Jared McCann is ready to meet the hefty demands of being the Penguins' No. 3 center

It doesn’t carry the same hallowed reverence as … let’s say … being an Art Ross Trophy winner for the Pittsburgh Penguins or a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens.

But there certainly is a legacy affixed to the role.

For the past decade-plus, there have been few positions in hockey as unusual or demanding as being the Penguins’ third-line center.

Jordan Staal established it. Nick Bonino expanded upon it.

Brandon Sutter was, at best, adequate at it. Derick Brassard seemingly refused to embrace it.

And Nick Bjugstad has been too injured to inhabit it.

That leaves Jared McCann to fill it.

On the verge of the NHL’s postseason, McCann has a first grasp as to what is being demanded of him as the team’s third center behind franchise icons Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

“Being a two-way player,” McCann said. “Being solid in both ends of the ice. Always making the right play. … Just trying to stay confident, trying to makes plays, trying to be good defensively.”

That’s to say, be a little bit of everything. Offensive threat. Defensive impediment. Faceoff specialist. Penalty killer. Occasional power-play option. Forechecker. Backchecker.

All of the Penguins’ centers do those things, at least in five-on-five play. But the third-line center ideally is deployed in such a way that it makes life easier for the other centers, particularly the top two, in all of those realms. Most notably, a third-line center ideally will take a heavy number of draws in the defensive zone in order to free up the top two centers to begin shifts in more offensive situations.

Of course, a third-line center’s effectiveness can be tied directly to the quality of his linemates. Staal found a marvelous fit between Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke during the 2009 postseason, and Bonino meshed so well with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, an incalculable number of bootlegged “HBK” shirts were sold on Smallman Street in the springs of 2016 and ’17.

In contrast, Sutter typically found himself flanked between limited options such as Tanner Glass or Nick Spaling.

During this training camp, McCann has been working with Patrick Marleau, a potential Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, and Patric Hornqvist, one of the league’s premier net-front presences.

That trio helped open the scoring during a scrimmage Thursday when Hornqvist, with assistance from defenseman Juuso Riikola, hounded defenseman Jack Johnson into a turnover in his own right corner. The puck rolled above the crease, where McCann was able to swat an awkward forehand shot past the right leg of goaltender Tristan Jarry.

“It’s good,” McCann said. “We’re growing every day with our confidence in each other. We’re making plays.”

“We feel that we’ve got excellent chemistry on that line,” assistant coach Jacques Martin said. “Patrick Marleau brings a lot of experience. He’s a player that plays extremely well on both sides of the puck. Patric Hornqvist, we know what he brings to our hockey team. His energy, his enthusiasm. He may be one of the top players in the league as far as a net presence. He’s quick on the puck. Jared brings a lot of speed to that line. He’s got the ability to score some goals, to shoot the puck. He’s a good two-way player.”

On paper, the trio seems like a sound collaboration. But ultimately, the effectiveness of this line won’t be proven until it gets onto the ice against another team. The first chance to do that will be Tuesday in an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto.

“We look at ourselves like the game changers,” McCann said. “We feel like we have something that a lot of teams don’t. We’ve got that veteran presence with Patty and (Hornqvist) as well. I’m just trying to complement them.”

There was little to compliment McCann for at the end of the regular season before the NHL halted play because of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March.

Through his first 44 games of the regular season, he offered 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) while filling a variety of roles because of the team’s rampant injuries. But in his final 22 contests, he was limited to seven assists.

During the ensuing four months of inactivity, he had time to inventory the malfunctions in his play.

“I needed to shoot the puck more,” McCann said. “I was in opportunities where I could have put the puck at the net, and I decided to hang onto it or I made the extra pass. That’s something I needed to get past. I kind of forgot about it. I shot a lot of pucks over the break here. I’m ready to go. I’ve totally forgotten about it and just turned a new page.”

“I went home, shot some pucks and kind of hit reset.”

As one of the most tenured members of the franchise, defenseman Kris Letang has had a direct view of what has and hasn’t worked with third-line centers for the Penguins. He said McCann has the base abilities to meet the position’s considerable demands.

“He has a lot of speed,” Letang said. “He can play in every situation. And he’s a guy that pays attention to a lot details out there defensively. We all know how skilled he is, and he can bring tons of offense. It’s a good line with Pat and … uh .. .the two Pats. He brings so much to the table.”

Even with two highly accomplished wingers in Hornqvist and Marleau, McCann seems ready to claim possession of his line.

“I’m just trying to focus on complementing them as much as I can,” McCann said. “Whether that’s just throwing the puck on net, and those two are in front and banging away, I’ll do the rest.”

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