In previewing the 2019-20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton season, I didn't accurately anticipate who one of the standout players would be in the beginning of the season.
But to be fair, the Penguins didn't sign him to an AHL contract until the day before the start of the season.
After the first six games of the season, 26-year-old right winger Stefan Noesen, the 2011 first-round pick of the Senators, leads Wilkes-Barre in scoring (and ranks fourth in the AHL) with six goals and two assists.
Noesen, 6-feet-1 and 205 pounds, brings with him 154 games of NHL experience with the Ducks and Devils, during which he amassed 24 goals and 21 assists.
Noesen ended up in Wilkes-Barre after the end of camp by way of good timing and a good relationship with head coach Mike Vellucci.
Noesen was a free agent this summer after his contract was not renewed by the Devils. He signed a professional tryout agreement with the Stars over the summer and attended training camp in Dallas, until he was cut from camp and released from his tryout contract on Sept. 22.
Later that day, he got a text from Vellucci, the former head coach and general manager of his OHL team, the Plymouth Whalers.
"We kept in contact over the past few years," Noesen told me this week of Vellucci. "We wound up texting each other, he kept hitting me up randomly. The day I got released, he didn't even know I got released, and just wanted to know what I was doing. I mentioned that I got released, and now we're out there looking for a job somewhere, we don't know where it's going to be."
Vellucci knew he wanted to sign Noesen, and Noesen wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to be reunited with Vellucci.
"He's probably one of the best coaches that I've ever played for," Noesen said. "I'd probably say definitely in the top two that got me to where I am."
Two weeks later, Noesen was in a Penguins uniform in time for opening night.
"(Vellucci) did his part on his end and sold me to management, and then I was there," Noesen said.
Noesen had a rough 2018-19 season with the Devils as he was limited by a nagging knee injury that had him in and out of the lineup for a good portion of the season. He appeared in just 41 games, and in those games, he recorded just three goals and five assists, quite the step down from his 2017-18 season. That year, he was a regular in New Jersey's lineup and recorded 13 goals and 14 assists in 72 games.
"I didn't have a very good season last year," he said. "But the year before that I really established myself as an NHL player. (The injury) definitely hurt."
When Vellucci and Noesen were discussing Noesen playing for Wilkes-Barre, Vellucci made the case to Noesen that he could help him return to form, the way he played in that 2017-18 season.
"Finding Mike and being with Mike is probably going to be the best scenario for me," Noesen said. "He believes in my game, he believes in what makes me successful. That was one of the big things he preached, 'I'm going to get you back to where you were.' It was hard not to turn that away."
Noesen made his impact early this season with two goals in Hershey in the first game of the season. And then he added another in the next game against Lehigh Valley ... and then another goal in the next game against Utica:
In two games this week, he scored two goals and two assists, including the game-winner on Wednesday. He also scored the first shootout goal in a shootout win on Saturday.
Even if Noesen isn't picking up points, he's making plays to set up his teammates, like this feed to Chase Berger for a prime chance:
Although most expected Noesen to play well given his experience, he said he didn't quite expect to be doing this well, leading the team in scoring with over a point-per-game. He thinks the mindset that comes from his NHL experience has played a part in his success.
"I think it's confidence," he said. "After playing a couple of years in the NHL you get that kind of experience that some of these guys playing in a developmental league don't get, right? ... Whether it be the offensive game or something else, Mike putting me in positions to play 20-plus minutes a night, I don't want to say it's pretty easy to get points with that many minutes, but it doesn't hurt."
At 26, Noesen is still a relatively young guy himself, but on a team with nine rookies, and given his NHL experience, he's one of the veterans on this roster. It's an unfamiliar position to him, but it's one he's been enjoying.
"I think the guys see me as (a mentor), and I think I kind of like being that as well," he said. "I like making guys understand different aspects. Everybody sees the game different ways. You have a guy like myself, and (Andrew) Agozzino, who played multiple games in the NHL, who can give insight to a young guy on maybe a play where we're like, 'Oh, maybe you can do this instead of doing that.' Then they're like, 'Oh, I didn't think about it like that.' That' just comes from the experience of playing in the NHL for so long."
Looking back at Noesen's NHL stats, the team he consistently performed the best against with the Devils was the Penguins, against whom he recorded three goals and three assists in six games, including a game-winning goal on Feb. 27, 2018.
"They were one of my favorite teams to play against, honestly. I don't know if it was the way they play and the way I play, I was kind of the pest against them every time at home," he said with a laugh. "I always played against the (Evgeni) Malkin line, and he was always getting frustrated against our line. We go in there, we always had some good success overall. For whatever reason it just happened to be like that."
Noesen's goal this season is to turn that AHL deal back into an NHL one. The Penguins have room toward their 50-contract limit to afford to give Noesen an NHL deal, and it may be wise to lock him up if he keeps performing the way he has been.
