When Teddy Blueger was recalled by the parent Penguins on Feb. 9 and flew to Dallas, all signs pointed toward the Latvian center making his NHL debut.
Mike Sullivan told our site that day he liked what he had seen from Blueger:
Blueger was called up for 11 days, including the road trip to Dallas and St. Louis, then another to Columbus. But with Carter Rowney and Patric Hornqvist returning from injury, Blueger was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton without getting a game.
Blueger told me this week that it was disappointing to not get a game in during his recall, but he was grateful for his time there and still had some takeaways from the stint.
"It was still a good experience to be around practice and all of those guys and watch them up close," he said. "Especially guys like Sid, and Malkin and stuff. Hopefully I'll get another chance and an opportunity to get a game in in the future."
With the hectic schedule due to the road trips, Blueger wasn't able to get too many practices in with the big club, or much feedback from the coaches on what they'd like to see him continue to work on. The message he did receive, though, was a positive one.
"When I first got up there, they pretty much told me to play the same way as I have been down here," he said. "I just kind of try to stick with it and play the same way, play hard the same way I had been before I got called up so hopefully I get another chance."
In his sixteen games since returning to Wilkes-Barre, Blueger has recorded five goals and seven assists, bringing his season totals to 17 goals and 21 assists in 61 games. Something else he's done since returning to Wilkes-Barre is score his league-leading fourth overtime goal of the season:
"Probably a lot of it is luck, just having the bounces," Blueger said. "There's a lot of scoring chances in three-on-three situations. When I've been out there, I've been out there with some pretty good players that can make some plays, and I've just had a couple of bounces go my way."
While that goal above might have been the result of a lucky bounce and being in the right place at the right time, others, like this goal in January, were definitely more so the result of Blueger's skill and hard work:
Regardless of how Blueger wants to credit those goals, his ability to show up and contribute in big moments like those will be useful in the upcoming playoff run. This will be Blueger's third playoff run with the team, after joining Wilkes-Barre at the conclusion of his senior season at Minnesota State in 2016. Wilkes-Barre swept Providence in the first round, then was eliminated by Hershey in overtime of game seven in the second round that year. Last season, Wilkes-Barre saw a disappointing first-round exit in five games in a best-of-five series against Providence.
Now one of the more experienced young players on Wilkes-Barre's roster, Blueger thinks the previous two years will benefit him this year -- especially since another first-round matchup against Providence seems likely.
"The first time I was pretty nervous going into it, not sure how it would be," he said. "But now you kind of know your way around a little bit, and you know a lot of the other players in the league and the teams, so that helps. You know what to expect from them a bit. Hopefully we can make a run here, get those missing pieces in order to do that."
While Blueger is still young himself, that experience has allowed him to give advice to other young players on Wilkes-Barre's roster. Players like Sam Lafferty, who are in a similar situation to what Blueger was coming out of college, are able to benefit from the veteran's advice.
"When (Lafferty) came in, he was asking me about my experience, and advice, and what I took away from it," he said.
For these last 11 games of the season, Blueger would like to see the team work on playing a complete 60-minute game. Too often lately, the Penguins have gotten off to a slow start and allowed the first goal. If the team wants to make a deep run in the playoffs, they can't be putting themselves in a position where they need to orchestrate a comeback every game.
"I think we're on the right track for the most part. We've putting together some pretty good games, haven't always been getting the results," he said. "But I think to just keep working on our game, getting better and better playing with each other, and I think we'll be in a good spot come playoff time."
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Mar. 20: at Toronto, 4-3 overtime loss
• Mar. 23: at Utica, 5-4 overtime loss
• Mar. 24: at Binghamton, 5-4 shootout win
• Mar. 25: vs. Bridgeport, 6-3 loss
• Daniel Sprong's offensive slump appears to be over. He scored a goal last week against Hartford, then was a healthy scratch the following game. He had two goals and two assists in this week's games, and was an overall plus-5, bringing his season +/- to minus-2. After three unsuccessful shootout attempts this season, he scored his first shootout goal in the win against Binghamton.
• Defenseman Jarred Tinordi scored a goal on Saturday, his first goal since Feb. 11. He also recorded an assist in the game.
• Defenseman Andrey Pedan returned to the lineup this week after being injured since Feb. 11. He recorded two goals and an assist in three games.
• Continuing the offensive production of Wilkes-Barre's defensive defensemen this week, Chris Summers scored his first goal of the season in his 55th game.
• Sunday's game would have been massive for securing a playoff spot, as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers are the Atlantic Division team just on the outside of a playoff spot. A win would have cut Wilkes-Barre's magic number to five, but the Penguins were outplayed throughout the entire game.
• Defenseman Kevin Schulze was released from his tryout contract and returned to Wheeling.
• Goaltending prospect Alex D'Orio signed a tryout contract with Wilkes-Barre this week, following the conclusion of his season with the Saint John Sea Dogs. He was named the Sea Dogs’ most valuable player at the team’s annual awards before coming to Wilkes-Barre. With Michael Leighton, Anthony Peters, and Tristan Jarry all capable goaltenders on the roster, D'Orio likely won't see any actual game action and will just be a Black Ace. For a full primer on D'Orio, you can check out the "Beyond the AHL" section of this story.
