CRANBERRY, Pa. -- After re-signing with the Penguins on a two-year contract with a cap hit of $825,000 in July, it appeared as if the Penguins were finally ready for P.O Joseph to graduate from the AHL and become a full-time NHLer.
But then the Penguins brought in two new defensemen in Jeff Petry and Ty Smith via trade after shipping defenders Mike Matheson and John Marino away. The Penguins also signed Jan Rutta, giving them nine NHL-capable defenders, including Joseph.
Following training camp practice on Thursday at the Lemieux Complex here in Cranberry, I spoke with Joseph about where his head is at coming into the new season, as well as how he's navigating having so much competition in-house while he tries to establish himself as a NHL defender.
"I’m pretty happy. It’s a new season, I’m excited," Joseph said with a giant smile plastered on his face. "I put in a lot of work during the summer to be here and to be ready physically and mentally. … I don’t try to overthink for the future, I just try to stay in the moment of the present and just try to be better every day."
Joseph literally never stops smiling. He always seems to be in an upbeat mood. Neither of those things changed when I asked him if there's anything for him to benefit from playing another season in the AHL.
"I can’t say that I’m due to go back," Joseph said. "I think my time is due and I’m looking forward for the NHL season. My focus right now is to crack a roster in the NHL and not to ever go back in the AHL. … The AHL is not in my head right now."
Joseph is entering his age 23 season, but has appeared in just 20 NHL games -- all with the Penguins -- thus far. Although his stints in the NHL have been brief, the Penguins started to perform better and more consistently with Joseph on the ice at 5-on-5 as he gained more experience.
Here's a game-by-game look at Joseph's 5-on-5 on-ice expected goals share during his 20 games:
The biggest knock on Joseph since he was drafted in 2017 was that he was too light and got knocked around too easily. Joseph now weighs 185 pounds, which might not be ideal, but he's less concerned with the number on the scale and more focused on building muscle and getting stronger.
"I think it starts in the gym, just how I can be stronger than my weight says and than my size says," Joseph told me. "I feel like once you get to know the players, how they play and their type of style, I feel like I can play like that and try to outsmart them due to my size. I think it’s just reps, knowing how the guys are playing and going from there."
One thing's for sure, though: He's tired of being asked about putting on weight.
"Yeah, sick of it," Joseph laughed. "Honestly, I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve been trying. I like that underdog mentality a little bit, so I’d like to prove people wrong. I don’t really care much about it anymore and I just eat as much as I can as often as possible."
Joseph went on to tell me Mike Sullivan and co. have told him to just be himself throughout training camp and that everything else will take care of itself.
"They just told me to be me," Joseph said. "I think that’s what training camp is all about for every single guy here. Show what you can do, show what you’re all about. My goal is to improve my entire game. I love the way the coaching staff are there to help us, but also the players. I think it’s nice in the locker room, we’re just trying to push each other to be better. In this organization we all have the same goals to reach the Final and win the Stanley Cup, so I think it’s just a common agreement that everyone has to push everyone, and everyone has to be better."
For now, the only spot on the Penguins' defense that's up for grabs is the No. 6 spot on the left side of the third pairing alongside Rutta. There's reason to believe a hefty defensive defenseman could be a strong partner for Joseph, who is at his best with the puck on his stick.
"I think I play well with someone that I’m comfortable with," Joseph said when asked if there's a certain archetype he prefers to play with. "It doesn’t matter what (style) they play, I think it starts with chemistry. I feel like everyone has to be able to play with everyone, and everyone has to trust everyone. If the puck is on my stick, my D-partner has to trust me, and if it’s on his, I have to trust him. It’s a five-man unit on the ice. I’m confident in my abilities and my teammates’ abilities, so I just have to trust everyone."
While Joseph, theoretically, would be a good fit next to Rutta, it has been Smith who has been given the first several opportunities next to Rutta. Smith and Rutta have skated on a pairing together quite a bit during training camp, and the two got a taste of some game action together Tuesday night against the Red Wings.
I asked Sullivan if it would be safe to assume Smith has the inside track on that spot over Joseph for the time being.
"Oh I wouldn’t assume anything. We’re keeping our options open," Sullivan told me. "We’re reserving judgment with all the players and all the positions. As I said before, this is a competitive training camp. There’s healthy competition at all the respective positions and we’re trying to give everybody an opportunity to show what they can do. And as a coaching staff, we’re gonna try to do our best to make the very best decisions for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and putting us in a position to be successful. But we also have a responsibility to our players, and trying to help those guys develop and grow their games, and we take that very seriously as well."
