Joining Penguins triggers homecoming, Steelers watch party for Colin White

When Colin White was looking for a new team last year after his run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Florida Panthers, he found the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeing traits in that organization every player desires and many have spoken highly of over the years.

“There is so much history here,” White said Sunday after a half-hour practice with the Penguins at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. “There are so many good things people say about it and the culture here. Every time you play against them, it’s a hard team to play against.

“It was a good opportunity for me, too.”

That’s nice, but coming to the Penguins gives White a bonus many players can’t enjoy when they change teams:

First, he will join teammates Monday for the Penguins’ game against the Seattle Kraken at PPG Paints Arena, his second since he was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.

Then, with the Penguins/Kraken start time moved to 1 p.m., he will savor an opportunity after the game that a professional hockey player rarely gets to experience. He will watch the Pittsburgh Steelers/Buffalo Bills playoff game with his grandfather.

White’s parents are from Upper St. Clair and taught him to be a Steelers fan. His grandparents still live there. He said family gives his return to the NHL a “more homey” feel.

“My grandpa is always texting me,” he said. “Now that I’m here, he’s asking me to come watch NFL football. It’s pretty awesome. They are such a good support system.”

Colin White's family is from Upper Saint Clair and they couldn't be happier he's playing for Pittsburgh: "They're super excited. My grandpa is always texting me - and now that I'm here, he's already asking me to watch NFL football... They are such a good support system." pic.twitter.com/X2v88L4ZpF

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 14, 2024

Which is just what White, 26, needs at this point in his career after recently recovering from two separate upper-body injuries.

He has been playing organized hockey most of his life, joining a 16U team in 2010 in his native Boston at the age of 13. He said he wanted to test himself against the best competition.

Five years later, in 2015, White was a first-round draft choice (21st overall) of the Ottawa Senators. Before he was drafted, he played for the U.S. in international competition, scoring seven goals in seven games while winning a gold medal at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. In 2015, he scored the winning goal in overtime against Finland to lift the U.S. to win a gold medal at the 18U championship.

After the draft, White went to Boston College, where he recorded 76 points (34 goals, 42 assists) in 72 games.

At 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, he made his NHL debut in 2017 with the Senators and played against the Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final that year.

After six seasons with the Senators, he joined the Panthers last year and had eight goals and seven assists in 68 games, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. After experiencing free agency, he signed a one-year contract with the Penguins in October.

For his career, he has appeared in 293 NHL games, with 44 goals and 69 assists. His best season was 2018-19 with Ottawa, when he totaled 14 goals, 27 assists and 41 points.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he sees White assuming a checking role in the bottom six.

“A reliable trustworthy guy,” Sullivan said, “that we can use on the wing or at center, can help us on the penalty kill. He can be a guy who can play against a team’s top players, can help us build momentum with the game that he plays because he’s hard to play against by nature of bringing a conscientious game.”

After he played in the overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, White got a simple message from the coaches:

“Do what I did, play a simple game and good things come from that,” he said. “I think for me, especially in the NHL, it’s playing with confidence and getting that offensive mindset back.”

He said he will play wing or center. It doesn’t matter to him.

“I’m just going to go with the flow and do what they ask,” he said.

NOTE: Sullivan switched personnel on his second and third defensive pairings, with Ryan Graves joining Erik Karlsson and P.O Joseph skating with Chad Ruhwedel. “We’re trying to reward guys with opportunity when they gain some traction in their game,” Sullivan said. “Graves has played pretty well as of late. We’re always considering personnel changes with respect to every facet of our game. That’s never off the table.”