CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Of all the Penguins' training camp battles that will occur over the next couple weeks, the battle for the sixth (and seventh) spots on defense will be one of the more interesting ones to follow.
Assuming Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson on the right, and Marcus Pettersson, Marcus Grzelcyk and Ryan Graves on the left, that would leave one opening on the right side of a pairing, along with the extra seventh defenseman teams ideally carry around.
There are a lot of contenders for those last spots, with Jack St. Ivany, Sebastian Aho, Ryan Shea and John Ludvig seemingly being among the frontrunners. Mike Sullivan is looking forward to the battles being played out in camp.
"When we get into the exhibition season here, I think this is the next phase of our training camp," Sullivan said. "It's going to give guys an opportunity to to make an impact in a real game against a real opponent. So we're excited to watch some of these guys, and we'll reserve judgment and give them as many opportunities as we think we can. Some are going to earn more. Some aren't. That's the nature of the competition, and we'll go from there."
It's a little early to read too heavily into the combinations used early in camp, especially considering that Karlsson has yet to take the ice for camp as he's sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury. But Letang skated alongside Grzelcyk every day so far -- which very well may be a real pairing once the season starts, given Grzelcyk's history in the Bruins' top-four. The consistent pairing of Graves with St. Ivany is also one that might stick. St. Ivany and Graves were a pairing for all of two games last season before Graves was injured, and although that's an incredibly short sample size, it showed some promise. Graves looked as good as he maybe had all season, and the on-ice results were pretty decent: No goals scored for or against, but a 14-9 unblocked shot attempt differential, and an outstanding 85.9% goals share. That's pretty much exactly what you want from a third pairing -- not hurting the team at all, and helping to sustain momentum in the Penguins' favor until the big guns get back out there.
"It's good," St. Ivany told me of how he thinks he meshes with Graves. "We're both bigger guys and we have a lot of reach, so that's the one thing that we can use to our advantage -- getting good gaps with our feet, but also getting good gaps with our sticks. That's a big thing that you can do, use your stick to kind of guide players to the areas you want them to be."
St. Ivany also liked playing with a partner who has the NHL experience that Graves does, finding it helpful to talk things over with him on the bench between shifts.
St. Ivany should have an edge in this camp battle. For one, he's the only right-handed candidate who has a legitimate shot, which would give the Penguins balance of three lefties and three righties, as is preferred. But he's also coming off a really strong first taste of the NHL. He played 14 games down the stretch -- only recording one assist, but putting up the points has never been his job -- and was just pretty steady overall, and was physical and adept at clearing the crease with his big 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. He showed a lot of poise for a rookie. Though this isn't St. Ivany's first NHL camp, it's his first with that kind of experience under his belt, and he just feels better coming into this camp.
"At the same time you don't want to sit back and just rely on that experience," St. Ivany added. "You still want to have that mindset of being fresh and having that younger-guy-jump and pushing everyone."
St. Ivany is aware of the situation -- there's a lot of defensemen here, and not that many openings. But he said that camp is "stressful enough" without "counting the numbers," and so his focus is to just show what he can over these preseason games and hope that it's enough.
"I'm just trying to really focus on my game and improving on what I was able to do last year, and listening to the coaches, trying to be a sponge," he said. "Not only is this a great time to hone in your own skills, this is a great time to set the pace for the team and really learn the team systems. We're changing little things here and there. It's just being open ears and eyes and just pushing yourself, because at the end of the day, everyone here is competing. Doesn't matter if you're the 45th guy in camp or if you're Sidney Crosby, every single guy is coming to the rink and working as hard as they can to push each other and hopefully make a spot on the team."
Kyle Dubas hasn't seemed to be afraid of the waiver wire in his time here -- if a guy is exempt from waivers, that's not necessarily going to be a knock on him over a guy who does require waivers. But of this group, St. Ivany is the only one who doesn't need waivers to go down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, making him a potential easy pick to be sent down if they're not 100% certain on him being the guy. And the other guys in contention bring some positives, too.
