Penguins forward Jake Guentzel restores his confidence after miserable 2020

Jake Guentzel was way ahead of the curve.

Before “2020” became a meme, Guentzel got a head start on ensuring his own personal calendar year would be terrible several months before the rest of us.

On Dec. 30, 2019, the same day he was selected to an All-Star Game for the first time in his career, Guentzel’s brilliant season came to an abrupt halt. After scoring a goal during a 5-2 home win, he got tangled up with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot and crashed violently into the end boards.

His right shoulder bore the brunt of the collision. A little while later, in the early hours of New Year’s Eve, Guentzel underwent major surgery on his shoulder and was done for the rest of the season … until everyone else’s season was brought to a halt in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The NHL’s pause and subsequent restart in August afforded Guentzel time to recover from his devastating injury and join his team for the playoffs.

The comeback lasted four games thanks to the Montreal Canadiens, who upset the Penguins in the preliminary round.

So between his shoulder, the pandemic and a quick exit from the playoffs, Guentzel didn’t spend much time around his teammates throughout 2020.

He’s grateful simply to be in their presence for training camp at the dawn of 2021.

“I wanted to come back early and skate with the guys and be around them,” said Guentzel, who participated in the team’s informal skating sessions throughout December. “It’s nice to get this whole team together, and hopefully we’ll click on the right terms here. It’s a small camp here, and we have to start off the hop.”

As expected, Guentzel is back in his customary role as left wing on the top line with center Sidney Crosby. Additionally, he’s once against serving as the net-front presence on the top power-play unit.

And, he has regained his confidence.

“I feel a lot more confident with the extra recovery time,” Guentzel said during a video conference with media on Tuesday. “I feel stronger, I feel more confident. I don’t really think about (the injury) anymore now that I have some games under my belt. Just a confidence thing with it and how long it’s been. I’m ready to go.”

Had his 2019-20 season not been interrupted by injury (or pestilence), Guentzel would have likely reached the 40-goal mark for the second consecutive season. Through 39 games, he had 20 goals and 43 points.

With only 56 games on the schedule for the 2020-21 regular season, a return to 40 goals is unlikely, but Guentzel’s coach suggests he can easily return to that level of play, if not exceed it.

“There’s room to grow,” Mike Sullivan said. “I don’t think players ever arrive. There’s always an evolution process that takes place. What I really admire about Jake is his hunger and his determination to get better. He’s not satisfied where he’s at. He wants to improve in every aspect in his game and he’s willing to put the work in to do it.

“That’s one of the things that separates Jake from others as far as the character and his makeup. We think his game will continue to improve because of his motivation to want to get better.”

Guentzel has a pretty clear vision for his biggest area of improvement.

“Just consistency,” Guentzel said. “To do it year in and year out I think is a big thing. It’s tough to do in this league. That’s what you want to do to be a really good player is to have the consistency for all 56 games this year and to do it year in and year out. That’s the biggest thing for me.

“Just for me, I’ve just got to get back to playing hockey and getting into that routine again because it’s been a while.”

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