MORE FROM CAMP
• Teddy Blueger left practice early on Wednesday and did not return. After practice, Sullivan said Blueger was being evaluated for an upper-body injury. He did not skate on Thursday and Sullivan said after practice that Blueger is considered day-to-day.
• Jeff Carter remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but is progressing according to Sullivan. He skated prior to the two group sessions on Thursday.
• Kasperi Kapanen returned to the ice with the team on Thursday after missing Tuesday and Wednesday due to an illness.
• The Penguins once again split the remaining players in training camp into two groups for Thursday's session. One group represents the NHL players, and the other group represents Wilkes-Barre/Scranton players and prospects.
The NHLers were out on the ice for the first session today. Here are the lines and D-pairings that were utilized:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Radim Zohorna - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Ryan Poehling - Josh Archibald
Sam Poulin, who was with the WBS/prospects group on Wednesday, skated with the NHL group on Thursday and rotated in on the fourth line. That was the only change between the two groups.
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
Ty Smith - Jan Rutta
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel/Mark Friedman
• The NHL group also got in some special teams work on Thursday. Here's what the power play units looked like:
PP1
Bryan Rust - Sidney Crosby - Jake Guentzel
Kris Letang - Evgeni Malkin
PP2
Rickard Rakell - Sam Poulin - Jason Zucker
P.O Joseph - Ty Smith
• Petry has worked with the second power play unit for the duration of training camp, so it was a bit surprising to see Joseph in his place. There's the possibility that the coaching staff just wanted Petry to get some penalty-kill work in instead, but it's also worth noting that Petry wasn't a very impactful power play quarterback during his time with the Canadiens. That said, Petry's poor power play impacts might have more to do with the way the Canadiens ran their power play.
When Shea Weber was still around, their entire scheme with the man-advantage was to feed Weber one-timers in the middle of the ice somewhere between the high slot and blue line. When Petry took over as their quarterback, their scheme didn't change. An argument could be made that they were simply too predictable and one-dimensional, leading to uninspiring results for Petry.
Regardless, the Penguins' second power play unit won't get a ton of work throughout the season anyway.
• And the lines for the WBS/prospects group:
Drake Caggiula - Drew O'Connor - Valtteri Puustinen
Filip Hallander - Kyle Olson - Alex Nylander
Raivis Ansons - Lukas Svejkovsky - Nathan Legare
Jamie Devane - Ty Glover - Corey Andonovski
• Owen Pickering, Nolan Collins, Colin Swoyer, Chris Ortiz, Xavier Ouellet, Mitch Reinke, Josh Maniscalco, Jon Lizotte and Jack St. Ivany all rotated on defense with the WBS/prospects group.
• Pickering, who has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in his junior team's first preseason game, skated with the group in a regular contact jersey for the second day in a row.
• Following practice, Pickering said he has gained 10 pounds (from 173 to 183) since his initial weigh-in at the start of development camp over the summer. That's pretty impressive, and perhaps a sign that he could fill out his 6-foot-4 frame sooner rather than later.
Taylor Haase wrote this feature on Pickering on Thursday.
• Prospects Brooklyn Kalmikov, Jonathan Gruden, Taylor Fedun, Sam Houde (left shoulder) and Jordan Frasca (right foot) did not skate with the group on Thursday. Taylor saw Houde with his shoulder wrapped up on Wednesday, and Frasca has been seen getting around on a scooter with a boot on his foot.
• It's gotta be tough for O'Connor to be stuck with the WBS/prospects group. He's pretty clearly ready to be an impactful bottom-sixer for the Penguins in the NHL, but because Sullivan and the coaching staff believe he's better suited at wing than at center in the NHL, Poulin was the one "called up" to the NHL group in lieu of injuries to centers Carter and Blueger.
Sullivan mentioned that, ideally, his bottom-six forwards will be penalty-killers. Killing penalties was one of the biggest focus areas for O'Connor last season in the AHL, as well as this offseason, but it sounds like the coaching staff isn't quite comfortable with where his PK ability is at, though it is progressing.
"This is a competitive training camp," Sullivan said. "We've got a lot of good players here right now. We're gonna have some difficult decisions, but I think Drew's playing extremely well and is giving himself every opportunity to make this roster."
• Not to say he's pushing for a roster spot (he isn't), but Ouellet is shaping up to be a nice signing to replenish some organizational depth on the blue line. I've liked his game throughout camp and in Sunday's preseason game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. He's not a flashy or skilled defender, but he skates well and tends to take care of the puck. I doubt he'll play much -- if at all -- in the NHL this season considering the Penguins' plethora of capable NHL defenders, though it never hurts to have too much depth. There are certainly worse options out there.
