Penguins A to Z: Joshua Maniscalco needs some results in 2021-22
With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Joshua Maniscalco
Position: Defensemen
Shoots: Right
Age: 22
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 205 pounds
2020-21 AHL statistics: Eight games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)
Contract: First year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $853,333. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2023.
(Note: Maniscalco is exempt from waivers should he be assigned to the American Hockey League.)
Acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent, Aug. 21, 2020
2020-21 season: It was easy and tempting to make the comparison.
A right-handed defenseman.
Some offensive touch.
And the Penguins sure made a strong push to sign him, convincing him to leave school early to turn professional.
Could Joshua Maniscalco be the next John Marino?
As it turned out, he wasn’t. At least not yet.
Maniscalco put up some big numbers as a sophomore at Arizona State in 2019-20 as he recorded 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in only 36 games.
He would have returned for his junior season, but given the uncertainty involving how the NCAA would orchestrate a 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, Maniscalco embraced the security of the three-year entry-level contract the Penguins offered him.
After attending the Penguins’ NHL training camp in early January, Maniscalco was assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
After playing in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s first two games of the season (Feb. 8 and 11), Maniscalco did not see another game until March 31.
Management opted to scratch Mansicalco for the better part of two months in favor of players on AHL contracts as it was thought he was just not ready for the professional game, particularly as it pertained to the defensive details of his position.
All the while, Maniscalco was shuffled between the AHL roster and the taxi squad in transactions that were geared towards getting him some instruction with NHL coaches as well as day-to-day salary cap management.
His final game of the season came May 9. In a 6-2 road loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Mansicalco primarily skated on the third pairing and put up a season-best three shots.
The future: There is really nowhere to go but up for Maniscalco after such a lackluster first professional season.
By no means is he a lost cause. He has all the base elements of being a modern NHL defenseman. Namely, he can skate and move the puck up ice. Plus, he’s a right-handed shot, always a valuable commidity on the blue line.
The fact that Maniscalco spent more time practicing and refining his defensive game than playing in an AHL season that was abbreviated due to the pandemic probably wasn’t the worst thing in the world for him.
But he needs to take a big step forward in 2021-22. The Penguins invested quite a bit into signing him as three-year entry-level contracts aren’t typically offered to undrafted players. (Nor do most players get a phone call from Mario Lemieux recruiting them to sign with the organization.)
Maniscalco still has plenty of potential. He needs to supplement it with results next season.
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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