With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Josh Maniscalco

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 23

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 205 pounds

2021-22 AHL statistics: Two games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)

2021-22 ECHL statistics: 64 games, 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists)

Contract: In the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $853,333. Pending restricted free agent in the 2023 offseason.

Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, Aug. 21, 2020

Last season: The Penguins pulled out all the stops when they convinced Josh Maniscalco to leave Arizona State after his sophomore season.

Plenty of calls from team management persuaded him to turn professional. Especially one in particular.

Mario Lemieux.

Thanks in part to Lemieux’s recruitment, Maniscalco agreed to a three-year entry-level deal, a hefty contract for an undrafted player.

Almost two years later, all that effort invested into procuring Maniscalco’s services has yielded 10 games at the American Hockey League level and no points.

Having played in only eight games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Maniscalco appeared to be in line for a fresh start in 2021-22. And sure enough, he got one.

In the ECHL.

After being cut from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp on Sept. 27, Maniscalco was assigned to the Wheeling Nailers on Oct. 14 and spent most of the season in the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

As one of the relatively few players on Wheeling’s roster with an NHL contract, Maniscalco received some badly-needed playing time, primarily on the top pairing and first power-play unit. That deployment led to a highly productive season at the ECHL level, finishing third on the team in scoring.

Maniscalco’s only AHL action came in the form of two games in late December.

Returning to the Nailers just before New Year’s Eve, Maniscalco helped that team reach the postseason for the first time in six years. Appearing in 10 playoff games, he scored seven points (three goals, four assists).

After the Nailers were eliminated from the postseason, Maniscalco was recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as a reserve.

The future: After what was as basically a lost season for him in 2020-21, Maniscalco gained some traction in 2021-22. But it was at the ECHL level.

Given the general scarcity of right-handed defensemen, particularly with this organization, it’s curious as to why Maniscalco has not garnered more playing time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton through two seasons.

The finer details of the game, particularly on defense, are still a considerable work in progress for him. But he has the base elements of his game to be a modern professional defenseman. That’s to say he can skate and join the offensive attack.

Again, he took a badly-needed step forward with Wheeling.

But it was with Wheeling.

It might be hyperbole to suggest it’s now or never for Maniscalco, but he has one year left on his contract to prove he was worth the investment the team — under previous management — put into him.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)