Prospect eyes full recovery from burns
After suffering “very severe” and “painful burns” in a fire over the weekend, Penguins prospect Jordy Bellerive tweeted a statement Tuesday, saying he’s “on my way to making a full recovery.”
Bellerive, a center was injured in a campfire incident Friday night near Calgary, Alberta when, according to the Royal Mounted Canadian Police, “a substance was placed into a fire pit that caused an explosion.”
Bellerive, 19, is in stable condition, while one of his teammates with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Ryan Vandervlis, is in critical condition and has been placed in a medically induced coma because of severe burns.
The Vandervlis family said in a statement that “alcohol was not a factor in this accident,” while the family of another player, Tyler Wong, helped transport those injured to a local hospital.
Alcohol was consumed at the party, though the family specified that it was not a bachelor party; it was instead a bonfire before a day of golf, the Vandervlis family said in its statement.
The Penguins have been in contact with Bellerive, who is “in good spirits” and expected to make a full recovery.
Prospect camp set
The Penguins’ annual prospect development camp will be June 27-29 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, the team announced Tuesday.
The camp will begin with two practice sessions, from 2:15-3 p.m. and 3:15-4 p.m., June27.
Theplayers will be back on the ice June 28 for skills sessions at 9:45 and 10:45 a.m., as well as a goalie session at 10:45 a.m.
June 29, the group will be broken up into four teams to compete in a 3-on-3 tournament. The teams will hold morning skates that morning at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., and the tournament will start at 7 p.m.
The Penguins will release the roster of players participating in the camp early next week.
The camp last year included Daniel Sprong and Zach Aston-Reese, both of whom saw NHL action this past season.
All sessions are free and open to the public.
Contract for Lindberg
The Penguins made a small move Tuesday, but it’s the first in what could be a series of them over the next few weeks, re-signing forward Tobias Lindberg to a oneyear, two-way contract that’s worth $650,000 at the NHL level.
Lindberg, 22, was part of the Feb. 23 Derrick Brassard trade, although he finished the season with the Chicago Wolves, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.
In 64 games, the native of Stockholm, Sweden, produced 10 goals and 23 points witha plus-8 rating.
Lindberg (6-3, 215) was Ottawa’s fourth-round draft pick (102nd) in 2013. He has played six games at the NHL level, with Toronto in 2015-16.
It’s likely Lindberg will start 2018-19 with WilkesBarre/Scranton. If he has a solid camp and a strong start, he could theoretically challenge for playing time with the NHL club.
Penguins management traveled to Dallas Tuesday for the NHL Draft, which runs Friday and Saturday at American-Airlines Center.
Their first pick isn’t until thesecond round, at No. 53.
General manager Jim Rutherford is currently negotiating with the team’s restricted free agents, and NHL free agency begins July 1 — meaning business is about to pick up for the local hockey club.