Colin Swoyer had been working toward this moment for awhile.
The Penguins signed the 24-year-old undrafted defenseman out of Michigan Tech to an entry-level contract last month, a one-year deal that begins next season.
Swoyer reported to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an amateur tryout contract two days later. In between his five online classes to finish his finance degree, he's been working out and practicing with the team, studying film and attending the team's meetings to become acclimated with the systems, waiting for the day he would be deemed prepared enough to make his professional debut.
After nearly two full weeks of that work, Swoyer finally got in the lineup for Wilkes-Barre's game against the division-leading Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, a 4-1 loss.
Swoyer, a right-handed shot, slotted in on the right side of the Penguins' second pairing alongside P.O Joseph, and made a first impression that coach J.D. Forrest called "pretty solid."
"He made some poised plays under pressure," Forrest said. "You can tell that he sees things develop and he's able to execute some of those high-end passes. As far as a first game, I think it was great for him to get in there and see what this league is all about and what the opposition is like. I thought he handled it really well. He's going to get stuck in the D zone like anybody else, there's some areas for improvement. But for a first game I thought he he did really well."
Swoyer finished the game with an even plus/minus, not on the ice for the goal for, or any of the four goals against. He recorded one shot on goal, a one-timer from the top of the left circle off of a feed from Joseph:
There were hiccups like Forrest mentioned, like this moment at the end of the second period when he couldn't get a handle on a pass in the offensive zone. But he responded well to those kinds of moments, like using his speed to recover and make sure that the miss didn't prove to be costly:
"I definitely have room for improvement on the D side," Swoyer told me of his thoughts on his play. "But I moved the puck well. It's just adjusting to that pace, that pro style. There's a lot of skill out there. But I felt good, I felt comfortable."
That ability to move the puck well is one of the things Swoyer is hoping to contribute at this level once he really settles in.
"I would say I'm a puck-moving defenseman with some pretty good offensive upside," he said of his game. "I feel like I skate well, I move the puck well."
Currently listed at 6 feet, 180 pounds, Swoyer also added that he wants to get bigger and stronger, "and work on my D side of the game, as anyone else can. I'm just trying to kind of find my role in this new pro game, and I'm looking forward to my future."
Skating being one of Swoyer's strengths makes sense. His father, Jim, is a skating coach.
It was at his father's skating sessions that he met defenseman Connor Carrick, who he called his "biggest inspiration" growing up. Carrick, 28, has played in 241 NHL games over his seven-year professional career. On Wednesday night, Carrick was in Wilkes-Barre, playing for the Checkers.
"It's pretty surreal for me," Swoyer said of getting to make his professional debut against Carrick. "I remember just being like 10 to 12 and I wasn't able to skate with him yet, because I wasn't good enough. I remember I would just beg my dad to let me go watch him skate because he's obviously a great player. He's had a lot of NHL games. When I was younger, he was definitely someone I tried to emulate on the ice."
WBS PENGUINS
Colin Swoyer in his AHL debut Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.
The connection that led Swoyer to the Penguins was his relationship with Chris Pryor, the Penguins' director of player personnel. Swoyer has known Pryor for years, and Pryor would watch Swoyer during both his time in the USHL and college. Swoyer called the Penguins an "unbelievable organization," and one that he thinks fits his own game.
"I really like the style they play, it suits me well," he said. "They don't have huge defensemen, they have a lot of puck-moving, skilled D-men. It was a perfect fit for me."
The Penguins, obviously, haven’t had many high draft picks in recent years. The higher-end picks that they have made in recent years have primarily been forwards (first-round pick Sam Poulin, third-round pick Nathan Legare, second-round pick Tristan Broz) or goaltenders (second-round pick Joel Blomqvist and third-round pick Calle Clang, now a Ducks prospect). Will Reilly (a seventh-round pick) is the only current Penguins draft pick on Wilkes-Barre's blue line. The other defense prospects who are on NHL contracts -- Joseph, Juuso Riikola, Cam Lee, plus Josh Maniscalco in Wheeling -- have all been acquired in free agency, with the exception of Joseph, who was acquired via the Phil Kessel trade.
Ron Hextall told me prior to the trade deadline that the lack of depth in the prospect pool has led the team to dive deep into the undrafted free agent market, and that the lack of depth might actually help the Penguins land some of their targeted players.
"I think when you have the number of draft picks that we've had without first round picks the last few years, you look into that market a little bit more," Hextall told me. "Sometimes you have a better chance because your prospect pool isn't stacked."
That's especially true on defense, and that's something that contributed to Swoyer choosing the Penguins as his destination. He sees a real path for himself here.