• Lines and defense pairings from Sunday:
Garrett Wilson - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson - Josh Jooris - Ryan Haggerty
Tom Sestito - Jarrett Burton - Christian Thomas
Joseph Cramarossa - Teddy Blueger - Tom Kostopoulos
Chris Summers - Kevin Czuczman
Andrey Pedan - Lukas Bengtsson
Jarred Tinordi - Zach Trotman
• Thomas Di Pauli is week-to-week with an upper-body injury sustained in Friday's game.
• After this week, the Penguins have fallen to third place in the Atlantic Division with a point percentage* of .636. Lehigh Valley leads the division with a percentage of .684, and has already clinched a playoff spot. Providence is now in second place with a percentage of .644. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now nine.
*The AHL standings are determined by point percentage. This is because the Pacific Division plays only 68 games (due to travel) and the rest of the league plays 76 games.
• The Penguins (38-20-6-1) will have three games this week to close out March. They'll host the Providence Bruins (40-21-3-2) on Wednesday and Saturday, games which will be crucial for securing a better playoff position. They'll play the Hartford Wolf Pack (30-30-5-3) on the road on Friday.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Sprong scored this goal on Tuesday, and promptly shoved a Marlie out of the way in celebration:
Sprong scored this goal on Friday, his third goal in as many games:
He scored his first shootout goal of the season in Saturday's win:
Garrett Wilson had a great move for the winning shootout goal:
BEYOND THE AHL
Sam Miletic just concluded his junior hockey career, and will turn pro next season.
The 20 year-old center was an undrafted free agent who earned a three-year contract with the Penguins after development camp, rookie tournament, and training camp this past summer.
Miletic earned the invite to development camp after leading the OHL's London Knights in goals, 37, along with 18 assists in 65 games. He recorded a goal and an assist in the Penguins' rookie tournament game against the Bruins' prospects, and scored a preseason goal against Columbus:
Let there be GIFs!
Here's a look at Sam Miletic's 1st period goal. pic.twitter.com/TweAsaEOT8
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 22, 2017
Miletic's 2017-18 season saw even more offensive production, recording 16 goals and 38 assists in 35 games with the Knights, and then 20 goals and 18 assists in 28 games after being traded to the Niagara IceDogs. His total 92 points in 63 games ranked him sixth in scoring in the OHL. While he was an overage player at 20 years old, those are still impressive numbers.
“A player like Sam with how he is doing offensively, his ability to play 200 feet and with his character was what (the IceDogs) were looking for in an (overage) spot,” London Knights general manager Rob Simpson said of Miletic after the trade.
With Miletic turning 21 this May, he will be unable to return to the OHL next season and will begin his professional career in Wilkes-Barre. Not many players who remain in the OHL long enough to be overage players end up seeing much success in the NHL (a quick glance at past Overage Player of the Year recipients will show a list of underwhelming names), so it remains to be seen how Miletic's success will translate to professional hockey.
TOP PICK TRACKER
• Defenseman Zachary Lauzon (second round, 2017) and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies began play in the QMJHL playoffs on Friday. Through two games, the Huskies have a 1-1 record and Lauzon is an overall minus-2.
• Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist (second round, 2016) and Providence College's season ended on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament East Regional Final. He scored this goal on Friday from just in front of the net, somewhere he's spent a lot of time this season:
Kasper Bjorkqvist converts a point blank goal and Providence strikes first on the power play.#NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/IBsM2X8u3w
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 23, 2018
Bjorkqvist scored in the first period of Saturday's game as well:
The Friars get the important early goal!
Kasper Björkqvist scores at 2:02 in the first period to take an early 1-0 lead over Notre Dame. #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/2ZwhgERD6Z
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 24, 2018
He had this to say after the goal:
An update from the lone goal scorer, @FriarsHockey Kasper Bjorkqvist, after the first period in Bridgeport.#NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/rSsZ8hzoxG
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 24, 2018
"I just get to the net, and that's my stuff. I try to get to the net," is a good way to sum up Bjorkqvist's play.
• Defenseman Connor Hall (third round, 2016) will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the Kitchener Rangers' playoff run. Hall was originally scheduled to have the surgery over the offseason, but aggravated the injury and was forced to have it now. He tweeted this after the decision:
Tough decision to make to undergo surgery at this point in the season but hoping for a good recovery and excited to watch the @OHLRangers make a run #ploffs #RaiseTheShield https://t.co/fL2cm2H50r
— CONNOR HALL (@Connorhall_) March 23, 2018
WHEELING WATCH
I'll check in with Cam Brown, returning to Wheeling after a 13-game stint with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds.
PROSPECT FUN THING
Too cool. In the show "The Office", based in Scranton, Michael gave Dwight a Wilkes-Barre jersey in one episode. Inspired by that, the team gifted Creed Bratton (who played a character named Creed Bratton in the show) a jersey as well:
Cool Beans! We couldn't let Michael Scott get one up on @creedbratton - we hope you like the jersey Creed! Stop in and see us the next time you're passing through NEPA! @theofficenbc #DunderMifflin #TheOffice #Scranton pic.twitter.com/W867FKM2h5
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 22, 2018
Oh, and here's Tom Sestito being Tom Sestito:
