Penguins cut 13 from training camp
The Penguins trimmed their training camp roster by 13 on Saturday.
Forwards Jordy Bellerive, Jonathan Gruden, Kyle Olson, Valtteri Puustinen and Felix Robert; defensemen Niclas Almari, Taylor Fedun, Cam Lee, Will Reilly and Mitch Reinke; and goaltender Filip Lindberg were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Almari, Bellerive, Fedun, Lindberg, Gruden, Lee, Puustinen and Reilly are signed to NHL contracts. Fedun cleared waivers on Saturday before formally reporting to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Olson, Reinke and Robert are signed to AHL contracts.
Defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a native of Mt. Lebanon, was released from his professional tryout contract then signed a one-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Forward Raivis Ansons was returned to Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. A fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall) in 2020, Ansons was not able to participate in training camp due to an undisclosed injury.
Following these cuts, the Penguins’ training camp roster now has 35 players.
Lineup announced
The Penguins announced their lineup for Sunday’s preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.
It includes:
Forwards - Teddy Blueger, Brian Boyle, Jeff Carter, Jake Guentzel, Danton Heinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Sam Lafferty, Brock McGinn, Drew O’Connor, Evan Rodrigues, Bryan Rust, Jason Zucker
Defensemen - Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, John Marino, Mike Matheson, Juuso Riikola, Chad Ruhwedel
Goaltenders - Louis Domingue, Tristan Jarry
On Saturday, coach Mike Sullivan indicated Jarry is scheduled to play the entire game.
Crosby progressing
Sullivan offered a slight update on the status of forward Sidney Crosby who is recovering from offseason surgery on his left wrist.
“Sid is progressing with both his on-ice and off-ice rehab,” Sullivan said. “He’s been on the ice a lot with (skating and skills development coach) Ty Hennes. We’re really encouraged with the progress that he’s made. He’s in really good shape from all the skating that he’s doing. We’re looking forward to the next steps. But we’re really encouraged with the progress that he’s made to this point.”
The team initially said Crosby would be sidelined a minimum of six weeks following his operation on Sept. 8.
O’Connor impresses at center
During Friday’s 2-1 preseason road win against the Buffalo Sabres, O’Connor, listed as a left winger, was primarily deployed at center.
Logging 17:02 of ice time on 21 shifts, O’Connor was dominant in the faceoffs circle, going 10 for 14 (71 %).
Considering the Penguins will be missing Crosby as well as Evgeni Malkin (right knee) to open the season, O’Connor, a second-year professional, could increase his chances to open the season at the NHL level by displaying some aptitude at center.
“He won a lot of faceoffs (Friday) for a guy that hasn’t played a lot of the center ice position at the pro level,” Sullivan said to media in Buffalo following the game. “He was pretty good in the faceoff circle. Drew, he’s an intriguing player because he has good size, he can really skate, he can shoot the puck, he’s strong on the puck. And he has the ability to play both positions, the center and the wing. I thought he had a really good game (Friday).”
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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