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THE ROSTER MOVES
• Wilkes-Barre recalled forward Ryan Scarfo from Wheeling. He has yet to play since his recall. He played one game with the Nailers before the recall, where he recorded no points and a minus-1 rating. Scarfo played 25 games for Wilkes-Barre last season, scoring one goal and six assists.
THE INJURIES
• Forward Thomas Di Pauli is dealing with a minor injury. He last played on Oct. 13.
• Forward Ben Sexton has been injured since camp.
• Forward Jamie Devane is out with a lower-body injury. As of Oct. 11, he was expected to be out four to six weeks. He has not yet played this season.
THE NEWS
• The NHL Network will air 20 AHL games this season. Wilkes-Barre will make one appearance on national television, a Nov. 6 game in Lehigh Valley. The January All-Star Classic events will also be televised.
THE GAMES
• Oct. 16: vs. Binghamton, 5-3 win
Former Penguin Chris Conner opened the scoring for the Devils on the power play 2:05 into the first period on Wednesday. Jake Lucchini tied the game 32 seconds later with his second goal of the season. Pierre-Olivier Joseph picked up the primary assist for his first professional point. Another former Penguin, Ben Street, regained the lead for the Devils in the final two minutes of the first period.
Binghamton's Joey Anderson scored midway through the second period to extend Binghamton's lead to 3-1, and Justin Almeida scored his first professional goal with 16 seconds remaining in the middle frame to bring Wilkes-Barre back within one.
Joseph Cramarossa dropped the gloves in the second period, and Jordy Bellerive also got into a fight at the same time. Bellerive was hit with a game misconduct for the secondary altercation.
Kasper Bjorkqvist's first professional goal tied the game 8:58 into the third period. Nosen picked up his fifth goal of the season 17:46 into the final period, and sealed the win with an empty netter with 1:09 remaining.
Noesen's six shots let the team, followed by David Warsofsky's five shots.
Emil Larmi picked up his first AHL win with 30 saves on 33 shots.
The Penguins went 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
• Oct. 19: at Bridgeport, 3-2 shootout win
It was a busy first period. The Sound Tigers' Ryan Bourque opened the scoring 4:03 into the game, and Andrew Agozzino tied the game with his first of the season at 8:20. Sam Miletic picked up his first of the season at 9:17 on the power play to give the Penguins the lead, and Nick Schilkey tied it for the Sound Tigers on the power play at 19:14.
There were no goals in the second, third, or overtime period.
Noesen scored in the first shootout attempt, as did Bridgeport's Matt Lorito. Cramarossa scored for the Penguins, and Kieffer Bellows failed to score on his attempt. Ryan Haggerty scored to secure the win.
Noesen again lead the team in shots with four.
Casey DeSmith made 23 saves on 25 shots in the win.
The Penguins went 1-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Noesen, six in six games
• Assists: Warsofsky, five in six games
• Points: Noesen, eight in six games
THE COMBINATIONS
Jake Lucchini -- Andrew Agozzino -- Stefan Noesen
Justin Almeida -- Oula Palve -- Ryan Haggerty
Joseph Cramarossa -- Jordy Bellerive -- Anthony Angello
Sam Miletic -- Chase Berger -- Kasper Bjorkqvist
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- David Warsofsky
Niclas Almari -- Kevin Czuczman
Matt Abt -- Jon Lizotte
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins' record is 3-2-1. They sit fourth in the eight-team Atlantic Division, four points out of first place.
• The power play sits at 20.8 percent, 11th in the 31-team league. The penalty kill is operating at 76.9 percent overall, 24th in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins will have three games this week. They'll play on the road against the Binghamton Devils (1-3-2) on Wednesday. They'll then host the San Antonio Rampage (3-1-1-1) for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Almeida's first pro goal was slick:
First pro goal for @justinalmeida27 pic.twitter.com/tGp3t0tt34
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 17, 2019
You knew Bjorkqvist's first goal was going to be like this:
The first AHL goal from Kasper Bjorkqvist ties this one up at 3-3 pic.twitter.com/KEpI097whF
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 17, 2019
Here's an incredible move from Lucchini:
Let's take a closer look at the #WBSPens opening goal from @jakelucchini ???! pic.twitter.com/dZEouZt2mH
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 17, 2019
Haggerty showed patience in his shootout winner:
Haggerty GOAL!!! pic.twitter.com/YP1jqDWeya
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) October 20, 2019
THE PODCAST
• Jon Lizotte was the first Penguins Podcast of the season:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
I have a feeling that Larmi will be dominating this section all season:
?Tips for goalies who want to score:
-Aim towards the net.
-Try to get some air.
-Try to get the puck over the blueline.
-Don’t give the puck to the opponent.
-Don’t take advice from me.
— Emil Larmi (@emillarmi) October 17, 2019
