Goaltender Sergei Murashov impresses in Penguins prospect tournament
The Pittsburgh Penguins concluded their prospect development camp Wednesday in Cranberry with a four-on-four tournament of three different squads.
The unimaginatively monikered Team 1 claimed glory with a 2-1 win against hated Team 3 to secure the Michel Briere Cup, which profoundly remembers a promising Penguins rookie forward who died as a result of an automobile wreck in 1971.
Goaltender Sergei Murashov was the standout of the day as he posted two shutouts in the tournament. (No official stats were maintained.) The only goal he allowed in the final contest was by forward Brayden Yager, a first-round pick (No. 14 overall) in 2022.
A fourth-round draft pick (No. 118) in 2022, Murashov trekked from his native Russia to North America for the first time in his life to attend this camp.
“It was fantastic that he came,” director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. “Getting to know him was great. All of our staff think he’s a fantastic kid. His English is really good. Just spending time with him on and off the ice, everyone has really enjoyed that. Watching him compete in drills, he’s relentless on the puck, which is a great asset for goalies. Then watching him in the games, it was impressive. We’re all really excited that he’s here.”
Murashov’s would-be teammates rejoiced over his presence as well.
“The guy is disgusting,” said defenseman Owen Pickering, a first-round draft pick (No. 21) in 2022. “My first time meeting him, seeing him play, anything. I looked at his (statistics online) at the start of camp, and he’s got some really good stats. He was a rock back there for us. He was really good. A super nice kid. Speaks good English. Fun to be around.”
Two undrafted forwards who attended camp as invitees, Wexford native Matt DiMarsico and Justin Cloutier, scored in the championship game.
Big camp
In total, 49 players were invited to the camp. That represented a considerable increase compared to recent gatherings of prospects for the Penguins. Last year, 33 players attended while in 2022, only 30 participated.
Inflating the number of bodies in this camp were several nonroster invitees such as DiMarsico and Cloutier. Overall, the Penguins had 17 such players on hand (excluding those who are signed to American Hockey League contracts with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).
“It’s a great opportunity just to see different guys, to see college free agents, to see junior free agents,” Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza said. “It’s a great opportunity to give them experience at an NHL camp. Then, we have more draft picks now too. We’re getting more guys over. The size of the camp is probably to just allow us to get looks, allow exposure and create relationships.”
MacDonald has opportunity on the farm
New Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Kirk MacDonald participated in the camp in his first official function with the organization since being hired June 19.
Several of his successors have used that station as a springboard to NHL head coaching jobs, including Michel Therrien, Todd Richards, Dan Bylsma, Todd Reirden, John Hynes and current Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
MacDonald, who previously coached the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League, was very aware of that history when he pursued the open position with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
“Anybody’s that in the (AHL), their end goal is to play or work in the National Hockey League,” MacDonald said. “Everybody’s aware of the players and the coaches that have developed (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). It’s an exciting opportunity. There’s only 32 jobs in the (AHL), and they’re coveted. It’s an honor to be considered and then eventually named as the head coach.
“Part of developing is winning. Winning is a habit, and so is losing, unfortunately. You’ve got to try to build really good habits (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) so they become winners and have a winning mindset, a championship mindset, to come here and do the same thing. As a coach, coming to the (AHL) is a new challenge for me. I’m trying to get better and learn, improve and develop just like the players are.”
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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