CRANBERRY, Pa. -- On one rink, two dozen of the Penguins' presumed top talents in their teens and early 20s, skated their guts out in the Black vs. Gold game that annually concludes development camp, with every member of management, every coach and every instructor monitoring every move.
On the other rink, all by his lonesome, was the 34-year-old who still represents the present and the future of the franchise.
And that, my friends, is all anyone needs to know about the state of this system, phrased as respectfully as possible.
I don't make a habit of criticizing kids. Not in any sport and certainly not in hockey, where so, so much -- positions, roles, even skill sets -- can change from the day a prospect's drafted to the day he, ideally, competes for a spot on an NHL roster. These are relative children when they arrive, and it's seldom fair to brand children before they grow up.
But the duty on this Tuesday was to cover this event and, as someone who's covered every development camp scrimmage since its inception in 2002, I've got to be blunt: I've never seen one so drab, so disappointing that not a solitary participant stood out.
Sam Poulin, the only first-round pick on the rink -- an astonishing anomaly in itself -- had a sturdy presence on the puck at times, not at all at others, and he created little offense. Valtteri Puustinen, Poulin's linemate, created as much as everyone else combined and impressed me the most ... but not a fraction as much as I recall being impressed by others in past camps. Nathan Légaré, Poulin's 2019 classmate who outshone him here in their draft year, had more of a hop to his stride after losing 15 pounds this summer, but didn't generate a single chance to get off that heavy shot of his. Cam Lee looked OK on the blue line. As did Chris Merisier-Ortiz. And Filip Lindberg looked similarly OK in goal.
If I keep going, I'll break my own habit, so lets' stop there.
While I respect Scott Young, the director of player development and once a member of the Penguins' first Stanley Cup team, his assessment after this session that "We're not loaded with a bunch of first-round picks and a bunch of second-round picks, but I think there's more than the hockey world realizes that we have" ... might only be accurate in the literal sense. Meaning that, since most independent organizational rankings assess the Penguins at No. 32 in a 32-team league, they might well be ... No. 31?
Mind you, none of this is a knock on current management, least of all Young. The reason Poulin was the only first-rounder here is that he's the only first-rounder the Penguins' scouts have been allowed to select in the past seven years, almost entirely because Ray Shero and then Jim Rutherford had made a habit of selling off their high picks for rings. And while that's paid off gloriously, it also comes at an awful cost at some stage down the road.
Welcome to that stage.
Ron Hextall's professed a different stance on this, and his tenure in Philadelphia suggests he'll act on that. Eventually. But let the record show that, even though his trade for Jeff Carter this past spring brought a brilliant instant return, it was a second-round pick that he'd sent to the Kings in advance of a draft where the Penguins already didn't hold a first-rounder. Which left his scouts with an embarrassing four total picks, two of them in the seventh and final round.
That can't go on. And as often as I've repeated that, I'll double down now.
To anyone who'd argue that any team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang can't ever adopt a rebuilding posture, I'll agree. But I'll then come right back and point out that the Bruins have kept most of their core together and remained Cup contenders in large part because they've kept all but two of their first-round picks over the past decade, and some of those were invested in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and others who've kept Boston's roster uncommonly fresh considering the ages of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask in that same span.
Oh, and I'll also come back with reminders about the Penguins' chequered history with two bankruptcies and other off-ice drama that imperiled their very existence. I'm confident the foundation's firmer than ever -- Pittsburgh's the NHL's premier market in the U.S. by almost every metric -- but I'm also confident that Pittsburghers have a hard distaste for any kind of build or rebuild, and that taking any such absolute approach at any time could set the team back years because of precipitous drops in attendance and TV ratings.
Don't get me wrong, please: There's not a single thing I'd change about anything that led to the Penguins' Cups in 2016 and 2017. As Craig Patrick once mused about his 1992 trade of Mark Recchi to the Flyers, he knew he was trading a future Hall of Famer, but he felt it was worth it to win that second Cup. Which he did, thanks in part to Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget. Nothing supersedes a championship.
But Sid, who, of course, was that 34-year-old on the other rink, isn't about to embark on some career upswing. Neither are Malkin nor Letang. Which is why nothing could support them more than a surge of youth.
Sure, there might not be enough time for the core and any meaningful overlap, and that's a risk. It just isn't as great a risk as projecting these 24 prospects as your 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins.
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
The Penguins' prospects line up for drills Tuesday morning in Cranberry.
