Oleksy hopes to carve a niche as defenseman
Steve Oleksy fits a slightly different mold than most of the Penguins defensemen. Reid Gardiner and James McEwan found that out the hard way.
Oleksy (6 feet, 190 pounds) laid a couple of big hits on the two young prospects in an otherwise ho-hum scrimmage Saturday at Penguins training camp. While the Penguins, and NHL in general, are trending toward more skillful, puck-moving defensemen, Oleksy is confident there’s still a place for his physical style.
“Obviously there’s an incredible amount of talent on the back end here,” Oleksy said. “The grit is something I have to do to kind of stand out. Although it’s a scrimmage, that’s what I’m trying to do out there.”
Oleksy, 30, spent most of last season with WilkesBarre/Scranton in the AHL, where he played 63 games. He was called up by the Penguins toward the end of their Stanley Cup run in the spring, after the injury to Trevor Daley in the Eastern Conference final, but did not play a game in the playoffs. With virtually the entire roster returning, Oleksy is almost certain to start this season in WilkesBarre. But if the Penguins find themselves in need of a more physical defenseman at some point next season, Oleksy could fill a role few other players in their organization can. He also has spent this training camp, even in 5-on-5 situations, trying to show his value on the penalty-kill.
“Coaches and evaluators can see that whether it’s 5on-5 or 5-on-4,” Oleksy said. “That’s another thing I’ve tried to focus on the last couple of days and tried to carry that with me throughout the rest of preseason.”
And if, for now, that means laying into some of his teammates, well, Oleksy’s OK with that.
“The way I look at it, I’m here, I’m trying to make a hockey team,” Oleksy said. “My kind of attitude is I’ll make friends after camp. I try to carry that with me when I’m out there playing.
“Obviously I think the guys have a good sense of respect for what I do. They understand the position I’m in, I’m trying to do that whether it’s a scrimmage or regular game or whatnot to show everybody that I can do that at this level.”
Filling in for Lovejoy
While much has been made about how few players the Penguins lost this offseason, it’s worth noting that one of the players that isn’t returning — defenseman Ben Lovejoy — played a pretty specific and important role for them.
Lovejoy averaged 2:29 of short-handed time per game last season, tops among any Penguins defenseman. Coach Mike Sullivan didn’t tip his hand in terms of who, exactly, will replace that sort of production, saying it will be “by committee.”
He did, however, point to Derrick Pouliot as one of the options, as well as defenseman David Warsofsky, who likely will start the year in the AHL, but could prove an important piece of depth as the season wears on.
“I think his strengths lend to the style of play that we’re trying to play here,” Sullivan said of Warsofsky.
“You look at the experience we went through last year, we used a fair amount of players to get to where we got. I think that one of the strengths of our organization right now is our depth at all of the positions. I think it’s an essential part of trying to win championships. David’s one of those guys that we think can help us win.”
Trio misses practice again
Forwards Bryan Rust, Oskar Sundqvist and Matt Cullen did not participate in practice for the second consecutive day. Sullivan did not expect any of the injuries to be long term, and said Rust and Sundqvist skated on their own before the team session.
“We’ll see how they respond to that,” Sullivan said. “But the fact that they’re on the ice and skating is a positive sign as far as progress. The next step obviously would be, if they respond the right way, to get them back with the group.”
Bonino captures big day
Center Nick Bonino released a highlight video of his day with the Stanley Cup, produced by his brother-in-law on his Twitter page. He said the two highlights were getting to relive seeing his daughter sitting in the Cup, and sharing it with his 90- and 93-year-old grandparents.
“They’re my biggest fans,” Bonino said. “Called them from the ice after we won, all that stuff. It’s pretty cool that they’re along on the journey with me.”