"Absolutely," he said when I asked if that was a factor. "And with a GM change a couple of years back, they're still sorting their side out. So it was definitely, definitely something that attracted me here."
The first step on that path was his pro debut Wednesday. After taking that step, he just seemed grateful toward everyone who helped him get to this place in his career.
"I think about all the sacrifices my family and friends that have made for me to get to this point," Swoyer said. "It's definitely pretty cool."
WBS Penguins
Colin Swoyer in his AHL debut Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Wilkes-Barre had a rough start. The Penguins trailed 2-0 after the first period and were being outshot 11-1 at the 13-minute mark of the first period.
"I wish I could tell you exactly what it was that led to a slow start," Forrest told me. "But that's not how we want to come out, especially on home ice. You're clawing from behind. I thought we did a great job midway through the second or around that point in taking control. But we had a few posts, we had some good looks that we weren't able to capitalize on. That's how it goes when you spot a team a period, basically."
• The Penguins' lone goal came in the second period, a shorthanded goal by Filip Hallander that was made possible by Drew O'Connor's heavy pressure on the Checkers' power play:
The Penguins' penalty kill as a whole is one of the team's biggest strengths, and they've killed their last 30 penalties, including five in this game alone. I asked Forrest about O'Connor's contributions on the penalty kill specifically, given that Mike Sullivan has spoken about that being an area of O'Connor's game in which he'd like to see growth.
"Up ice, he's been really, really effective on the forecheck on the penalty kill," Forrest said. "He just has a knack for hitting pucks and getting a stick on things and making it hard to make a play out of their zone. He's doing really well in that area. In-zone it's the same, he has that ability to knock pucks down and be in the way. His speed and reach are deceptive, it's a little bit harder for the opponent to read sometimes if they think he's coming a little bit slower. They don't realize how close he is, how fast he gets there. It's still a work in progress for him. It's a lot of the read-react game there and understanding what their power play wants to do. But I think he's been doing a nice job for us lately."
• The Checkers scored a third-period goal off of a O'Connor turnover, however, before closing out the game with an empty netter:
• Louis Domingue took the loss with 25 saves on 28 shots.
• The power play went 0-for-4.
"The power play, it's been a struggle lately," Forrest said. "We weren't able to execute tonight, it was just a little bit sloppy. At the end of the day, that could have made a huge difference for us. We've got to be better in that area."
• The Penguins sit fifth in the Atlantic Division with a .515 points percentage. The Hartford Wolf Pack and Bridgeport Islanders both sit tied for the sixth and final playoff spot in the division with matching .507 points percentages. The Hershey Bears sit one spot ahead of the Penguins in fourth with a .536 points percentage. The Penguins' next three games are against the Bears, Islanders, and Bears again.
The Penguins are just 2-7-1 against the Bears this season, though they did win their last meeting on Feb. 22, 3-1.
"We've just got to play our game," Forrest said of the key to these next two meetings. "There's no real secret to it. They may have had our number in the past here, but this is a reset every day. So I couldn't care less about the last games against them. I'm just concerned about the next ones."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza:
1. German Rubtsov, Checkers C
2. Joey Daccord, Checkers G
3. Filip Hallander, Penguins LW
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 Taylor Fedun is out "week-to-week" with a lower-body injury. Forrest said last Wednesday that they expect Fedun to remain sidelined “probably a couple more weeks here at least.”
THE LINEUPS
Forrest's lines and pairings:
Radim Zohorna - Drew O'Connor - Alex Nylander
Filip Hallander - Sam Poulin - Valtteri Puustinen
Jonathan Gruden - Michael Chaput - Anthony Angello
Kasper Bjorkqvist - Jordy Bellerive - Kyle Olson
Juuso Riikola - Mitch Reinke
P.O Joseph - Colin Swoyer
Matt Bartkowski - Will Reilly
And for Geordie Kinnear's Checkers:
Henry Bowlby - Alexander True - Logan Hutsko
Scott Wilson - Zac Dalpe - Aleksi Heponiemi
Connor Bunnaman - Cole Schwindt - Serron Noel
German Rubtsov - Luke Henman - Patrick Giles
Matt Kiersted - Connor Carrick
Dennis Cholowski - Chase Priskie
Gustav Olofsson - Dennis Cesana
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins close out their final homestand of the season with a game against the Bears on Friday, the Islanders on Saturday, then the Bears again on Tuesday. They'll finish the season with five road games over two weeks, making trips to Providence, Springfield, Hartford, Syracuse, and finally Lehigh Valley on April 30.
THE CONTENT
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