• Not to sound alarmist up there. I really don't like it when others predict post-Crosby Armageddon in Pittsburgh, so I wouldn't want anything misinterpreted. Rather, it's that there are more benefits to amassing youth than just what's obvious.
• Speaking of Sid, there's no negative to his already being on the ice. Even though nothing about a wrist injury prevents a hockey player from skating -- duh -- the norm is for the player to stay off the rink until closer to the return. Everyone's expecting him to miss all of training camp, which formally opens here tomorrow at 9 a.m., but this at least points to a quicker return once the season starts.
• No Sid, no Geno means drawing up line combinations will be a chore for a while, but I'll take my stab right here:
Guentzel-Carter-Rust
Zucker-Blueger-Kapanen
Aston-Reese-Boyle-McGinn
Heinen-Zohorna-Rodrigues
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Matheson-Ruhwedel
How'd I do, eh?
I see the first line as cemented. I could see Radim Zohorna or Evan Rodrigues centering the second line in lieu of Teddy Blueger, but it feels like the team just made a big commitment to the latter through protecting him from Seattle in the expansion draft and his new contract. Brian Boyle's on a tryout in camp, but the chasm at center should make him a shoo-in. And on the blue line, Chad Ruhwedel's the only plausible right shot to pair with Mike Matheson, further magnifying the mistake of not replacing -- or retaining -- Cody Ceci.
• The starting goaltender, by the way, will be this guy who was wearing his new, mostly black pads upon taking the ice for an informal workout on this day:
I'm staying quiet on Tristan Jarry. For real. I'm all out of invectives for his playoff performance, I'm similarly out of invectives for management doing nothing about it, and it's a new season with a new goaltending coach, Andy Chiodo. Fair's fair.
• It's still "a really good hockey team," as Zach Aston-Reese was telling me the other day. There's no disputing that. Because that was a really good division the Penguins won this past season despite being minimal odds to do so.
But there are holes, some through attrition, some self-inflicted such as losing two players in an expansion draft that only required losing one. And because of salary cap restrictions, those holes are best addressed internally ... where little help's visible.
Really, who's the surprise candidate?
Will Anthony Angello finally get mean?
Is Sam Lafferty still a thing?
Mark Friedman?
Casey DeSmith?
Heck, maybe it's Zohorna would could make the most of the opportunity up front. Whoever it is, it's got to be ... not just someone but multiple someones. And that's asking a lot.
• The surest bet in hockey over the next couple weeks will be that Mike Sullivan seizes his own opportunity, as he's done so many times, to stress his 200-foot puck-possession system.
And that, by the way, represents the only reason I'm optimistic the Penguins will be able to navigate what appears to be a wicked October schedule that opens with the two Florida teams down there, then Blackhawks, Stars, Maple Leafs, then a second date with the Lightning. Other than having eight straight at home following the Florida trip, that's rough. But that's also when Sullivan's preached the loudest about "doing the right things" and "being strong on the puck" and "making smart decisions with the puck" and all that.
Know what'd be nice?
If all of that sticks once all the stars are back. For real this time.
• Two other Metro teams, the Blue Jackets and Islanders, made powerful -- and public -- statements on player vaccination, with both declaring that no one will be on their roster without one. In New York's case, Lou Lamoriello went further, "We will not allow any player in our organization participate unless they are vaccinated."
Meaning the entire system. Lamoriello acknowledged one minor-leaguer wasn't vaccinated and added that player would be assigned elsewhere, whatever that meant. Maybe Siberia.
The Blue Jackets didn't go quite as far, banishing unvaccinated Zac Rinaldo to their AHL affiliate in Cleveland ... so OK, yeah, maybe they did go as far.
Hextall almost certainly will address the Penguins' vaccination status tomorrow, when he's expected to speak.
Here's hoping:
1. It's at 100%
2. They do like the Islanders
3. PPG Paints Arena follows suit
I don't anticipate this being the case, but imagine the Penguins being an outlier on this. It'd be a terrible look for Pittsburgh, which has been excellent on this front -- our 59% full vaccination rate in Allegheny County is among the highest in the nation -- and, infinitely more important, it'd be terrible policy.
• My two minutes with Légaré, such a confident, well-spoken young man:
• I'd be remiss if not sharing just how wonderful it was simply to be here. First hockey environment for me since Game 6 on Long Island. Also, by the way, first chance to interview any Penguins face-to-face since the pandemic. And, for the main camp, it'll be the first foray into any locker room in any sport.
We're getting there, man. We are.
