CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Valtteri Puustinen said in his training camp interview last year that his goal coming into the year was just to play "some more than last season" in the NHL.
Puustinen, the Penguins' seventh-round pick in 2019, had played one game in the NHL the year before, in 2021-22. It was a game in which Kasperi Kapanen was a healthy scratch, and so an opening was created on the right wing in a game against the Golden Knights. Puustinen played 10:14 on the Penguins' third line alongside Brock McGinn and Jeff Carter that night, and it was early in the second period when that trio teamed up for a goal. Puustinen sprung McGinn on a breakaway with a pass to center ice. Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit stopped McGinn on the breakaway, but lost track of the puck underneath his pads. Carter followed through and knocked in the loose puck in the crease, giving Puustinen his first-ever NHL point, a secondary assist.
Puustinen started last season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once again, and never got that call back to the NHL. Some of that was salary cap-related -- the Penguins were in such a tight situation for much of the year that they just didn't have the luxury of recalling players just for the purpose of giving them a shot. But when there was money and space for a recall due to injuries, Puustinen was still passed over in favor of forwards like Sam Poulin, Jonathan Gruden, Alex Nylander, Drake Caggiula and Filip Hallander. Some of that was due to positioning (Poulin and Gruden play center, while Puustinen does not, and a center was needed) but in the case of the other call ups, those forwards were just seen as the better option.
In speaking with Puustinen at the Penguins' training camp at the Lemieux Complex this week, his goal coming into this season is the same as it was last year.
"I hope for some more up here," he said with a grin.
Puustinen said that his summer was "so good," albeit a little long for his liking.
"It was a long summer because we missed (the playoffs) last year," Puustinen said. "But summer is cool for me because I could practice and take the time with my family and friends, and now I'm ready to get back to work."
Puustinen said that he focused on adding power and speed primarily in the offseason. He says that he put on more strength, but his overall weight is down, a result of his ongoing goal of shedding body fat that he's had since being drafted.
At least off the ice, that hard work is paying off so far.
"I worked my body, and I think I had a good summer because the gym testing was the best ever here for me," he explained, referring to the fitness testing that the team does at the start of camp.
Puustinen took steps forward in his production last season. He put up 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 73 games in his rookie season. He increased those totals to 24 goals and 35 assists in 72 games last season. While the overall total was better, he was streaky at times. He went over a full month without a single goal, recording just five assists in 12 games from late February into late March. That cold streak happened when Nylander started getting his series of emergency call ups to the NHL. Had Puustinen not been in a drought offensively, it's possible that it would have been him getting the call at times instead.
"I think my game was a little bit better in the first year," Puustinen said of his overall play last season. "But my focus is playing here, and last year I played all season in Wilkes. But that was good for me, because now I'm ready to take a place here."
Mike Sullivan likes Puustinen. He smiled while calling him a "great kid, an enthusiastic kid" whenever he's at the rink. On the ice, he likes the potential Puustinen has. There aren't many forward prospects in the system -- at least in Wilkes-Barre -- who have the skill with the puck that Puustinen has.
"I think he's a guy that potentially has NHL talent and could play in this league and establish himself as an NHL player," Sullivan said. "He's got a great shot, he's got real good offensive instincts, he sees (the game) and thinks it pretty well offensively."
Sullivan said that more consistency and an overall stronger two-way game is what will be needed if Puustinen is to see NHL time this season. Puustinen projects long-term to be a top-six type of player if he's able to stick in the NHL. But few prospects make the jump from the AHL straight into a top-six role, and so Puustinen needs to be able to be relied on defensively and provide energy in that kind of third- or fourth-line role at the NHL level before he grows into a top-six position.
"Defensively, we have to have a certain trust that we can put players over the boards in certain situations and know that they're going to be able to get the job done," Sullivan explained. "I think Puusty has work to do there. And I think he's gotten better and grown in that regard. I think he can continue to work and get better in that capacity."
If Puustinen does see NHL time this season, it'll likely come in the form of a midseason call up. He'll almost certainly start the year in Wilkes-Barre. It's too early to read too into combinations in camp, but Puustinen has been skating on a line with Sam Poulin and Radim Zohorna. That line might actually be a real combination -- Wilkes-Barre's top line to start the season. All three of those players have played with the others in WIlkes-Barre for extended periods in the past, though not all together at the same time. That prior experience shows though, and they've combined for several goals in the scrimmages through the first three days of training camp.
The forward depth throughout the organization is exceptionally deep this year, a result of a concentrated effort by Kyle Dubas in order to make Wilkes-Barre more competitive and give Pittsburgh more options for call ups in the event that an opportunity is created due to injury. It'll be tougher than ever for Puustinen to get that recall, but he seems more ready than ever to show he can play at the NHL level.