Aho, 28, was one of the lone multi-year signings the Penguins made this summer, inking a two-year, one-way contract worth the league-minimum $775,000. That "one-way" designation doesn't actually impact where Aho is eligible to play, all it means is that if he does end up in the minors, his pay won't be decreased. The 5-foot-11 183-pound Swede has spent his entire seven-year North American professional career to this point with the Islanders. He was limited by a few injuries last season and played in 58 games, scoring two goals and seven assists. When he hit free agency in the summer, the Penguins were an appealing destination.
"Every time I played them, they play fun hockey," Aho said. "I would say they want to score goals, but at the same time they're a hard-working team, and it's always tough. It was always tough to come in here and play."
Aho likes to score goals, too -- he thinks his "strong side" is his offense, citing his puck-moving abilities and his agility as his strengths. And though he's a left-handed defenseman, he said that the right has turned into his "normal side" over the years after how often he's been put there. He could play on the right side of that third pairing if needed, but his versatility also makes him an interesting option for a seventh defenseman.
Either way, Aho knows he can't just ride on his NHL experience to make the roster. There are too many other good defenseman to do that.
"Just do the minor details very well and come ready to work every day, and try to not get complacent and comfortable here," Aho said of what he needs to do to make the roster. "Just come in here and try to learn and take initiative."
While St. Ivany would bring a level of physicality that makes him an intriguing pick, Ludvig brings that same element to his game, perhaps to a higher degree. Ludvig, perhaps more than anyone else on the roster last season, was also willing to drop the gloves and fight when the situation warranted it. Ludvig said the message from the coaching staff has been that these roster spots remain "up in the air," and he's hoping that he can show enough to take one of those spots.
"I think just play my game, which is a hard, gritty game, be hard to play against," Ludvig said of what he needs to show. "I mean, we picked up a lot of good, high-skill guys, and we're happy with that, but I'm just going to keep doing what I do and play my game."
That doesn't mean Ludvig plans on being reckless in these preseason games, searching for fights or going out of his way to lay big hits if it takes him out of position, saying he "never really goes out looking for it, unless someone's doing wrong with one of my teammates. But if you play hard, it's going to happen."
While Ludvig wouldn't go as far as to say that he prefers playing on the right side, he does have that experience and is comfortable being put into that position.
Shea isn't exactly one of the "kids" here at 27 years old, but he's another young-ish defenseman who made his NHL debut last season and did well for himself. His NHL time last season came in two stints -- he earned a spot in the NHL out of camp at the start of last season and played OK to start, but couldn't maintain that consistency and ended up in the AHL. He earned another shot late in the season after Graves was concussed, and was reunited on a pairing with his partner from Wilkes-Barre, St. Ivany. That Shea-St. Ivany pairing down the stretch was the best the third pairing looked all season. This time around, Shea said he "can't even describe" how much more comfortable he feels pushing for a spot.
"Just around the guys, around the coaches, knowing the systems, I can help other younger guys who are new and just coming in," Shea told me. "Knowing the systems is a real big step, and it's just having that advantage and just building off that every day."
Shea believes that what sets him out from other potential candidates here is his ability to break the puck out of his own end and his patience in moving the puck.
"I think my defensive game took a huge stride last year," Shea continued. "I've always taken pride in my stick and having a good stick, and as long as I can do that, I mean, we have some of the most talented forwards in the world, so as quickly as I can get the puck up to them, it's an advantage. And in the D zone, just boxing out using my size. I'm obviously not going to go out there and run people over, but I can still get in their way, play a tough game down low, and if I do all that, then I like my chances."
Shea said that he's moved between the left and the right side throughout his whole career, and has a comfort level on the right side, and even prefers it in some instances -- he thinks playing in the neutral and offensive zones is easier on his off side because of his stick positioning, and he finds it easier to get his hips moving and "see more of the ice."
After St. Ivany, Aho, Ludvig and Shea, the Penguins still have some good defensive camp spots to continue to make things interesting. Left-handed Filip Kral, 24, signed a one-year deal with the Penguins this summer. Originally a Maple Leafs fifth-round pick in 2018, Kral went unsigned as a free agent last summer and spent a year in the top Finnish league, where he racked up five goals and 32 assists in 46 games. Then there's 26-year-old lefty Nikolai Knyzhov, who is in camp on a professional tryout contract after splitting the last two seasons between the Sharks and their AHL affiliate. Keeping Knyzhov would be tricky, because the Penguins sit at 49 of their 50 allotted contract spots, and going into the regular season with no wiggle room would be risky. If they like Knyzhov, there could be as situation where he signs an AHL contract -- which doesn't count toward the 50 -- then potentially signs that NHL deal in-season if he earns it and there's a need and opening for him.
