Kral hoping for opportunity to 'show my best' in finale
Defenseman Filip Kral's first recall of the season came as a shock to him, given how late in the season the call came.
But for Kral, the call was a well-deserved one, and comes after he took a shot and bet on himself.
Kral, 25, was one of the Penguins' free agent signings last season, inking a one-year deal out of the Finnish Liiga. He was originally a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Maple Leafs under Kyle Dubas and played two full seasons in Toronto's system from 2021-23. He found moderate success in that 2022-23 season, making his NHL debut with two games in Toronto, and picking up two goals and four assists in 24 games. But when the Maple Leafs didn't qualify Kral that summer, he bet on himself and signed in Finland.
"I just decided to take a step back to move forward," Kral said of that choice.
It worked. He spent last season dominating the Finnish league -- he finished No. 4 in team scoring and led his team's defensemen with five goals and 32 assists in 46 games. He won the league's Matti Keinonen Trophy for the best plus/minus at plus-28. For an offensive defenseman, that's pretty great.
Kral was asked what led him to the Penguins in the summer, and his locker room next-door-neighbor Ville Koivunen's hand shot up in the air.
"I knew Ville was traded here, so I wanted to start here to play with him," Kral deadpanned. "Because we played against each other in the Liiga playoffs, and I slashed him in between the legs. He remembers that, he doesn't like me because of it now."
Koivunen listened intently from his stall, nodding to confirm Kral's account before cracking up to himself.
In all serious, though, it was Kral's relationship with Dubas first and foremost that led him to the Penguins. Dubas started showing interest in Kral well before the summer, and Kral figured he'd be able to get an opportunity here.
"I just wanted to try one more shot in the NHL, and try to make it before the end of the season," he said.
Kral admitted his start in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was "a bit hard," having dealt with injury right at the start of the year. But he settled in just fine once healthy, and his 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 59 games ranks second among Wilkes-Barre defensemen in scoring behind Mac Hollowell's 31 points.
With just one game left in Pittsburgh's schedule, the runway is short for Kral to have an opportunity for his Penguins debut. The Penguins don't have any injured defensemen, and have up to two other extras in Vladislav Kolyachonok and P.O Joseph, the latter practicing in full on Tuesday. Kral and Kolyachonok rotated on a third pairing along with Ryan Graves in practice.
If Kral does get into the lineup on Thursday against the Capitals, he's just hoping to show what got him here in the first place.
"Support the offense, do the simple things on the defense," he said. "Just play my game, and don't be nervous about it, because it would be the last game. So just show my best."
____________________
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
2:47 am - 04.16.2025Cranberry, Pa.Kral hoping for opportunity to 'show my best' in finale
Defenseman Filip Kral's first recall of the season came as a shock to him, given how late in the season the call came.
But for Kral, the call was a well-deserved one, and comes after he took a shot and bet on himself.
Kral, 25, was one of the Penguins' free agent signings last season, inking a one-year deal out of the Finnish Liiga. He was originally a 2018 fifth-round pick of the Maple Leafs under Kyle Dubas and played two full seasons in Toronto's system from 2021-23. He found moderate success in that 2022-23 season, making his NHL debut with two games in Toronto, and picking up two goals and four assists in 24 games. But when the Maple Leafs didn't qualify Kral that summer, he bet on himself and signed in Finland.
"I just decided to take a step back to move forward," Kral said of that choice.
It worked. He spent last season dominating the Finnish league -- he finished No. 4 in team scoring and led his team's defensemen with five goals and 32 assists in 46 games. He won the league's Matti Keinonen Trophy for the best plus/minus at plus-28. For an offensive defenseman, that's pretty great.
Kral was asked what led him to the Penguins in the summer, and his locker room next-door-neighbor Ville Koivunen's hand shot up in the air.
"I knew Ville was traded here, so I wanted to start here to play with him," Kral deadpanned. "Because we played against each other in the Liiga playoffs, and I slashed him in between the legs. He remembers that, he doesn't like me because of it now."
Koivunen listened intently from his stall, nodding to confirm Kral's account before cracking up to himself.
In all serious, though, it was Kral's relationship with Dubas first and foremost that led him to the Penguins. Dubas started showing interest in Kral well before the summer, and Kral figured he'd be able to get an opportunity here.
"I just wanted to try one more shot in the NHL, and try to make it before the end of the season," he said.
Kral admitted his start in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was "a bit hard," having dealt with injury right at the start of the year. But he settled in just fine once healthy, and his 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 59 games ranks second among Wilkes-Barre defensemen in scoring behind Mac Hollowell's 31 points.
With just one game left in Pittsburgh's schedule, the runway is short for Kral to have an opportunity for his Penguins debut. The Penguins don't have any injured defensemen, and have up to two other extras in Vladislav Kolyachonok and P.O Joseph, the latter practicing in full on Tuesday. Kral and Kolyachonok rotated on a third pairing along with Ryan Graves in practice.
If Kral does get into the lineup on Thursday against the Capitals, he's just hoping to show what got him here in the first place.
"Support the offense, do the simple things on the defense," he said. "Just play my game, and don't be nervous about it, because it would be the last game. So just show my best."
____________________
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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