New depth at center already paying off
A half-hour after the Penguins wrapped up the first day of training camp at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, coach Mike Sullivan was hesitant to publicly assess the performance of individual players until they “have a body of work.”
But the group as a whole? He was more than willing to gush about that Friday.
At one point, Sullivan provided a thoughtful 256-word answer when asked about a defenseman who might currently be eighth on the depth chart. He later went on for 90 seconds about one prospect with long odds to make the team out of camp because the Penguins are so stacked at center.
Sullivan wasn’t asked about the depth at goalie, or his news conference might still be going on.
“It takes more than four lines and six defensemen and two goalies to win a championship in this league. I think what’s encouraging from our standpoint is how deep we are,” he said.
Sullivan, of course, would know. He owns two Stanley Cup rings in large part because his Penguins in 2015-16 and 201617 could roll out four lines capable of relentlessly attacking opponents and had the luxury of having one of the NHL’s most talented goalies opening the door to his bench.
Last season, though, with Marc-Andre Fleury defending nets in the desert and their depth depleted after key playoff role players signed elsewhere, the Penguins finally ran out of gas in the second round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the eventual Cup champion Washington Capitals.
Sullivan admitted to some “soulsearching” after the Penguins came up short in May. But he says that every year the coaching staff takes a look around the league to “see if there are any concepts or tactics that we might be able to adopt to make our team more competitive,” like they did this summer.
It appears two of the teams they are trying to copy are the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Penguins, who could deploy Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen at center on their bottom two lines.
General manager Jim Rutherford set out to give Sullivan more options with this year’s roster. He signed defenseman Jack Johnson, brought back Cullen and added another center in Derek Grant.
“I feel we’re as deep at the center-ice position as we’ve ever been,” Sullivan said.
And that depth already is coming in handy, as Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan sat out practice Friday.
Brassard is sick, Sullivan said, adding that the Penguins are “hoping we’ll get him back in the next few days or so.” Sheahan, meanwhile, has been dealing with a “nagging” lower-body injury for two weeks, and Sullivan said the team is “trying to get him over the hump” by taking a “cautious approach.”
Their absence created an opportunity for center Teddy Blueger, 24, a 2012 second-round draft pick out of Latvia who scored 45 points in 70 games for the Penguins’ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton minor league club in the American Hockey League last season.
“He’s a good, solid, two-way center,” Sullivan said. “He’s a good penalty-killer. He has good defensive awareness. Those are the aspects of his game that are going to give him an opportunity to make this roster or become part of this group if he doesn’t make the roster right out of training camp.”
Sullivan feels Blueger can play wing, too, which is a good thing unless the Penguins decide to really buck convention this season by suiting up six lines of forwards while dressing no defensemen.
“It’s a lot easier to move from center ice to wing than it is to move a wing to center,” Sullivan said. “Center is a unique position, but centers seem to adapt well even when they’re playing the wing.”
Sullivan name-dropped Cullen as an example of someone who can make and has made that transition. Grant is another candidate to slide over to a wing, as are Brassard and Sheahan when they return.
Rutherford bolstered the depth on the blue line, too. We all know about Johnson, who was drafted two picks behind Sidney Crosby in 2005. Sullivan also seems excited about another addition.
Juuso Riikola, 24, a defenseman from Finland, doesn’t even have a photo on the team’s official website yet.
But Riikola, a left-handed shot who spent the previous six years in Finland’s top pro league and had eight goals and 16 assists last season, caught his coach’s eye Friday.
“It’s hard to make assessment after one practice but certainly, first impression, I thought he looked really good,” Sullivan said. “I think he came as advertised . ... He was a sought-after free agent.”
The Penguins pushed to sign Riikola because he is a “mobile guy” and a “good puck-mover” whom they felt could be a good fit given their up-tempo style of play. He must adjust quickly to the smaller rinks in the NHL compared to international play. So far, so good after his first skate with the team.
“His physical play in the battle areas was strong, and I think that’s encouraging,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said training camp is for “creating a competitive environment,” while also getting his players in peak condition so they can use their collective speed to wear down opponents during the season.
And Friday, after a longer summer than he wanted, Sullivan was ready to blast his whistle.
“I think training camp is a great opportunity for us to establish our identity right away, to instill the right habits that will be necessary for us to play to our strengths as a group,” Sullivan said.