WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – On March 22, 2016, the Penguins signed Jake Guentzel to an amateur tryout agreement.
Since then, all Guentzel has done is carry the Penguins through two rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs, take the AHL lead in goals, score on his first career NHL shift and show the most offensive promise of any Pittsburgh forward prospect in a long time.
That’s why it is easy to forget that on the same day of Guentzel’s signing, the Penguins added another player to their ranks on an ATO: center Teddy Blueger.
While the 22-year-old (who is now playing on a two-year, two-way contract) hasn’t had quite as memorable a season as Guentzel, he’s put together a very solid rookie campaign after missing the first few weeks of play with a lower-body injury.
Through Saturday’s win at Mohegan Sun Arena, Blueger has 14 points in 25 games this season. Perhaps more impressive is his plus-16 rating, a testament to his commitment of being a dependable two-way player.
“Ever since I got back (from the injury), I’ve been feeling good, gettimg more and more comfortable playing at this pace and with the guys around me,” Blueger said. “It’s nice to play and feel you’re more part of the team.”
As a teenager, Blueger moved by himself to the United States from his native Latvia and eventually landed at Shattuck-St. Mary’s boarding school, where Sidney Crosby once played. He followed that up with four productive seasons at Minnesota State, where Blueger really began to focus on the small details and playing with grit.
“Around my sophomore or junior year, (Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings) really just kinda taught me, I guess, or explained that to be successful at the next level, you need a couple dimensions to your game and be able to bring different things to the team,” Blueger said. “He really took a lot of time with me and worked on how to defend, and over time I got more time on the penalty kill there
“(I) Just got better and better defensively and started taking more pride in it.”
He’s carried that balanced approach to Wilkes-Barre and has turned into somewhat of a Swiss Army Knife for the team. Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli has trusted Blueger with multiple roles, including on the penalty kill, and line combinations.
Case in point, he spent part of Thursday’s team practice skating with the power-play units.
And Blueger was also one of the final two players to leave the ice, so his work ethic isn’t a concern.
“The more we give him, the more he takes, and it’s just really good to see,” Donatelli said. “When you’re with him day to day, you just really start to see what a solid two-way player he is.”
Donatelli added that, much like with forward Oskar Sundqvist, the coaching staff will be patient in letting Blueger’s offensive game develop and give him an even larger role over time.
An added benefit is the veteran presence of players like Tom Kostopoulos and Garrett Wilson, whom Blueger can lean on for their hockey sense and lessons learned from playing in the league.
Mentally, of course, he already sounds like he belongs in a category alongside them.
“Just be yourself,” he said when asked what advice he would give to the next wave of AHL rookies. “Play the way that got you here in the first place. That’s the reason you’re here, so you’ve got to believe in yourself.
“You just have to put the thoughts away and go play.”
SKATING FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Donatelli always expects the Penguins to play with a purpose, but over the weekend it took on a deeper meaning.
On Saturday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held its annual “Pink in the Rink” game, complete with a pink skating surface, to promote breast cancer awareness. Although it was just one example in a season-long lineup of promotions, the game took on added significance for Donatelli and defenseman Cameron Gaunce.
Donatelli’s wife, Michelle, is a breast cancer survivor, and Gaunce said a “close relative” of his was diagnosed with the disease.
“When you go through something like that, your family members, your wife … it’s a terrible disease,” Donatelli said. “They gotta get a cure on it. I don’t know if they’re any closer than they were, but it’s just a really bad disease and it sneaks up on you.”
Gaunce, who is actively involved in the community through his “Tickets for Teachers” program, said he’s been active in the cause since he first turned pro. He said that, at least in his mind, the key for athletes is to not “overreach” in terms of engaging fans on health and social issues.
That’s why he was so excited to be a part of Saturday’s game, which was an example of how something as subtle as a hockey game could go a long way toward raising awareness of the disease.
“I take a lot of pride in doing as much as I can for cancer, in terms of research, in terms of support, in terms of the families” Gaunce said. “I’m really excited to do it.”
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Feb. 3: vs. St. John’s, 5-2 loss
• Feb. 4: Vs. Lehigh Valley, 7-1 win
Goaltender Tristan Jarry, defenseman David Warsofsky and Donatelli represented the Atlantic Division in the AHL All-Star Classic on Monday in Allentown, Pa. Warsofsky had three assists, and Jarry made six saves in goal during the annual talent showcase.
The Penguins returned from the break with a loss to former Wilkes-Barre fan favorite Bobby Farnham and the IceCaps before rebounding with a rout of the division rival Phantoms.
In the win over Lehigh Valley, the 38-year-old Kostopoulos scored his 16th and 17th goals — which lead the team among players on the active roster — and recorded his 600th career game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Sundqvist returned to the lineup Friday after missing four games with a concussion. He left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury.
Up next: The Penguins continue their season-long six-game homestand this week with tilts against St. John’s, Hershey and Binghamton.
Goals of the week: Josh Archibald scored these two goals in the Penguins' 7-1 win over the Phantoms on Saturday. Archibald's 11 goals in 47 games this season is a new career high after scoring nine goals in 69 games last season:
Tom Sestito also deserves a mention for this fight on Saturday after Lehigh Valley's Samuel Morin hit Jean-Sebastien Dea:
Morin hits Dea and has to answer to Sestito. pic.twitter.com/7ARrWGd7Zz
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) February 5, 2017
Jordan Kwas leads the team with 17 goals this season, including this goal in Friday's win in Kalamazoo. This gif also shows the Nailers' new trend in goal celebrations, racing to the bench:
Kwas makes it 1-0 Wheeling and everyone races to the bench pic.twitter.com/rGNNQk4goq
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) February 4, 2017
