Forward Brian Boyle not taking anything for granted with the Penguins
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, little scares Brian Boyle.
Heck, he’s beaten cancer, having survived a bout with chronic myelogenous leukemia that was initially diagnosed in 2017.
But there’s one hazard he won’t dare tempt.
He refuses to assume he’s made the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster.
“That’s a little dangerous,” Boyle said. “I haven’t signed yet.”
In training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO), the defensive center enters Thursday’s preseason road game against the Detroit Red Wings in Little Caesars Arena without even a guarantee he’d be around for Friday’s practice in Cranberry.
While he has been regularly deployed in a variety of fairly plum assignments during preseason games as well as practices and he certainly has an outstanding relationship with coach Mike Sullivan dating back to their shared time with the New York Rangers, Boyle refuses to assume anything in regards to his status with the Penguins.
“(Thursday’s preseason game) is a big one for me, a big one for all of us,” Boyle said following Thursday’s morning skate. “Guys are getting another opportunity. I understand what my strengths are, and l’m going play to those. I’m going to try to prove it again. The first exhibition game, I didn’t love. The second one, a little better. I’m just going to keep progressing.”
A 13-year veteran, Boyle professes he has approached his station with the Penguins in the same fashion as he has in other stops throughout his career.
“Anytime you go into a camp – if you have a new coach, if it’s the last year on your deal, it’s the first year of your deal, whatever it is, you have a one-year deal, whatever, it doesn’t matter – you’re being evaluated. This league is so good. It’s a great mindset to get comfortable with early on in your career.”
That modus operandi was molded in part by Sullivan.
“I had (Sullivan and coach John Tortorella) in New York my first two years there, and every single day, you really had to prove yourself,” said Boyle, 36. “I signed a contract, a three-year deal after my second year there. I came into camp knowing that I was going to be a target for (Tortorella) trying to prove myself. I still heard it from him for the first month of the season because he just didn’t want anybody to take their foot off the gas. And that was a good lesson for me because you show up to a new team, you want to earn your teammate’s trust, your coach’s trust.
“Having a contract would be better, it would feel better. But the mindset when you put the gear on and go on the ice is the same. You have to perform. You don’t want to be replaceable. If you show that you are, you probably will be.”
Younger lineup
For Thursday’s game, the Penguins are scheduled to deploy a lineup full of prospects and minor leaguers instead of NHL regulars. In fact, the team recalled forwards Jonathan Gruden, Valtteri Puustinen plus defensemen Niclas Almari and Taylor Fedun from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Wednesday and are slated to dress them Thursday.
“We’ve got a young lineup in (Thursday),” Sullivan said. “It’s going to give guys, again, an opportunity to show themselves and put their best effort on the ice (Thursday). We’ll evaluate after (Thursday). “
Sullivan indicated the team’s final game of the preseason – a road contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday – would mostly involve the projected season-opening lineup.
The Penguins’ lines during Thursday’s morning skate were:
49 Domink Simon – 67 Radim Zohorna – 76 Valtteri Puustinen
10 Drew O’Connor – 11 Brian Boyle – 57 Anthony Angello
22 Sam Poulin – 18 Sam Lafferty - 34 Nathan Legare
36 Filip Hallander – 45 Jonathan Gruden – 20 Kasper Bjorkqvist
The defensemen mixed and matched.
The top power-play unit included Angello, O’Connor, Puustinen, Simon and defenseman Mike Matheson. Meanwhile, the second power-play unit involved Legare, Poulin, Zohorna as well as defensemen P.O Joseph and Juuso Riikola.
Domingue on waivers
The Penguins placed goaltender Louis Domingue on waivers. Such a maneuver is a formality as it allows the team to assign him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, presuming he clears by 2 p.m. Friday.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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