A week ago today, the Penguins played their preseason opener against the Blue Jackets, dressing a very prospect-heavy lineup.
Eight players in the game -- forwards Sam Poulin, Nathan Legare, Jonathan Gruden, Justin Almeida, Jordy Bellerive, Jan Drozg, defenseman Cam Lee, and goaltender Filip Lindberg -- have yet to make their regular-season NHL debuts. Of that group, all but Poulin, Legare, and Bellerive were playing in their first NHL preseason game of their careers.
The Penguins lost to the Blue Jackets in that game, 3-0, but as I wrote in the game story that night, a number of the young rookies made a positive impression in the loss. And of that group, no one stood out more than Lee.
Lee led the team that game in both shots on goal (six) and shot attempts (10), and played on the team's second power play unit. His ability to use his feet in order to open up scoring lanes for himself from along the blue line was one of the biggest parts of his game that stood out in the game. Mike Sullivan offered a lot of praise for Lee's game when I asked about Lee in the postgame.
"You know, he plays with a lot of energy," Sullivan said after the game. "He's a trier. You can see the urgency in his game, he's a real competitive kid. He has good poise with the puck. I think he makes some nice plays on the power play. He's got deception to his game. I thought he did some really good things out there."
Lee was sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Penguins' last round of cuts last week in order to participate in the AHL training camp, which opened on Sunday. I spoke with Lee after Wilkes-Barre's practice on Monday, and he reflected on his play in his NHL preseason debut.
"I kind of showed that I belong, and that I can play in whatever league and do my thing," Lee said. "I felt good out there, but I wish one of those shots would have gone in, that would have been a lot better. A win would have been nice too. But overall, I think I'm pretty happy with how I played."
In speaking with head coach J.D. Forrest throughout last season, the area of Lee's game they were most focused on improving in his rookie year was managing the risk-reward of being an offensive defenseman, and Lee learning what he can and can't get away with when making plays at the AHL level compared to what he was able to get away with at the college level. Entering Year 2 in the pros, Forrest said that will continue to be a focus for Lee.
"We just want to evolve his game a little bit, take some of the risk out of it and just be a little bit more calculated," Forrest said Monday. "He did that last year."
Lee said that in working on that area of his game with the coaching staff, they'd watch video of his games, and he learned that he didn't always need to make the "highlight" level plays offensively.
"It's more noticeable for a player just to do the right things all the time rather than be risky and screw up here and there," Lee said. "I think I've taken a big jump on that, and I think I did a pretty good job managing that in my first preseason game too."
For all the plays Lee was making offensively in that game, he was only credited with one giveaway in the game.
As Lee enters his second professional season, Forrest said that Lee knows where his strengths are, and they're looking forward to seeing more of that this season.
"We love his swagger," Forrest said. "We love his compete. He's willing to play defense. He's got a lot of the obvious things for him. with his ability with the pocket skating, his elusiveness. ... He had a solid camp in Pittsburgh, and I think he'll continue that here."
Lee said that he feels "a lot more confident, a lot more comfortable" entering the season compared to last year, having that experience of living a pro lifestyle last year and playing in Pittsburgh's camp under his belt. And after getting to put on the Penguins' jersey for the first time during the preseason, he's looking even more forward to getting an opportunity to do it for real.
"It was the coolest thing ever," he said of getting to wear the jersey. "Even though it was just preseason, it's something you always dream of. It'd be even cooler if I ever get a sniff for my first game."
