CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Penguins forward prospect Ty Glover described the experience of his first few months in professional hockey as being in "survival mode."
Glover, 22, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Penguins in March 2022 after playing two seasons at Western Michigan University. This past season was his first professional season, and he spent the full year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, albeit occasionally watching from the press box. He appeared in 49 games for Wilkes-Barre in a bottom-six winger role, scoring seven goals and five assists.
"It's the AHL, it's the second-best league in the world," Glover told me of his experience last season while at the Penguins' development camp earlier this month. "It's just trying to survive out there. But after Christmas and into February, I think I really stepped up my game."
Glover's coaches agreed, and Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest said at development camp that Glover "might have been the most improved player throughout the season."
Glover's looking to build on those strides he took last season and become a key player for Wilkes-Barre heading into this coming year.
Glover, listed at 6 foot 3 and 201 pounds, is a power forward-type. His strengths are his skating, attention to detail in both ends of the ice, ability to win puck battles and play hard on the forecheck. The part of his game that he calls his "bread and butter" is his ability to be a net-front presence. He spent two years in that role on Western Michigan's power play, and picked up a fair amount of his goals from rebounds or tips in that position.
Both Forrest and director of player development Tom Kostopoulos pointed to Glover's energy and personality as some of the first things they liked about his game in his rookie year.
"He's got a ton of energy," Forrest said. "He creates some real chaos out there, he works really hard, goes to the net. He's really well-liked by his teammates."
Kostopoulos liked that energy in the Penguins' three-on-three tournament to close development camp, too.
"He was flying out there," Kostopoulos said of Glover. "Man, his speed was so noticeable, I'm sure you all saw it. In straight lines, he can fly. I think his energy and his attitude is contagious. It just spreads and the guys love him."
What kept Glover from being an everyday player in Wilkes-Barre's lineup was less about any glaring weaknesses in his game, and more so it just being part of the process for a young player adjusting from the college game to the professional game.
"You're playing against men," Glover said of the biggest adjustment for him. "It's a bigger, stronger game. And obviously, college is a 32-game schedule. In the AHL, you're playing 76 and it's definitely a lot more on your body. But I think I handled it well, took care of my body and I just want to keep getting stronger, getting ready for the year."
Glover said that through conversations with the development staff, what the team really wants to see him work on this summer is his edge work in his skating. He has the blazing, straight-ahead speed, but could stand to get better at his east-west game. He also wants to keep working on his puck handling in tight areas, something that should help him produce more from the net-front.
Glover didn't spend much time penalty-killing last season, but Kostopoulos thinks that Glover will have to become a "real staple" on Wilkes-Barre's penalty kill and really learn how to play that role in order to take the next step.
The Penguins liked what they saw from Glover in his first year of pro hockey last year. They like the energy, speed, size and details he brings, and that kind of power forward role is the kind of player they hope he can develop into at the next level.
"With him, it's just continuing to progress in his execution and raising the level of that and really kind of defining his game, and what he's doing to be successful," Forrest said. "It's sticking to that, not veering and trying to be a different type of player than what's going to help him be his best. He made a lot of steps, he might have been our most improved player throughout the season. He's got a lot of raw skills, you just need to kind of mold it a bit."
The Penguins' prospect pool is a shallow one, and they're going to need to replenish it in the coming years by holding onto their higher draft picks. But another way to deepen the pool is to have some of these undrafted signings turn into real gems, and Glover showed the makings of that as last season progressed.
"I was trying to be a sponge and take it all in," Glover said of his rookie season. "I think I finished up strong. I'm going to continue my summer, keep going and getting bigger. Get ready for a big shot at the big camp."
