Prospect P.O Joseph back in NHL, still very much in Penguins’ plans
His status as a significant part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future dates to the day he was acquired more than 28 months ago, which perhaps makes it seem to some as if P.O Joseph is aging out of “prospect” status.
But Joseph is still an always-smiling 22-year-old, and he still is looked upon highly by the Penguins’ organizational brass.
“We are really excited about how far P.O’s game has come,” coach Mike Sullivan said Monday, perhaps three days before Joseph potentially makes his NHL season debut. “He’s just a great kid. He’s a hard-working guy. He loves hockey, and he’s getting better. He’s been knocking on the door here for a while, and we are excited about his overall two-way game.”
Joseph could play his 17th career game when the Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Joseph was taking line rushes among the top three defense pairs with John Marino at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex during practice Monday, a day after his recall to the NHL.
That does not guarantee Joseph will be in uniform Thursday because the Penguins perhaps will have Kris Letang available afterLetang cleared NHL covid-19 protocol. But if Joseph is called into action, he maintains he’ll be better prepared than he was for his 16-game trial last winter.
“I think going back to (the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) was good for just having a lot of ice time and refocusing a little bit and being able to go into the gym a lot,” Joseph said after Monday’s practice.
“What I want to bring (is) just a solid defensive game first, and if I can bring a touch of offense like I know I can I think that’s what the team needs and I think that’s what I want to do.”
Joseph’s tenure with the organization began a full two years after he was a 2017 first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes, and it has endured through a pandemic, three preseason training camps and a unique “return to play” summer camp in 2020. Joseph made a splash early last season when he had five points and was a plus-5 over his first seven NHL games.
But those early proclamations that Joseph was instantly ready to be a top-two pairing defenseman in the NHL proved premature when he was a minus-4 with no points in his final nine games. Joseph’s ice time over his final three games for Pittsburgh shrunk to less than half from its peak of more than 26 minutes.
With his puck possession percentage dropping a full five percentage points from his first seven games compared to his final nine, Joseph never made it into an NHL game last season after a March 2 demotion back to the AHL.
Joseph didn’t make the season-opening roster during fall camp, either, but Sullivan cautioned against reading too much into that.
“He’s good two-way player,” Sullivan said. “He defends well, he has good mobility, he’s got a long reach, he’s got good offensive instincts. He can help us on breakout, he makes good outlet passes, he joins the rush well and he’s active on the offensive blue line. So we like his overall two-way game.
“He just needs to bring a little bit more consistency to his game.”
There are pretty much two things you won’t ever see on P.O Joseph. A frown or weight. https://t.co/zigFwMAlDo
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 26, 2021
Blessed with a deep defense corps, the organization had the luxury of dispatching Joseph to the AHL to get regular ice time to hone his game. (Joseph spent four days on the NHL roster last month but did not dress for a game).
Veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin, though, said teammates recognize Joseph’s talent enough that they knew he’d be back in Pittsburgh soon enough.
“He’s really positioned well,” Dumoulin said. “He’s a smart defenseman, so he puts himself in the right areas, and he will only get better the more and more he plays, especially at the pro level.”
In six games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, Joseph has three points. Instead of sulking about not making the big club last month, all indications are Joseph took a positive approach to his latest AHL stint.
“It’s a process to get to the NHL,” Joseph said, “and I love the progress that I have been making for the last three years here in this organization. So I just try to go day by day and try to improve every time I’m on the ice in the NHL.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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