Schultz calls it 'cool to be back' in Edmonton

EDMONTON, Alberta -- When Justin Schultz was traded out of this provincial capital a little more than a year ago, he sounded like the world's happiest human.

And Thursday, upon his first return to the city and his first visit of any kind to the Oilers' palatial new downtown home, Rogers Place, he sounded like ... well, he's still the world's happiest human.

"It's cool to be back, see some old friends, take it all in," he said after the Penguins' hourlong afternoon practice. And believe it or not, he was the one who drew most of the media attention, not Sidney Crosby, much to the delight of a few of his teammates. "It's really nice to be here."

Schultz will face his former team Friday night, 9:08 p.m.



Topic No. 1 for No. 4, naturally, was how he's blossomed from a disaster here to one of the NHL's most dynamic, productive defensemen in Pittsburgh: In 62 games this season, he has 12 goals and 33 assists to rate No. 5 in the league, including three goals and three assists in the past three games. He also has a team-best plus-28 rating.

And all those cries across the Alberta plains to be rid of Schultz, considered a perpetual underachiever while toiling here for last-place teams, have now morphed into cries across Western Pennsylvania for the Penguins to sign him to a multiyear contract this summer, when he can be eligible for unrestricted free agency.

The difference?

"I just got my confidence back," Schultz said. "We had a pretty strong team going into the playoffs last year, and the coaches just kind of played me to my strengths. It all worked out. And this season, I've had some good D-partners helping me out. It's just getting that confidence back."

Of his uncomfortable departure from the Oilers, whose fans were booing him near the end of his tenure: "Oh, I don't know. I obviously didn't play well at all when I was here, especially near the end. I needed a change of scenery, a new environment. I wish it could have worked out in Edmonton, but ... I got a new opportunity, and I'm loving it in Pittsburgh."

Mike Sullivan and staff did extensive work with Schultz, including Sergei Gonchar. But the head coach deflected praise to the player.

"When Justin arrived, we knew he had good offensive instincts, good skating, and we felt he was the kind of player who could fit into our style of play," Sullivan said. "He sees the ice well. He passes the puck extremely well. He's a mobile guy. That's the type of defense corps we're trying to build. When we first acquired him, for the most part, he did not play against the top six forwards of our opponents, and we tried to use him in offensive situations or play him behind our star players. That was kind of the rationale."

Then they all went to work.

"I give Justin all the credit to the development of his game. He's really made a commitment to play the game at both ends of the rink. We challenged him in all aspects, and he's met those."

SECONDARY ASSISTS

• The Penguins' practice was full-participation except for Matt Cullen, Carl Hagelin and Scott Wilson getting maintenance days, according to Sullivan. Hagelin and Wilson were felled when blocking shots Wednesday night in Winnipeg. Cullen is 40. All are expected to play Friday.

• The penalty-killing hadn't been a strength all winter, at least until recently. The Penguins, after killing off all five of the Jets' power plays Wednesday, are 32 of 36 in their past 11 games, an 88.8 percent success rate. I asked Sullivan about that: