Sam Lafferty, the Penguins' fourth-round pick in 2014, made his professional debut this week.
Lafferty, a native of Hollidaysburg, Pa., signed a two-year entry-level contract with Pittsburgh last week when his senior season at Brown University ended. His contract doesn't take effect until next season, but he is finishing the remainder of this season on a tryout agreement with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
He reported to Wilkes-Barre last Tuesday, and was a scratch their first game of the week on Friday. Saturday, though, he made his debut, centering the third line between Tom Sestito and Joseph Cramarossa.
He didn't score in his debut, but he showed flashes of skill in his stickhandling and speed and positioning on the ice, and had a number of good chances, although only one went on net.
I spoke with Lafferty earlier this week, before his debut, and he couldn't have been happier to get his career underway.
"I couldn't be more excited to join the organization," he told me. "It's going to be a great opportunity, and I'm looking forward to playing with guys who have been doing this for a long time, and learning from them. It should be a lot of fun."
Lafferty grew up two hours outside of Pittsburgh, and has been a Penguins fan since he was a child, which makes the experience all the more special for him.
"I grew up a huge fan," he said. "I started watching the Penguins when I was four or five years old. It's been really cool to now get to be part of the organization. Growing up, my favorite player was definitely Sidney Crosby."
Lafferty is still a ways away from having the chance to be teammates with his childhood idol, but he sees a path paved ahead of him. Following the Penguins in recent years, he's watched other college prospects like Zach Aston-Reese, Conor Sheary, and Jake Guentzel move through the ranks and make it to the NHL.
"Those guys have sort of laid the blueprint for moving through Wilkes-Barre and going up to Pittsburgh," he said. "I think it just shows that you gotta soak it in while you're here and keep working on your game, and then take advantage whenever your number is called and you get the opportunity."
Lafferty said that he was glad he chose the college hockey route because it afforded him more time to develop his game, in addition to earning an education. While he was playing at Brown, the Penguins were always just a phone call away, and he said that they were there whenever he needed help, and were supportive of him his entire time in college.
There are a lot of familiar faces on Wilkes-Barre's roster from Pittsburgh development camps who have made the transition easier for Lafferty. The organization has made Lafferty feel very comfortable in his first week.
"The guys have been great so far, the older guys have been really helpful," he said. "So has the coaching staff. It's made my transition a lot easier, and it's been a lot of fun so far."
The biggest thing Lafferty said that he wants to work on for the rest of the season is learning what it takes to be a pro from Wilkes-Barre's veterans and other leaders on the team.
The remainder of the season will be a good chance for Lafferty to take it all in and learn what he needs to work on, and show up ready to take advantage of his first full season next year.
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Mar. 9: at Binghamton, 3-2 overtime win
• Mar. 10: vs. Grand Rapids, 2-1 win
• Daniel Sprong has one goal in his last 14 games. In that span, he's recorded only one or two shots on six occasions. He still leads the team in goals, assists, in points, but has the worst +/- on the team by a difference of six, at minus-9. Those clamoring for Sprong to make a return to Pittsburgh want to do so despite his defensive lapses, which still exist. Now, he's slumping offensively as well. He's not ready to be back in Pittsburgh.
• Michael Leighton returned to game action on Friday for the first time since Dec. 22. He made 27 saves on 29 shots in the win. He was a healthy scratch on Saturday, just to give him some rest.
• Jean-Sebastien Dea had a three-point weekend, with a shorthanded goal and an assist on Friday, and another assist on Saturday.
• Wilkes-Barre reassigned defenseman Kevin Spinozzi to Wheeling. Spinozzi had been in Wilkes-Barre all season, but only played in 16 games, recording two assists, and was an overall plus-3.
