. And those characteristics got passed on.”
His father added: “Mark was never a bad kid, but he was always in trouble.”
Friedman’s first target was his little sister, Erin. He fiercely defended her in public. But at home, Mark said he took great pleasure in getting under her skin.
“Does eating her breakfast, lunch and dinner count?” Jeff jokingly confirmed.
Mark chased off multiple nannies with “a hockey mouth” he’s had from a young age. He had a standing appointment with the principal. And while he’s proud to be one of a few Jewish players in the NHL, he didn’t last long in Hebrew school.
“Well, he followed in my footsteps,” Jeff deadpanned. “Because I got kicked out. And within about three months, he got kicked out. No crazy shenanigans. Nothing got broken. He was just set in his ways. He did not take authority well.”
One of the few exceptions was whenever Friedman was at the hockey rink.
Friedman, who hails from Toronto, weighed over 11 pounds at birth and was always one of the biggest, strongest and most competitive kids on the playground. Jeff remembers him flying through the monkey bars with one arm and cranking dingers in the family driveway. He excelled at soccer. But he loved hockey.
Friedman first got on skates at age 3 or 4. But he wasn’t exactly dominant.
His first year of organized hockey, he played a level below some of his friends. “It pissed him off a lot,” his dad said. Mark asked if he could take power skating lessons and attend shooting and skills development camps. He soon caught up.
He went on to play college hockey at Bowling Green. And Ron Hextall, then the boss in Philadelphia, picked Friedman in the third round of the 2014 NHL draft. Hextall’s first addition as Pittsburgh’s GM was claiming Friedman off of waivers.
Over time, Friedman watched his peers shoot past him physically. He is Pittsburgh’s smallest defenseman at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, but that might not be obvious given the fearlessness with which he plays. There’s correlation there.
“I don’t think I grew too much after 11th or 12th grade, to be honest. It definitely put a fire in my belly that I’m not the biggest or strongest guy,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and play with a chip on my shoulder. I take so much pride with how I battle and my compete level in the corners and in front of the net.”
He has been wired that way all along. His family used to visit Las Vegas often and stay at the Mandalay Bay. Within a half hour of checking in, a 6-year-old Friedman was already in a swimsuit and tugging his parents toward the wave pool.
“It took him right under. He came right back up holding his tooth. There was blood everywhere,” his father recalled. “But he did not get out of the water. He basically handed me three-quarters of his tooth and said, ‘It will grow back.’”
That feistiness can be a positive on the ice if Mark is able to harness it. The Penguins could use more players with an edge and he has a knack for drawing retaliation penalties and using his physicality to get into the heads of his opponents.
But admittedly he is still trying to find the right level of aggression overall, whether he is chasing after a heavy hit or screaming in to follow up on a rebound.
“When you look at my game, you see me up in the rush quite a bit. I feel like I can pick my spots better so I’m not creating odd-man rushes against. Just better reads all over the ice. Have a better stick in front of the net,” Friedman said. “It comes down to so many little things. And it all comes back to reliability.”
He feels that and injuries have been roadblocks to becoming a regular here.
With Matheson out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Friedman this past weekend got his latest opportunity to show that he belongs. And he did.
Alongside partner Chad Ruhwedel, he had an incredible expected goals percentage of 98.3 in Saturday’s win over the New York Rangers. His advanced stats were not as stellar the next night in Columbus, but he made a game-changing play in the third period, plucking a puck off his goal line to keep the Penguins in it.
“The spot he’s been in this year is really tough and I think he’s done an unbelievable job stepping in and looking like he hasn’t missed a beat,” Rodrigues said.
Friedman has wanted more but has accepted his reserve role like a champ.
That doesn’t mean he did it with a smile. After all, he’s an ornery Friedman.
On one December night in Seattle, a hurricane blew through the press box.
When he walked in, Friedman yelled to get the attention of a team staffer, startling several reporters. He grumbled about how Climate Pledge Arena, an eco-friendly building, didn’t have a paper cup for his popcorn. At one point, he offered a concise, profane assessment of the Kraken. And that was just the first hour.
Believe it or not, his father believes he has actually mellowed out this year.
“The irony is that not playing has actually had a serendipitous impact on his personality,” he said. “As opposed to being whiny or pricklier, he’s actually done the opposite. He’s embraced it and he’s actually really been a good pro because he had to be. This has been the biggest development year of his life so far.”
Friedman simply shrugged Tuesday when asked about how he is perceived.
“What you see is what you get, on and off the ice. I don’t know. I’m kind of just a goofy guy. On the ice, I like to joke around. Off the ice, I’m pretty much the same. I’ve grown up a little bit,” he said, smirking. “I’m not going to say a lot.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: March 2, 2022, 2:15 p.m.