When asked what he'll be looking for over these next few weeks that may set some of the candidates apart on defense, Sullivan said that the answer differs for each player.
"The players, they're all here for a reason," Sullivan said. "They bring something. There's a dimension to their game that that they bring that that intrigues Kyle and our hockey operations, and feel that potentially they could fit into our organization in some capacity, whether it's Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre and and help us have success. The most important thing from each individual player's standpoint is they understand what their game is, and they bring it, and they've got to bring it to the best of their ability."
MORE FROM CAMP
• No changes to the statuses of injured players. Karlsson is still day-to-day with his upper-body injury and not skating. Taylor Gauthier remains day-to-day with his lower-body injury, and Beau Jelsma is longer-term with the upper-body injury. Jagger Joshua (longer-term, upper-body) and Matt Nieto (month-to-month, MCL surgery) skated on their own before practice.
• Here were today's lines and pairings, again some minor shuffling from the day before:
Team 1 (black)
Anthony Beauvillier - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty - Sam Poulin - Drew O'Connor
Boko Imama/Tanner Howe - Joona Koppanen - Jesse Puljujarvi
Marcus Pettersson - Sebastian Aho
John Ludvig - Filip Kral
Dan Renouf - Harrison Brunicke
Alex Nedeljkovic
Charlie Schenkel
Team 2 (white)
Ville Koivunen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Emil Bemstrom - Vasily Ponomarev - Valtteri Puustinen
Marc Johnstone - Corey Andonovski - Jimmy Huntington
Atley Calvert - Logan Pietila - Mathieu De St. Phalle
Kris Letang - Matt Grzelcyk
Nikolai Knyzhov - Mac Hollowell
Justin Lee - Finn Harding
Philip Waugh - Nathan Clurman
Filip Larsson
Joel Blomqvist
Team 3 (gold)
Michael Bunting - Lars Eller - Cody Glass
Kevin Hayes - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
Avery Hayes/Raivis Ansons - Tristan Broz - Jonathan Gruden
Ryan Graves - Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Shea - Scooter Brickey
Owen Pickering - Isaac Belliveau
Tristan Jarry
Sergei Murashov
• Teams 1 and 3 scrimmaged, with Team 1 winning 6-1. Goals in the winning effort came from Ludvig, Rutger McGroarty, Jesse Puljujarvi (two), Tanner Howe and Bryan Rust. Goalies for each team split the games, with Alex Nedeljkovic earning a shutout in his half. The lone Team 3 goal came from Kevin Hayes.
Sullivan made sure to point out after practice that one can't put a ton of weight into those scrimmages. They're not great for evaluation.
"I don't hold a whole lot of stock in the intrasquads," he said. "I think they tend to be pretty sloppy games. I look at those as a necessary evil to get guys back in a somewhat game environment after playing summer hockey for a few months, and just the spatial awareness of having 10 players on the ice, and having to actually stop a puck and not playing in constant motion like they did in a summer league game."
• A note, not sure if you can read into it: They set up temporary stalls in the main locker room for training camp for a few guys, then the rest of the depth guys/prospects are in the two smaller adjacent locker rooms. They have Joel Blomqvist in the main room, Sergei Murashov, Filip Larsson and Gauthier in the smaller rooms.
Jonathan Gruden, Boko Imama, Dan Renouf also have temporary stalls. St. Ivany, Aho, Ludvig, Shea, Emil Bemstrom, Valtteri Puustinen and Jesse Puljujarvi are among those who have actual stalls in the main room.
• Joe Pavelski, who retired in July after 18 NHL seasons, was here today. Think it was just for the USHL Fall Classic that is being hosted here, he was here with a bunch of kids. But he did go up to the Penguins' management box and chatted with Kyle Dubas, Jason Spezza, Doug Wilson and Trevor Daley. Patrick Marleau showed up later in the day for the same reason -- he works in the Sharks' hockey operations department. No sign of Evgeni Nabokov, Brent Burns or Joe Thornton. That's when things would start to get weird.
