CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins' prospect pool is a shallow one.
Within that, the pool of right-handed defensemen has the depth of a kiddie pool.
The top two right-handed defensemen in the system are arguably undrafted free agent signing Colin Swoyer and 2022 sixth-round pick Nolan Collins, the latter being a member of the organization for all of three days now.
There's Josh Maniscalco, a free agent signing in 2020 who spent the bulk of last year in the ECHL. Ryan McCleary is a 2021 seventh-round pick with just one full season of junior hockey under his belt. Will Reilly was a 2017 seventh-round pick and struggled to find regular playing time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, his second year of professional hockey. He's a restricted free agent this summer, and it's unclear whether he'll receive a qualifying offer by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline.
Rounding out the group is one who is a bit of a wild card.
Santeri Airola, the Penguins' 2019 seventh-round pick, looked like he was made for the Penguins' organization the last two seasons.
He dealt with a series of long-term injuries, and was limited to just 23 games in the last two seasons combined.
Finally healthy, the 22-year-old Airola is looking forward to putting his bad injury luck behind him and making an impression.
The 2020-21 season was supposed to be the first in which Airola spent the full year in the top Finnish league, playing for the Ilves. He suffered an undisclosed injury just prior to the start of the season, then as he was nearing a return, another injury delayed his season debut.
Airola was finally healthy and got into the Ilves' lineup in mid-January, immediately made an impact. He quarterbacked his team's top power play unit, and picked up a primary assist when his point shot got tipped in front:
He played 19 games with the Ilves to finish the season and recorded three assists, and picked up an assist in a two-game stint in the Finnish second league as well.
Airola was looking forward to finally getting a shot at a full Liiga season this past year. But in his second game in the second-tier league prior to joining the Ilves, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and had to undergo surgery to repair it.
"It's really tough," Airola told me at the Penguins' development camp in Cranberry on Sunday. "Like the last three seasons, I've played only maybe 30 (Liiga) games, and it's hard to keep up with other guys, but that's just the way it is. I just try to do everything I can to prevent them in the future."
Airola said that his rehab from the surgery went well, and he's "feeling really good" now as he prepares for next season. He was set to be a free agent in Finland this summer, but his team signed him to an extension during the year despite his history of injuries. They believe his bad injury luck is behind him, and they think that he'll prove to be a special player if he stays healthy.
"Santeri Airola is one of the most talented defenders on the Ilves in recent years, but he has unfortunately suffered a lot of injuries," Ilves sports director Timo Koskela said of re-signing Airola. "He is a very dynamic player, strong skater and has an excellent shot. In Santeri's case, it's just a matter of developing physically and staying healthy. We want to support his recovery and we are really looking forward to seeing him on ice in full play and developing to his full potential."
Asked if there are any parts of his game that he most wants to focus on improving next season, his answer was the obvious: "Try to do everything to stay healthy."
Koskela said that developing physically will be one of the keys for Airola. He's on the smaller side, at 5-foot-11, and 163 pounds, and he knows that he needs to get stronger if he is to stay healthy.
Airola said that he wants to play at least one full season in Finland before he even thinks about coming over to North America. He says his greatest strengths are his offensive capabilities and his skating, and he thinks his skating would help him make that adjustment to North America when (or if) that time comes.
There isn't much competition on the right side of the blue line in the Penguins' system. If Airola can stay healthy in Finland next season, the door is wide open for him to find an opportunity here.
