Time to shine
Prospects making most of chance to earn role on team when season begins in a week
As the Penguins took the ice at PPG Paints Arena for Tuesday’s exhibition game, it marked exactly one week until the season opener.
While that’s good news for sports fans in Western Pennsylvania (especially those who are tired of reading about an aging quarterback) it means something else for young Penguins prospects on the roster’s fringe: Time is running out.
In Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres, Drew O’Connor netted two goals and Radim Zohorna scored one, as the youngsters made their push to stay with the NHL club.
“We’re trying to create an environment where everybody has to earn their way,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “In the reality of pro hockey, some guys are going to play their way off the roster. Some guys are going to play their way on the roster.”
Oh, just in case you care about the result of an exhibition game, in the final minute of regulation, Kasperi Kapanen made a diving effort to bang home a rebound and send the game into overtime. Then in the ninth round of the shootout, Jason Zucker scored to give the Penguins the victory.
While the veterans showed some late-game fight to capture a victory, let’s get back to the prospects. Of those in action Tuesday, O’Connor by far did the most to help his own cause, scoring twice and nearly capitalizing on a few more looks.
The Penguins had high hopes for O’Connor when they signed him out of Dartmouth ahead of the 2020-21 season. The 23-yearold was one of the most highly sought-after college free agents. He made the NHL roster out of
camp last year and tallied one assist in 10 games.
However, O’Connor eventually showed he needed more time to develop and finished the year in WilkesBarre/Scranton, where he was nearly a point-per-game player.
O’Connor worked on his body this offseason, cutting out all dairy and gluten. He’s noticeably leaner and faster.
Sullivan also noted last Friday in Buffalo that the young forward looks more confident in his second pro season and is playing with “conviction.”
The club has asked the natural winger to skate at center during camp. If he can add some positional flexibility to his skillset, that could pay dividends now while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are sidelined and also into the future.
“I’m getting a little more comfortable there,” O’Connor said. “The ice is a little more open at center, so I think that’s an area that helps me a bit. But I’m still continuing to adjust.”
O’Connor brings an intriguing mix of 6-foot-3 size, good skating and a goalscorer’s touch. So what does he need to do to stick this season?
Well, while O’Connor caught the attention of NHL scouts by scoring the fifthmost goals in college hockey, Sullivan said that early in the young forward’s career, he might need to “reinvent” himself by rounding out his game as a bottom-six forward and penalty killer.
“I wouldn’t just categorize him as a ‘checker,’ ” Sullivan said. “But in order to establish himself in this league, he’s got to develop a conscientious game. That will give him the ability to grow his offensive game from there.
“I think he’s a guy who can be hard to play against. I think he can be an energy guy for us. He can really skate. He can get in on the forecheck. He can lean on people. He can hang onto pucks.”
As for Zohorna, the Penguins presented him with a prime opportunity to have success, skating at center between Jason Zucker and Kapanen. Midway through the third period, Zohorna raced ahead on an odd-man rush. Kapanen fed. Zohorna finished.
It’s tough to tell in camp whether the Penguins have put Zohorna in the middle of those talented wingers because he’s a realistic option to skate on the second line in the season opener or if they merely want to see what he can do next to top-end talent. The other leading candidate to land the second-line center role is Evan Rodrigues, who set Kapanen up for a goal during Sunday’s exhibition game.
At 6-6 and 220-pounds, Zohorna brings eye-popping size and unexpected touch for a man of his stature.
Sullivan noted earlier in camp that the big Czechborn forward flashed “real glimpses of brilliance” last season, when he tallied four points in his first eight NHL games.
“We were curious on whether or not he could play at the NHL pace,” Sullivan said. “I think he answered that question last year with the way he played and the minutes that he played.”
Now time will tell if he gets the opportunity to play minutes in the NHL this season — and which position those minutes might come.
The Penguins have just four more days of training camp remaining, including exhibition games on Thursday in Detroit and Saturday in Columbus.
Then, things get real.