Penguins A to Z: Kevin Czuczman finds value as a mentor

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Kevin Czuczman

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 29

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 206 pounds

2019-20 AHL statistics: 38 games, 10 points (two goals, eight assists)

Contract: Second year of a two-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $700,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2021

Acquired: Free agent signing, July 4, 2017

Last season: For roughly four weeks throughout December and January, Kevin Czuczman couldn’t get in the lineup.

No matter if he was the first guy on the ice or the last guy to leave the ice, the coaches would not put him in a game of consequence.

He did everything right. He practiced well. He was sharp in his details. He was a good citizen in the dressing room.

Yet, all he had to show for that diligence was a string of healthy scratches.

He couldn’t be happier.

That’s because he was in the NHL.

When injuries waylaid far too many of the Penguins’ defensemen at the NHL and AHL level, Czuczman got a rare summons to the big club’s roster Dec. 27 and hung around until Jan. 22 serving as the seventh defenseman.

It was the longest stretch he had enjoyed at the sport’s top level since he turned professional nearly six years prior and played the only 13 games of his NHL career with the New York Islanders at the end of the 2013-14 season.

As has been the case throughout most of Czuczman’s career, he spent the bulk of the campaign in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Serving as an alternate captain, Czuczman’s veteran presence aided many of the organization’s true prospects in adjusting to life as a professional, on and off the ice.

By the time the AHL season came to a halt in March because of the pandemic, Czuczman, who can play both sides of the ice, was working on the right of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s third defensive pairing with prospect Niclas Almari.

Those attributes (and an undisclosed ailment to reserve defenseman Zach Trotman) led to Czuczman getting another recall when the NHL opened training camps in July for its pandemic-delayed postseason tournament beginning in August.

Czuczman wasn’t close to playing a game in the Penguins’ four-game playoff run. But he likely was happy just to be back in the NHL again.

The future: Given the uncertain nature of how the NHL’s season will be orchestrated — specifically with regard to players potentially being quarantined in the event of a coronavirus infection — the likelihood of expanded rosters for NHL clubs exists. In that event, Czuczman could be a candidate to get recalled, even if he is a longshot to appear in a game.

Assuming the AHL’s 2020-21 season opens Feb. 5 as planned, Czuczman likely will rejoin that team and be asked again to serve as a leader providing guidance to rising prospects on their way to the NHL.

Beyond the intangibles, Czuczman is a savvy player with adequate skating and a sharp point shot who seemingly can serve any role on an AHL blue line.

But the intangibles are Czuczman’s greatest value to the organization.

In many ways, he is a player/mentor in the mold of former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward and captain Tom Kostopoulos. Rookie forwards Anthony Angello and Sam Lafferty each have cited Czuczman as being an influence in their growth as professionals.

On paper, Czuczman is simply an AHL defenseman. But even in that limited role, he has found a way to have a positive effect on the Penguins’ future.

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