Penguins' AHL-contracted additions a mix of skill/size, youth/experience

One of the pleasant surprises in the Penguins' prospect system last season was the addition of forward Felix Robert.

Robert, 22, was signed to an AHL-level contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last summer. He began the in Wheeling, where he scored five goals and one assist in 10 games before the AHL season got underway. He was recalled to Wilkes-Barre when AHL training camps began, and earned his spot at that level for the rest of the season. He scored six goals and seven assists in 27 games with Wilkes-Barre and was versatile, slotting in at both center and wing over the course of the season.

Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest called the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Robert a "waterbug" during the season for his "fearless" style and praised his "knack for stealing pucks" despite his size.

"The kid never ceases to amaze here with what he's willing to do to help the team, to get into the lineup, to stay in the lineup, to contribute any way possible,"  Forrest told me of Robert near the end of the season. "That's not something that's easy to do. But although he's a smaller guy, he just never ever stops. ... Felix on a night in, night out basis just never stops. We've talked about it before, and it's commendable. We use him as an example quite a bit in the way that we want to play and the effort we want to put out there, just doing whatever it takes."

As a player on an AHL contract, Robert isn't technically Pittsburgh property, and he doesn't count toward the organization's 50-contract limit. He'd need to be signed to an NHL contract in order to earn a recall. Robert is one of several AHL-contracted players from last season returning to Wilkes-Barre for the 2021-22 season, along with forward Kyle Olson and goaltender Tommy Nappier.

The Penguins have bolstered Wilkes-Barre's depth this season with the signings of six other players -- three forwards and three defensemen -- to AHL-level contracts.

Let's take a look at the AHL-contracted players added to the organization for next season.

CHRIS BIGRAS
Position: Defenseman
Age: 26
Size: 6-1, 190
Shoots: Left
2020-21 team: Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)

Wilkes-Barre lost some key left-handed defenseman to free agency this summer with Kevin Czuczman and Jon Lizotte both signing NHL deals with Minnesota, and Bigras helps fill that void. He can also play on the right side, giving the Penguins some versatility as far as pairings go.

Bigras spent the last two seasons with Wilkes-Barre's division-rival Phantoms while playing on an NHL contract with the Flyers. He finished third among Phantoms defensemen in scoring last season with two goals and six assists in 21 games, missing over a month during the season due to injury. He scored two goals and 14 assists in 39 games in the 2019-20 season.

Bigras was originally a second-round pick of the Avalanche in 2013, and split his first professional season in 2015-16 between the AHL and NHL, scoring one goal and two assists in 31 games with the Avalanche. The only other season in which he saw NHL time was in 2017-18, when he recorded an assist in his 15 games with the Avalanche. The Avalanche traded Bigras to the Rangers that season in a one-for-one deal for Ryan Graves.

Perhaps most important, he said he'd rather have Mario Lemieux on his team than Wayne Gretzky:

CHRISTOPHER MERISIER-ORTIZ
Position: Defenseman
Age: 20
Size: 5-11, 172
Shoots: Left
2020-21 team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)

Merisier-Ortiz will make his professional debut next season after signing a two-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre this offseason.

Merisier-Ortiz spent the last four seasons in the QMJHL, and was teammates with Penguins prospect Nathan Legare for the first three and a half seasons with the Drakkar. When the Drakkar drafted both players in the 2017 QMJHL Draft, Merisier-Ortiz and Legare said that they had been playing with each other since they were six or seven years old.

Merisier-Ortiz spent the first half of the 2020-21 season with the Drakkar, recording 12 assists in 15 games while quarterbacking the power play. He was traded to the Armada midseason, and recorded four goals and 20 assists in 24 games to finish the regular season. He scored one goal and five assists in nine postseason games.

Advanced stats show that Merisier-Ortiz was one of the best draft-aged defensemen in the QMJHL last season at leading breakouts:

Merisier-Ortiz scored a total of 20 goals and 109 assists in his 231 QMJHL games over four seasons. He set career highs in 2019-20 with nine goals and 36 assists in 64 games.

