Justin Almeida had a greatly successful final season of junior hockey.
Almeida, the Penguins' fifth-round pick in 2018, produced at nearly a two-points-per-game pace, amassing 33 goals and 78 assists in 64 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL
Those numbers are all the more impressive when you realize that Almeida was really only playing with one healthy shoulder for the entire season.
Almeida, 20, suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder while playing in the Canada-Russia series in November, and had to wear a brace for the remainder of the season. Knowing that it was likely his final season of junior hockey, 20-year-old Almeida chose to play the remainder of the season rather than end his juniors career in the fall.
“I didn’t want to end my season in November,” he told the Warriors’ website at the conclusion of last season. “I came into the year wanting to have a great year and have a great year for our team. I knew I wanted to play right from when it happened.”
Almeida underwent surgery to repair the torn labrum over the summer and spent the offseason and training camp rehabbing from the surgery. I spoke to Almeida on Monday about how he dealt with the injury and the rehab process.
"It was definitely difficult," he told me. "You obviously never want to get injured, and that happening, I kind of had to change the way I play a little bit. I had a good season, then, at the end of the year, getting surgery was needed. All in all, I think it hindered me a little bit, but I had a good year and I try not to use it as an excuse."
Almeida said the real impact of the injury was mental. It didn't make him shy away from hits or any other physical contact, but he had to manage the pain and the output from that shoulder.
After the surgery, Almeida said the rehab process was "pretty tough."
"It was 2-3 times a week, every day in the gym on my own, seeing a physiotherapist, it was definitely tough. Then even at the start of this year rehabbing, as it wasn't cleared. It was tough, but it makes you appreciate the game a lot more."
Despite being limited by the injury over the summer, the 5-feet-11, 165-pound Almeida said he was still able to get stronger by focusing on his lower-body in the gym.
Almeida continued to work back to being 100 percent through Pittsburgh's training camp and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp before finally making his professional debut on Oct. 11 in Lehigh Valley. Given that he wasn't a full participant during camp like everyone else, Almeida said it felt a little bit like playing catch up.
"You usually use the preseason and post-camp practices to get out the summer legs and readjust to pro hockey, and I feel a little bit that I would've preferred to have it, but I'm acclimated now and everything, so that's okay," he told me.
In Almeida's second professional game, a road game in Binghamton on Oct. 16, he scored his first professional goal:
"It was pretty surreal," he told me of the moment. "I wanted to get it out of the way pretty quick, and it's nice to do it that quick. Just the next step is going to be harder, so to get that confidence boost was pretty nice."
That sort of shiftiness Almeida showed in his skating in that first pro goal is just the type of play he showed in his junior career:
Almeida has now appeared in four games for Wilkes-Barre this season, and that goal is still his only point on the season. He's capable of playing both center and wing. This season the lefty has played exclusively left wing so far, once on the top line, twice on the second line, and once on the fourth line. Wherever he's playing, he said one of the biggest things he's still adjusting to as he transitions from junior hockey to professional hockey is the speed of the game.
"You're playing against men and not teenagers anymore," he said. "I would say the quickness and the decision-making, you have to make a decision as soon as you get the puck."
There's also a transition to be made off the ice, as this is the first time he's lived on his own without billets in his life. He's figured out how to do his own laundry, he said. As far as the food, the team provides some assistance.
"We get breakfast and lunch made at the rink, and the older guys and coaches are on us to make sure we take care of ourselves off the ice," he said.
It helps that there are eight other rookies on the team, including his best friend Jordy Bellerive, who he has known since their peewee days.
"It's huge when you have other people who are in sort of the same situation that you are," Almeida said. "We're all in it together, we can support each other through it and we have great veterans, too, who support all of us."
For the rest of his first professional season, Almeida's main goals are just to focus on learning how to be a pro and adjusting to the quickness of the pro game.
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THE ROSTER MOVES
• Wilkes-Barre recalled defenseman Macoy Erkamps and forward Brandon Hawkins from the Nailers this week. Erkamps had one assist and a minus-2 rating in three games with the Nailers prior to the recall, and has two assists and an even plus/minus in two games since the recall. Hawkins had two goals, two assists, and a minus-1 rating in four games with the Nailers before the recall, and one assist and an even plus/minus in three games since the recall.
• Wilkes-Barre received forward Andreas Martinsen from Pittsburgh on Friday after Martinsen was acquired in the Erik Gudbranson trade. Martinsen will report to Wilkes-Barre this week.
• Defenseman Zach Trotman cleared waivers and was officially assigned to Wilkes-Barre's roster.
• Wilkes-Barre signed defenseman Reid McNeill to a professional tryout contract. McNeill was the Penguins' sixth-round pick in 2010 and last played for Wilkes-Barre in 2016. More on that here.
• With two ailing goaltenders, Wilkes-Barre signed goaltender Sebastien Caron (yes, the same guy) to a professional tryout contract for Saturday's game. Caron, now 39, lives in the area and serves as the team's emergency backup goaltender, if needed. He hasn't played a game since he retired out of Germany in 2016, but he previously dressed as an emergency backup for Wilkes-Barre in the 2017-18 season, and for the ECHL's Brampton Beast and AHL's Binghamton Devils in 2018-19.