• Lines and defense pairings from Saturday:
Adam Johnson - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Christian Thomas
Garrett Wilson - Gage Quinney - Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Sestito - Sam Lafferty - Joseph Cramarossa
Thomas Di Pauli - Teddy Blueger - Daniel Sprong
Chris Summers - Ethan Prow
Kevin Schulze - Kevin Czuczman
Jeff Taylor - Jarred Tinordi
• After this week, the Penguins remain in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The AHL standings are determined by point percentage. The Phantoms have a percentage of .690, while the Penguins have a percentage of .655. As of Saturday, their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 23.
• Wilkes-Barre now has the worst power play in the league, at 13.4 percent. They've only scored 31 power play goals all season, over 231 opportunities. They are also one of the most penalized teams in the league, in sixth place with 897 minutes.
• The Penguins (35-17-4-2) will have a busy week against divisional opponents, with two sets of back-to-back games. They'll see the Charlotte Checkers (35-24-0-3) on the road Tuesday and Wednesday, and host the Hartford Wolf Pack (26-29-5-3) and Hershey Bears (25-29-4-5) over the weekend.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Jean Sebastien-Dea sniped one shorthanded on Friday:
Teddy Blueger (who else?) was the hero in overtime, though. Blueger leads the AHL with four overtime goals this season:
SAVE OF THE WEEK
Anthony Peters made this glove stop on Saturday:
BEYOND THE AHL
The Penguins don't have many goaltenders in their pipeline anymore.
Matt Murray, Tristan Jarry, and Casey DeSmith you already know. At 36 years-old, Michael Leighton isn't a prospect. Sean Maguire (fourth round, 2012) and Filip Gustavsson (second round, 2016) were traded this season.
The lone prospect is the undrafted Alex D'Orio, signed in 2017 after impressing the Penguins during the summer's development camp and rookie tournament.
In 2016-17, D'Orio's Saint John Sea Dogs led the QMJHL as the regular season champions. D'Orio, a rookie, was the team's backup goaltender, and posted a 19-2-1 record and a 2.40 goals against average and .903 save percentage in 28 appearances.
This season, D'Orio and the Sea Dogs haven't seen nearly the same level of success. The Sea Dogs are next-to-last in the QMJHL, with a 14-40-9-2 record. In D'Orio's 44 appearances this season as starter, he's posted a 9-26-2 record, a 4.01 goals against average, and a .895 save percentage. The Sea Dogs as a whole are having a bad season, and a goals against average isn't exactly a fair judge of a goaltender's talent when the QMJHL is such a high-scoring league.
In one game at the beginning of March, D'Orio made an incredible 60 saves on 66 shots in a single game, with 30 saves in the second period alone. Despite the effort, he still took the loss, as the Sea Dogs were only able to score four goals. Here's a look at some of those saves:
This is a fun video of D'Orio in a breakaway challenge at a Sea Dogs practice, where the challenge is to mimic the shooter's opening stance and get on his feet in time to make a save:
D'Orio has been praised for his athleticism and quickness, and at 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds, his size is an asset as well. He needs to improve his rebound control and his glove hand.
At 18 years old, D'Orio is years away from even playing in the AHL, and has time to develop and improve in those areas before turning pro.
TOP PICK TRACKER
• Defenseman Zachary Lauzon (second round, 2017) had one assist in three games for Rouyn-Noranda this week, and was an overall plus-3.
• Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist (second round, 2016) and Providence College advanced to the Hockey East Semifinals with two wins over Maine. Bjorkqvist picked up an assist in their first game. They'll take on Northeastern on Mar. 16.
• Defenseman Connor Hall (third round, 2016) recorded one assist in three games for Kitchener this week, his first point since Jan. 19. He left Sunday's game early on yet again with another injury, the details of which are not yet known. He'll be having shoulder surgery this summer for an injury sustained earlier in the season. This is going to be his second shoulder operation.
WHEELING WATCH
This week I'll check in with another Ivy league graduate, Danny Fick, one of the few remaining players from the Nailers' run to the 2016 Kelly Cup Finals.
PROSPECT FUN THING
And the Academy Award goes to...
