CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Battling for the starting job isn't something entirely unfamiliar to Penguins goaltending prospect Filip Lindberg.
Lindberg, who was signed to a two-year entry-level contract this summer, played college hockey for UMass in the last three seasons.
Over those three seasons, Lindberg shared the net with Matt Murray -- no, not that Matt Murray, rather the one the Penguins brought to development camp two seasons ago -- with the starts being split pretty evenly in the last two seasons.
UMass coach Greg Carvel told the Daily Hampshire Gazette last season that last summer, Lindberg had approached Carvel and asked for more playing time.
“I got angry with him and said, ‘then be better.’ I know Matt’s a good goalie, but you want to play more, be better than him,” Carvel recalled. “And I said the same thing to Matt. I said, ‘you guys both aren’t happy. Make it easy for me.’”
Carvel told Lindberg that in order to earn his starts, Lindberg would have to maintain a .940 save percentage, and allow fewer than two goals per game.
Lindberg lived up to those expectations. He posted a record of 10-1-4 in 15 appearances last season, with five of those 10 wins being shutouts. He recorded a 1.24 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. He started in three of UMass' four games en route to the national championship, going 3-0 with a 0.33 goals-against average, a .986 save percentage and two shutouts, including a 25-save shutout in the championship-clinching game.
Lindberg is one of three depth goaltenders signed to NHL contracts with the Penguins next season, joining Louis Domingue, who has 140 games of NHL experience, and Alex D'Orio, who took over as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's starter last season.
As Lindberg turns pro, he'll face another battle for playing time. And it sounds like he's looking forward to the challenge.
"I feel like it's always a battle wherever you are between the goalies," Lindberg said after Sunday's development camp practice. "You know, it doesn't mean that you can't be really good friends outside the rink, or within the rink, too. So I think wherever you are, you always need to push each other and be friends. And that's a good setup for everyone."
That's the kind of dynamic Lindberg had with Murray at UMass, and it was one that he felt helped both of them.
"You know, we were splitting the weekends pretty much," he recalled. "And he's a great guy, great goalie. I like that guy. I feel like we were both pushing each other every day at practice and in the games. So it was really good for both of us."
Lindberg, 6 foot 1 and 194 pounds, described himself as "quick" and "aggressive" in his style in the net.
"I'm not the biggest guy," he added. "But I feel like I know know what to do in the right situation. I feel like that's my strengths."
Lindberg named Nashville's Juuse Saros -- a fellow Finn -- as a goaltender he likes to look up to, citing Saros' smaller size and fast, aggressive style.
Lindberg, 22, was originally a seventh-round pick of the Wild in 2019. Because he was drafted as a 20-year-old, the Wild only held his signing rights until this offseason. The Wild had tried to sign Lindberg, but Lindberg elected to test free agency, and ended up signing in Pittsburgh, a place he said seemed like "the right spot" to play as a pro.
Lindberg has fond memories of his time at UMass, but felt that he was ready to make this jump to professional hockey after three years there. He could have elected to turn pro earlier, but thought that the time he spent at UMass was what he needed in his development journey.
"You don't want to rush into anything and not be ready," he said. "So I feel like three years was a good time for me to get better and good enough to move forward."
Development camp is Lindberg's first experience being part of the Penguins' organization, and he's enjoying his time so far. He's roommates with defense prospect Niclas Almari, someone he played with in the Espoo Blues system as a youth player in Finland.
"He's a great guy, I love that guy," Lindberg said of Almari.
Lindberg has also been forming relationships with the Penguins two new goaltending development coaches in Kain Tisi and Charles Grant, who are both working with the young goaltenders in this development camp.
"I love those guys," Lindberg said of the two coaches. "They just make us better every day. There's always, always good feedback out there on the ice. That's what we need. Great guys."
As far as his goals for training camp and his first pro season, Lindberg's goals are simple.
"I'm just gonna have fun, go all in and just do the best I can," he said. "That's it. Just enjoy hockey and be good out there."
MORE FROM DEVELOPMENT CAMP
• The afternoon was again broken up into two sessions, a skills session led by Ty Hennes and a formal practice led by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach J.D. Forrest. During the skills portion of the day they seemed to be running some tests, timing players skating one-by-one in a straight line with some resistance.
• Mike Sullivan joined the players on the ice midway through the day, after spending Day 1 up in the management box watching from above. He didn't lead any drills, but observed and offered some one-on-one advice to a few players, like this moment with defenseman Cam Lee:
• D'Orio, who isn't part of the development camp roster, practiced with the group on Day 1 but not today. The only goalies on the ice were Lindberg, Brett Brochu, and Tommy Nappier.
• These were the lines and pairings used in the formal portion of practice, presented in no particular order:
Valtteri Puustinen - Sam Poulin - Jonathan Gruden
Shaw Boomhower - Felix Robert - Kyle Olson
Filip Hallander - Sam Houde - Nathan Legare
Justin Almeida - Lukas Svejkovsky - Josh Williams
Cam Lee - Ryan McCleary
Niclas Almari - Dylan MacPherson
Isaac Belliveau - Josh Maniscalco
Chris Merisier-Ortiz - Will Reilly
• The Finns have put the Finland-Sweden rivalry aside and adopted Hallander as one of their own:
Hallander and the three Finns having a little meeting. pic.twitter.com/aBwDXz554A
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) September 19, 2021
• Nathan Legare spoke after practice, and said that he's lost around 15 pounds in the last year after working with a nutritionist and making some changes to his diet.
"I think I'm more quick," he said of the effects of that weight loss. "My first three, four, five steps are quicker. I think one of my weakness last year was my quick start."
