CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Admittedly, I wasn't all that high on what Ryan Poehling could bring to the table when he was acquired alongside Jeff Petry over the offseason.
After all, outside of scoring a hat trick in his NHL debut, Poehling wasn't really able to make his mark in 85 games with the Canadiens dating back to the very end of the 2018-19 season, as he recorded 13 goals and nine assists in that time.
With Petry being the centerpiece of the trade, it felt like Poehling wasn't a whole lot more than a throw-in who would need a bit of work to become even so much as a serviceable bottom-sixer. With him on the ice at 5-on-5 since he debuted, the Canadiens were outscored 41-24 and controlled a lousy 45.9% of the expected goals, per Evolving Hockey. Even accounting for the mess the Canadiens quickly became last season, those are concerning results.
Immediately following the trade, Ron Hextall said that he discussed Poehling with a couple of management members who were here during his draft year in 2017. They're optimistic he can turn a corner with a clean slate after a disappointing start to his career.
"We really liked Ryan, felt like he’s a big body that is going to get better," Hextall said in July. "Things haven’t gone exactly the way I think he would have liked them to go in Montreal there, and we’re hoping sometimes a change can spur a guy on, and we’re hoping he can be a good two-way player for us."
Poehling has been afforded the opportunity to have a bit more of a prominent role in training camp due to injuries to Jeff Carter and Teddy Blueger. Although Carter has returned in full capacity at No. 3 center and Blueger doesn't seem all that far behind him, Poehling continues to skate as the No. 4 center for now. It originally looked like Poehling would have to slot over to the left wing to crack the opening night lineup, but if Blueger isn't ready to go opening night, which is a week from today on Oct. 13, all signs point to Poehling filling his role.
Back in August I wrote that, while I did have qualms regarding Poehling's overall impact, he could play a unique role for the Penguins as the net-front guy on the second power-play unit. It doesn't appear that will happen, but after a strong showing throughout the preseason and training camp, I'm starting to believe Poehling is capable of being a pretty solid option toward the bottom of the lineup.
I've continued to be impressed with Poehling's willingness to "embrace the traffic game," as Mike Sullivan calls it. He hasn't found the back of the net in the preseason, but this willingness has led him to a number of prime opportunities in tight. Poehling has played more than anyone on the Penguins except for Ty Smith this preseason, so that's certainly a factor here, but Poehling is second on the team with 17 shot attempts and first on the team with seven high-danger chances, three more than Rickard Rakell in second, all per Natural Stat Trick.
Immediately after a faceoff win on Monday night in Detroit against the Red Wings, Poehling shifted to the middle of the ice and placed himself inside of the Red Wings' makeshift rectangular coverage. A shot from distance didn't make its way through, landing right between Poehling's skates in the slot. Even with his back to the net and two defenders converging on him, Poehling managed to improve his body positioning enough to whip a backhand shot on target before the defenders could body him or swat the puck away.
Poehling isn't a massive physical presence at 6-foot-2, 196 pounds, but his frame is sturdy enough to withstand and absorb contact while making plays. Aside from the chance above, he has picked up several deflection and tip-in chances by playing off of contact around the net.
One of the things I noticed about Poehling when scouting his game with the Canadiens was that he struggled with pace. Not that he's a poor overall skater, but it seemed like he was frequently a step behind or a second late to his spot. Something that's been really apparent this preseason, though, is his motor. I hesitate to say he's much faster or quicker, but there's more energy to his game and it shows, especially on the forecheck.
Above, Poehling activates on the forecheck following his chance and disrupts the Red Wings from going D-to-D cleanly, instead having to move the puck right into more Penguins forechecking pressure that forced a failed exit attempt via chip off the boards. Poehling had two more forecheck pressures of his own in the sequence. Neither of the pressures resulted in a true change of possession, but both were disruptive and effective enough to prevent the Red Wings from starting a crisp, cohesive transition up the ice.
Sort of mucking it up, if you will.
One of the biggest components of success in this sport is simply not screwing up and, pardon my cliche here, playing the game the right way. The routes and effort from Poehling there is playing the game the right way. It really doesn't seem like much, but that makes all the difference between the opposition being able to waltz out of their zone with ease and forcing the opposition to expend all of their energy to simply relinquish some pressure.