The EliteProspects 2021 Draft Guide had the following scouting report on Merisier-Ortiz: 

"His neutral zone defense is as solid as ever both in terms of stick and footwork. The trademarks of his game are solid posture, no reaching, and a gap almost always closed before the defensive blue line. He can feed the offense through short and long passes or by activating north or east-west off the rush, giving an extra passing option to teammates."

Merisier-Ortiz previously attended the Canadiens' 2019 development camp and the Flames' 2019 training camp.

MITCH REINKE
Position: Defenseman
Age: 25
Size: 5-11, 181
Shoots: Right
2020-21 team: Utica Comets (AHL), St. Louis Blues

Reinke was originally an undrafted free agent signing by the Blues in 2018 after spending just two years at Michigan Tech. He made his NHL debut (his only regular-season NHL game to date) with the Blues that spring, recording no points.

Reinke primarily spent the last three seasons in the AHL. He recorded 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 76 AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage in 2018-19, breaking a Rampage franchise record for points by a rookie defenseman that was previously held by Keith Yandle. He was one of the Blues' Black Aces that spring in their 2019 Stanley Cup championship run.

Reinke scored 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 46 AHL games in 2019-20, including this goal against Wilkes-Barre:

Last season, Reinke scored 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 18 AHL games, and spent some time on the Blues' taxi squad. He played one game for the Blues in their playoff series against the Avalanche, recording no points in a third-pairing role.

JAMIE DEVANE
Position: Left wing
Age: 30
Size: 6-5, 231
Shoots: Left
2020-21 team: San Diego Gulls (AHL)

Devane is a familiar face, having previously played for Wilkes-Barre during the 2019-20 season.

After some hard, physical games against some division rivals -- especially Hershey and Lehigh Valley -- last season, it was clear that Wilkes-Barre could have benefitted from some size, and they addressed that need with the signing of Devane, an enforcer.

I wouldn't expect Devane to be a regular in the lineup, especially with the number of incoming forward prospects, but he's someone who could see some games against those teams within the division throughout the year.

Devane got in two fights last season, and seven in 2019-20 with Wilkes-Barre. His career fight card includes two bouts with Kale Kessy, Hershey's enforcer who gave the Penguins trouble last season. His last fight as a Penguin was this win over Cedric Lacroix:

Devane scored one goal in 26 games in San Diego last season. He scored four goals and five assists in 36 games with Wilkes-Barre in 2019-20.

SHAW BOOMHOWER
Position: Left wing/center
Age: 22
Size: 5-11, 210
Shoots: Left
2020-21 team: None

With the depth Wilkes-Barre has at forward, Boomhower is a player I'd expect to start the year in Wheeling.

Boomhower played for the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones for his first two professional seasons, scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in 26 games in 2018-19 and seven points (four goals, three assists) in 24 games in 2019-20. He earned a two-game stint in the AHL with the Rochester Americans in 2019-20, and was scoreless. The Cyclones did not play last season due to COVID-19, and Boomhower didn't sign anywhere else for the season.

Boomhower has been in 11 fights in his two professional seasons.

Boomhower previously attended the Blackhawks' training camp in 2018.

SAMUEL HOUDE
Position: Center/left wing
Age: 21
Size: 6-0, 172
Shoots: Left
2020-21 team: Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)

Houde was originally a fifth-round pick of the Canadiens in 2018, but went unsigned by Montreal and became a free agent.

Houde spent the last five years in the QMJHL, all with Chicoutimi. He served as the Sagueneens' captain last season in his overage year, and finished No. 4 on the team in scoring with nine goals and 19 assists in 29 games. His most productive season game in 2019-20, when he ranked second on Chicoutimi in scoring with 19 goals and 33 assists in 44 games.

In an interview with Le Quotidien, Houde said that the offer from the Penguins was the best one he received, and that he sees the AHL deal "as a one-year trial to prove what I'm capable of." He said that his biggest focuses this offseason were improving his muscle mass and endurance.