Right wing Corey Andonovski was one of the coveted undrafted college free agents on the market this spring, with a steady flow of NHL scouts making the trip out to Princeton to see him over the course of the season.
Andonovski was Princeton's leading scorer with 10 goals and 12 assists in his 31 games, having factored in on nearly a third of all of Princeton's goals this season.
The Penguins, having kept a close eye on Princeton's team prior to season to watch their 2018 sixth-round pick Liam Gorman, were one of the teams interested in Andonovski, and they let him know early.
"From the start of the year there was some interest and it kind of grew over the course this season," Andonovski told me of the Penguins on Friday. "I knew they were watching quite a bit. There were a few teams at the end, but ultimately there was an opportunity here that I felt was good for me."
Andonovski chose the Penguins, and on March 10, following Princeton's elimination from the postseason signed his two-year entry-level deal that begins next season.
"They put the confidence in me that I was going to be able to produce or contribute and perform at this level," he said of the decision. "I just felt like it was a really good fit. I'm glad I'm here. I'm really happy to be here and just happy to be contributing any way I can."
Andonovski reported to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this week on an amateur tryout contract that allows him to play games to finish the season without his entry-level deal kicking in yet. He made his AHL debut on Friday in Wilkes-Barre's 1-0 shutout loss to the Syracuse Crunch, and skated on the right side of the Penguins' fourth line alongside Kasper Bjorkqvist and Jonathan Gruden.
Andonovski recorded one shot on goal in the loss, intercepting an intended pass in the Penguins' zone and carrying the puck up ice to create a scoring chance that was stopped by Syracuse's Max Lagace:
Syracuse's lone goal was a play that Andonovski would like to have back, though. Crunch forward Gage Goncalves' shot took a bounce on the way in, and deflected off of Andonovski's skate and past Louis Domingue:
Head coach J.D. Forrest thought that Andonovski overall played a "strong game" in his debut.
"You can see his speed, his tenacity," Forrest said. "He had a couple of nice little opportunities, he plays hard. He definitely has some attributes that we like in the players in this organization. For his first pro game, I thought he was really good."
"A little bit of nerves in the first period," Andonovski told me of his debut. "But once I got those first couple shifts under me, I think I kind of shook those nerves a little bit. (Gruden) and Kasper, I think that we played pretty well tonight, got some chances, which is always good to contribute. Obviously not the way you want to start your pro career, with an own goal. But sometimes bad bounces happen. So just have to work next game to get our own good bounces."
Andonovski's first impressions of the differences between the pro game and the college game were the same things that most players point out: The game happens quicker, the players are stronger and heavier.
That heavy game is something that Andonovski thinks that he can bring himself at this level.
Andonovski, who turns 23 next week, comes with some size at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. Asked for a current NHL player who he might try to emulate, he went with someone "along the lines of a (Cal) Clutterbuck, maybe with a little bit more offensive upside."
Clutterbuck, obviously, is someone who likes to throw his weight around, as the No. 2 all-time leader in hits in the NHL.
"I like to think I can play a pretty heavy game," Andonovski said. "There were a couple chances tonight, I got in on the forecheck and made sure to either try and strip a guy or lay a check. That's something that you're going to need going into playoffs and I'm happy to play that physical game when the opportunity arises."
Being a good net-front presence is something he's hoping to add too.
"Whether it's fourth-line minutes or more than that, just being heavy, going into the dirty areas, go to the net-front, that's all things that I'm capable of doing with my frame," he said.
Andonovski said that his impressions of the Penguins' style here is that there is "a lot of structure, a lot of systems," but that he's also allowed a certain level of freedom with his play.
"They want me to make plays out there and be a hockey player, not just a robot with the systems and everything," he said. "So that's nice. I'm happy I can go out there and have a little bit of freedom when I do get in certain areas to make a play. But at the same time, I know there's an expectation to play the systems, to stick to the structure that they already have instilled here."
Though Andonovski's contract allows him to finish the season in Wilkes-Barre, he has to head back to Princeton on March 28 for finals to finish his economics degree, and is "hopeful" but not certain whether he'll be back afterward to finish out the AHL season.
"(Princeton's) giving me some heat about being here for too long," Andonovski said with a smile. "That's a commitment that the (Penguins) were very accommodating with and very open to me going back and finishing my degree. That was an important thing to me, to get that and have that in my back pocket. But while I'm here, it's good to focus on hockey and contribute anyway I can."
He's looking to set himself up for a strong rookie season next year.
WBS PENGUINS
Corey Andonovski in his AHL debut Friday in Wilkes-Barre.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The Penguins were outshot 33-25 in the loss.
"I don't think we had our best best night, a little bit on the sloppy side," Forrest said. "Not as grimy in the dirty areas as we typically are. They manufacture their own bounce. We never got to that point. Usually that happens when you're on the net a lot, when you're creating some chaos around there. That's when those bounces go in."
• Domingue has now played in three games since returning to WIlkes-Barre. His previous two games were a set of wins on back-to-back nights, stopping 37 of 39 and then 33 of 35. Forrest called Domingue "fantastic" in this loss, stopping 32 of 33.
"If it's not for him, we're clawing back from a deficit within the first three minutes of the game," Forrest said. "They peppered us right off the start."
• The power play went 0-for-5, the penalty kill went 5-for-5.
• Gruden fought Syracuse's Simon Ryfors after boarding another Crunch player:
• With Andonovski making his debut and Michael Chaput returning from injury, two forwards had to sit: Kyle Olson and Jordy Bellerive. The Bellerive scratch was a bit of a surprise.
"It was a really difficult (decision)," Forrest said. "We talked internally about it. It's not through any fault of Jordy's."
• The hot debate all over the internet this week has been whether there are more doors or wheels in the world. Penguins players and coaches weighed in. Bjorkqvist and Olson seemed especially befuddled:
The big debate... are there more doors or wheels in the world? pic.twitter.com/mqLdhCXPYG
— WBS Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 15, 2022
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza:
1. Max Lagace, Crunch
2. Gage Goncalves, Crunch
3. Louis Domingue, Penguins
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Goaltender Filip Lindberg is out "longer-term" with an ankle injury sustained during the game on Nov. 12. Director of player development Scott Young told me that they don't expect Lindberg to play again this season.
• Defenseman Juuso Riikola was injured in Thursday's practice and is still being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
• Defenseman Taylor Fedun is out "week-to-week" with a lower-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Forrest's lines and pairings:
Filip Hallander - Drew O'Connor - Valtteri Puustinen
Alex Nylander - Sam Poulin - Anthony Angello
Felix Robert - Michael Chaput - Nathan Legare
Kasper Bjorkqvist - Jonathan Gruden - Corey Andonovski
P.O Joseph - Mitch Reinke
Cam Lee - Matt Bartkowski
Chris Bigras - Will Reilly
And for Benoit Groulx's Crunch:
Gage Goncalves - Gabe Dumont - Anthony Richard
Cole Koepke - Charles Hudon - Alex Barre-Boulet
Gabe Fortier - Otto Somppi - Simon Ryfors
Shawn Element - Antoine Morano - Daniel Walcott
Fredrik Claesson - Darren Raddysh
Ryan Jones - Alex Green
Sean Day - Frank Hora
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will host the Utica Comets on Saturday at 6:05 p.m., their last home game before departing on a Canadian road trip. They'll play a two-game series in Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a game in Belleville on Friday and one in Laval on Saturday.
THE CONTENT
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