Penguins Prospect Watch: Cam Lee, Drew O'Connor return from Europe
While the NHL and most leagues in North America still on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, several leagues in Europe and a handful in North America have already opened play for the 2020-21 season.
Twenty of the Penguins’ prospects or minor leaguers have already played this season, primarily in Europe. Here is a weekly look at their progress:
• Defensemen Cam Lee and forward Drew O’Connor had their loan agreements terminated and returned to the United States to prepare for the Penguins’ training camp, scheduled to open Jan. 3.
Lee, 23, appeared in 14 games and scored 11 points (two goals, nine assists) for HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga.
O’Connor, 22, appeared in seven games and scored 10 points (six goals, four assists) for Manglerud Star of Norway’s Elitesieren.
The Penguins signed both players as undrafted free agents to two-year entry-level contracts in March.
• Forward Nathan Legare was traded by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to the Val-d’Or Foreurs.
Serving as Baie-Comeau’s captain for parts of two seasons, Legare was that team’s leading scorer this season with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 14 games. A third-round pick (No. 74 overall) by the Penguins in 2019, Legare, 19, is signed to a three-year entry-level contract which has yet to begin.
• The QMJHL remains on hiatus because of the pandemic and is not scheduled to resume play until Jan. 3. In addition to Legare, Penguins forward Sam Poulin, a first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in 2019, is currently a member of the Sherbrooke Phoenix of that league.
Poulin, 19, is signed to a three-year entry-level contract which has yet to begin.
• In the multi-country Alps Hockey League, forward Jan Drozg had two goals for Olimpija Ljubljana in a 9-2 home win against Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbuhel on Thursday.
On Saturday, Drozg recorded a goal and an assist as Olimpija Ljubljana beat beat Cortina Hafro, 7-2, at home.
Drozg, 21, was the Penguins’ fifth-round pick (No. 152 overall) in 2017 and is entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract.
• Forward Radim Zohorna scored for BK Mlada Boleslav in a 4-3 road win against Mountfield HK in the Czech Republic’s ELH on Tuesday.
• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren recorded three assists for MODO in a 4-2 road win against Tingsryds AIF in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvensken on Friday.
In the midst of a three-game scoring streak, Lindgren now leads MODO in scoring with 17 points, all assists, in 21 games. The Penguins acquired Lindgren, 23, in an August trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is entering the third year of a three-year entry-level contract.
• The Latvian Hockey Higher League is currently on hiatus because of coronavirus concerns in Latvia and is not scheduled to resume play until Jan. 5
Forward Raivis Ansons, a fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall) of the Penguins this year, is currently a member of Zemgale of that league.
Statistics
Forwards and defensemen
Goaltenders
*-Current team
(All figures are through Sunday.)
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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