During Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp, assistant coach Kevin Porter said that he anticipates forward Valtteri Puustinen being "a big part of our team."
"He's got a lot of skill, and he's got a great shot," Porter said of Puustinen. "He's also intelligent, he makes great plays, gifted offensively."
Four games into Wilkes-Barre's season, the 22-year-old Puustinen is living up to those expectations.
Puustinen on Sunday scored the game's opening goal and the game-winner for the Penguins in a 2-1 overtime win over the Phantoms in Lehigh Valley.
Near the midway mark of the first period, Puustinen opened the scoring when he capitalized on a turnover by the Phantoms in their own end:
Wilkes-Barre clung to that one-goal lead until the final minute of the third period, when Lehigh Valley's Max Willman put in a rebound to tie the game and snap Louis Domingue's shutout bid:
Just 57 seconds into the extra frame, Puustinen fired this laser of a shot from the slot:
Through four games, Puustinen leads Wilkes-Barre in both goals (3) and points (4). He's the only player on the roster with more than one goal.
Puustinen's other goal this season was the first goal in Wilkes-Barre's season opener with this shot from the left circle:
When Puustinen was in Pittsburgh in the preseason, Mike Sullivan praised the offensive side of Puustinen's game, but thought that he could stand to improve defensively.
"He's got good offensive instincts, he has good poise with the puck," Sullivan said. "He can improve on the defensive aspect of the puck in certain areas, and we're trying to help him there. But what we see as far as his attributes, what he has, it's hard to teach those things. We're really encouraged by the progress that he's made."
For what it's worth, Puustinen is definitely showing an effort to add to his defensive game early on, like with this play he made against Lehigh Valley in the season opener:
With the Penguins having few high-round draft picks in recent years, they need some of their mid-round or late-round picks to step up. It's still early in his career in North America, but Puustinen, a seventh-round pick in 2019, is already looking to be a late-round gem.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Wilkes-Barre is now 3-1 to start the season after the win.
• Jordy Bellerive was a late scratch, and it's not yet clear why. He finished last game against Hartford without injury. There was no postgame media availability today, so there wasn't an opportunity to ask. Michael Chaput, who was originally supposed to be a scratch in favor of Sam Houde, got into the lineup in Bellerive's place.
• With Bellerive out, P.O Joseph was an alternate captain.
• Domingue made his first start of the season after dealing with a lower-body injury in the first week of the season. He made 28 saves on 29 shots in the win.
• Niclas Almari got back into the lineup with Juuso Riikola recalled to Pittsburgh.
• Riikola was previously quarterbacking the top power play unit. Cam Lee was bumped up to the top unit in his place, joining Puustinen, Sam Poulin, Nathan Legare, and Radim Zohorna on the top unit.
• The second power play unit was Joseph, Taylor Fedun, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Chaput, and Houde.
• Wilkes-Barre went 0-for-3 on the power play and an outstanding 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
• Puustinen, Lee, and Legare all tied for the team-lead in shots, with four each.
• Through the first 60 minutes, Wilkes-Barre outhit Lehigh Valley 22-17.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPL Center:
1. Valtteri Puustinen, Penguins
2. Max Willman, Phantoms
3. Samuel Ersson, Phantoms
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Forward Anthony Angello is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Forrest's lines and pairings:
Sam Poulin - Radim Zohorna - Valtteri Puustinen
Kasper Bjorkqvist - Michael Chaput - Felix Robert
Filip Hallander - Sam Houde - Nathan Legare
Jamie Devane - Jonathan Gruden - Kyle Olson
P.O Joseph - Taylor Fedun
Niclas Almari - Matt Bartkowski
Chris Bigras - Cam Lee
And for Ian Laperriere's Phantoms
Max Willman - Morgan Frost - Tyson Foerster
Isaac Ratcliffe - Cal O'Reilly - Samu Tuomaala
Maxim Sushko - German Rubtsov - Gerald Mayhew
Brennan Saulnier - Connor Bunnaman - Jackson Cates
Cam York - Wyatte Wylie
Yegor Zamula - Adam Clendening
Linus Hogberg - Logan Day
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will host the Phantoms on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