Poehling had one of his best shifts in a Penguins uniform so far in a separate preseason game against the Sabres. Not only did Poehling display some serious aggressiveness on the offensive side of the puck, but he yet again showed how his intensity and tempo can make an impact:
You'll notice Poehling does a very good job of coming deep into his defensive zone to support the breakout and build with the play. This clip's no different, as the momentum he created allowed him to pressure Owen Power before being the first one to pounce on the loose puck and walk to the middle of the ice for a shot. If not for the long reach from 6-foot-6 Power, Poehling likely gets that shot off uncontested for a decent scoring chance.
But really, it's what happened next that was so eye-catching. With Drake Caggiula going low-to-high, Poehling slipped into the ice that Caggiula just occupied as the Sabres' coverage was pulled higher in the zone. Next thing you know, Poehling had a bit of time and space and made a brilliant play to fish the puck off the wall and immediately get it in a position where he could make a play, which he did, finding Caggiula racing through the middle of the zone for another quality look.
After the chance wouldn't go, Poehling worked the puck right back to the net-front to try and create a bit of havoc, followed by some really nice puck support near the corner. A moment later, Poehling didn't like his options up high as he surveyed the ice. A quick cut against the grain and back downhill drew the attention of Power and Tage Thompson, which was just enough to create a passing lane to get Kasperi Kapanen the puck on the doorstep.
Kapanen's attempt resulted in a counter-attack for the Sabres the other way, but a great backcheck from Poehling ended up killing their rush as soon as they attempted to cross over into the Penguins' zone.
Not too long after in the same game, Poehling made up for springing the Sabres on a rush the other way with a risky offensive zone pass by backchecking hard through the middle of the ice and interrupting what would have been a somewhat dangerous opportunity:
Jumping back to the game in Detroit, there's another instance of Poehling fishing a puck off the wall in a not-so-ideal spot with his back to the middle of the ice, but he made the most of the situation with a quick maneuver to open up and face the ice with the puck in a position where he could move it or skate with it:
It's possible I'm overstating the effect, but I really, really like his ability to get off the wall with the puck. It's a skill that many bottom-six or depth forwards struggle with and, in some cases, is at least part of the reason why those depth pieces aren't able to make more of an impact. This specific instance didn't lead to an A+ scoring chance, but it's still a nice display of Poehling identifying open ice, being aggressive and a willingness to shoot the puck after being in a pretty inopportune spot just a moment before.
I find it more likely that Poehling's goal total this season checks in higher than his assist total, but it's not like he's completely inept dishing the puck, even if a bit limited in some instances:
Nothing crazy here, but I was impressed that Poehling not only avoided the broken stick sprawled in his way in the offensive zone, but that he put his pass in a literal perfect spot for Danton Heinen to try and redirect the feed to the back of the net.
You might have noticed right before that, though, that Poehling had nearly split the defense and would have been barreling in relatively unscathed and unmarked had the Penguins found a way to get the puck onside. Thanks to the churning motor Poehling has been playing with that I mentioned earlier, he has been able to keep defender's honest, if nothing else, on his pursuit into the zone without the puck.
Here's another example where Poehling almost gets the best of the Red Wings' Simon Edvinsson as he raced into the zone:
I'm fully aware Poehling could be playing at his very best right now due to being a fresh face while also trying to fight for a spot, but I won't solely chalk his performance up to those factors.
Poehling is displaying true, identifiable qualities that can make him a quality option at forward. Obviously it remains to be seen if and for how long he can keep things up, but the Penguins can absolutely benefit from the offensive and physical components of Poehling's game that he has shown throughout the preseason. It's really just gravy that he's appearing to make a decent mark on the defensive side of the puck, as well.
There's no reason to believe Poehling will hold the No. 4 center spot with a healthy Blueger, but there's reason enough now to believe Poehling might be a little more than the throw-in he initially looked like over the summer.
With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Carter, Blueger and Poehling, the Penguins' depth at center is in pretty, pretty good shape, especially if you take a look around the rest of the league.