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.
• Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist is injured and hasn't played since Oct. 19.
• Defenseman Kevin Czuczman was struck in the face by a puck on Oct. 23 and left the game early; he has not played since:
• Defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph hasn't played since Oct. 19 and is out for an extended period with mononucleosis.
• Goaltender Dustin Tokarski has yet to play this season and is still dealing with concussion symptoms, likely from the injury he had in training camp.
• Goaltender Emil Larmi left after the second period of the game on Oct. 25 after Mike Vellucci said he felt ill, and Larmi wasn't available either on Oct. 26. He had his head run int0 shortly before he left the game on Oct. 25:
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. 23: at Binghamton, 4-1 loss
The Devils got off to a quick start against the Penguins, with forward Brett Seney scoring 39 seconds into the first period, and scoring his second goal of the game at 6:36 to put the Penguins in a 2-0 hole.
After a scoreless second period, Andrew Agozzino got the Penguins on the board 4:42 into the third period with his second goal of the season. The Devils answered three minutes later to regain the two-goal lead, and sealed the win with an empty net goal with 3:06 remaining.
Casey DeSmith took the loss with 22 saves on 25 shots.
Rookie defenseman Michael Kim led the Penguins with five shots, while leading scorer Stefan Noesen was held without a shot.
The Penguins went 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
• Oct. 25: vs. San Antonio, 5-3 loss
The Penguins got off to a better start on Friday, with Noesen scoring the opening goal 3:14 into the game, his seventh goal of the season. Joseph Cramarossa extended the Penguins' lead to 2-0 with his first goal of the year, but the Rampage answered less than two minutes later to cut the Penguins' lead to one goal. Agozzino regained the two-goal lead with his third goal of the season and second in as many games.
The second period was a disaster. The Penguins blew the lead after the Rampage scored three goals, the first of which came just 13 seconds into the middle frame.
The Rampage added a goal midway through the third period to cap off the win.
Larmi took the loss with 25 saves on 29 shots.
Noesen led the Penguins with six shots, followed closely by Agozzino's five shots.
The Penguins went 0-for-2 on the power play, and an awful 1-for-4 on the penalty kill.
• Oct. 26: vs. San Antonio, 5-4 overtime win
The Penguins again scored first in the rematch with the Rampage the following day, with Ryan Haggerty scoring his first of the year. The Rampage scored twice on the power play to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Noesen scored two power play goals of his own -- his eighth and ninth goals of the year -- to tie the game and regain the lead to start the second period. The Rampage tied the game, 3-3, at 16:23 of the period.
The Rampage regained the lead 31 seconds into the third period, and Jordy Bellerive scored his first pro goal, a power play tally, to tie the game at 6:38 and ultimately force overtime.
Cramarossa ended the game with the overtime winner 1:44 into the extra frame, his second goal of the season. The crucial goal game on Cramarossa's 27th birthday.
DeSmith earned the win with 31 saves on 35 shots.
Noesen again led the Penguins in shots, with six.
The Penguins went 3-for-7 on the power play, and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Noesen, nine in nine games
• Assists: Warsofsky, six in nine games; Agozzino, six in eight games
• Points: Noesen, 12 in nine games
THE COMBINATIONS
Sam Miletic — Andrew Agozzino — Stefan Noesen
Jake Lucchini — Oula Palve — Anthony Angello
Joseph Cramarossa — Jordy Bellerive — Ryan Haggerty
Justin Almeida — Chase Berger — Brandon Hawkins
David Warsofsky — Macoy Erkamps
Niclas Almari — Reid McNeill
Michael Kim — Jon Lizotte
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins’ record is 4-4-1. They dropped two spots to sixth in the eight-team Atlantic Division, but have the same number of points (nine) as the Phantoms in fifth place.
• The power play sits at 22.2 percent, eighth in the 31-team league. The penalty kill is operating at 70.7 percent overall, dead last in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins will have two games on the road against division rivals this week. They'll play the Phantoms (3-1-1-2) in Lehigh Valley on Friday, and the Thunderbirds (5-4) in Springfield on Saturday.
• The Penguins will practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the Toyota SportsPlex at 10 a.m.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Agozzino ripped this shot against the Devils:
Noesen split the D on Friday:
Agozzino beat Derrick Pouliot on this one:
Noesen's second goal on Saturday came off of a nice pass from Sam Miletic:
Cramarossa's overtime winner looked pretty similar, with Miletic again getting the assist:
THE PODCAST
• Agozzino was featured on the second Penguins Podcast of the season:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
This video from Trotman is peak Haggerty:
Larmi rescued a weird-looking dog:
Has someone lost their dog? I gave it some water and dog food. I think it’s okay. Just a little scared after losing his owner. pic.twitter.com/z1SGcZDhXl
— Emil Larmi (@emillarmi) October 21, 2019
Larmi and Niclas Almari (and Larmi's girlfriend) went with Ghostbusters costumes:
The other Finns, Bjorkqvist and Oula Palve, went in a different direction:
Miletic, Bellerive, and Jake Lucchini also went with group costumes:
