Reid Gardiner is back in the AHL.
The 22 year-old forward is still considered a rookie by AHL standards. If his debut this season brought on feelings of déjà vu, it was for good reason.
Gardiner has been through this before. After impressing with his two-way play in Pittsburgh's rookie tournament in London, Ontario in September 2016, he signed an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the 2016-17 season.
After 23 games and only six points, Gardiner's first professional season ended as he was returned to his junior team, the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. When I spoke to him about his journey back in November, he told me that the decision was mutual.
“I wasn’t playing a whole bunch, and I had the opportunity to go back to a junior team where I felt like I could win," he said.
After regaining some of his confidence (and scoring touch, with 18 goals and 19 assists in 28 games) with Kelowna to close out the season, Gardiner re-signed with Wilkes-Barre for the 2017-18 season. This time around, though, he started his season in Wheeling.
Gardiner quickly looked out of place in the ECHL, beginning the season with a 10-game point streak, during which he scored 10 goals and 7 assists. In total, he's averaged over a point per game with 26 goals and 18 assists in 42 games for the Nailers.
Finally, on Feb. 3, Gardiner got the call to the AHL. He made his debut that night on the top line, next to two of Pittsburgh's top forward prospects -- Thomas Di Pauli and Jean-Sebastien Dea.
The nerves were definitely there to start, he told me, but he's since become more comfortable, with the help of his linemates.
"They've made it easy for me to come in and just do my thing," he said this week. "They're obviously really talented players, and most of the time I just kind of look for them and get them the puck and get into an area where I can maybe get it back. They're very, very good players. I'm lucky to play with them."
One of Gardiner's struggles last season was keeping up with the pace of the AHL game, calling it "too much" for him at times. When I spoke to Gardiner early in the season in Wheeling, he said his skating was still one of his main focuses, but now, Gardiner believes that he's made significant strides.
"I've felt better on the ice in terms of keeping up with the play," he said. "My skating feels way better than last year."
In addition to his skating, the message he's been hearing from his coaches at the AHL and ECHL levels is that they want to see Gardiner put more shots on net. He averaged four shots per game in the ECHL, but it is something that won't come as easy to him in the AHL.
One of his biggest takeaways from his time in Wheeling was the confidence it gave him. After a disappointing first year with little playing time, Wheeling gave his professional career a better start this season.
"I think playing in Wheeling, especially with only nine, 10 forwards on a nightly basis, you learn how to think on the fly," he said. "A lot of times you're playing more minutes than you're used to. I think that aspect can help. I think it helped my conditioning, it helped my confidence just being able to try to make plays."
He's played in only four AHL games this season, but his two points so far have both been primary assists, making plays so his teammates could score:
For the second half of the season, Gardiner hopes to become more comfortable and "try to make plays that I probably wouldn't normally make last year in the AHL."
Aside from that, he's looking forward to a potential playoff run, of course. A shot at the AHL playoffs would also further allow him to demonstrate his growth in his skating, after previously not being able to keep up with the pace of the games:
"Even though it's a few months away and nothing's set in stone yet, if the playoffs are in our cards then I'd be really excited, obviously," he said. "I've heard from a few guys that the regular season is a fast pace but the playoffs is even faster, and guys want to win that much more. If we do qualify for the playoffs, I'd be very excited looking forward to play in those meaningful games."
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE
• Feb. 7: at Springfield, 3-1 win
• Feb. 9: at Providence, 4-0 loss
• Feb. 11: at Providence, 3-2 shootout win
• Casey DeSmith impressed in his three starts this week. Despite Friday's loss, he made 39 saves on 43 shots. He was perfect in Sunday's shootout win.
• Gage Quinney scored a goal in both Wednesday and Sunday's games, his first goals since Jan. 17. The rookie now has nine goals and 10 assists in 33 games this season.
• Friday's shutout saw an end to Daniel Sprong's eight-game point streak, during which he scored five goals and 10 assists.
• Lukas Bengtsson returned to the Penguins' lineup on Friday after being out since Dec. 8 with an injury not related to his POTS diagnosis. He was scoreless and an overall minus-1 through two games.
• Troy Josephs made his AHL season debut on Friday, recalled from Wheeling on Feb. 3 after a hat trick performance. He was scoreless and an overall plus-1 in two games.
• Christian Thomas is away from the team to compete for Team Canada in PyeongChang. Canada just wrapped up its pre-tournament play, finishing 3-0 over Latvia, Belarus, and Sweden. Thomas was held off the scoresheet in the wins.
He shared some pictures from the Opening Ceremonies:
• Lines and defense pairings from Sunday:
Thomas Di Pauli - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson - Gage Quinney - Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson - Greg McKegg - Jarrett Burton
Troy Josephs - Pat McGrath
Kevin Czuczman - Frank Corrado
Jarred Tinordi - Chris Summers
Andrey Pedan - Ethan Prow
Lukas Bengtsson
• After this week, the Penguins remain at the top of the Atlantic Division with a 30-13-3-1 record. They still trail the Toronto Marlies (37-11-0-1) in the Eastern Conference standings.
• The Penguins have another set of three games in three days coming this weekend. They'll face the Rochester Americans (25-13-7-5) on the road, host the Utica Comets (26-14-6-3), and then visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (30-14-3-3).
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Thomas Di Pauli called this goal, the eventual game-winner in Springfield, the "most emotional" goal he's ever scored. Di Pauli lost his father unexpectedly just before Christmas, and Wednesday's goal was his first in 15 games:
SAVE OF THE WEEK
Just an unreal glove save from Casey DeSmith to preserve a one-goal lead:
TOP PICK TRACKER
• Defenseman Zachary Lauzon (second round, 2017) remains out of Rouyn-Noranda's lineup with a neck injury, although he is practicing with full contact again.
• Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist (second round, 2016) was held scoreless in Providence College's only game this week, an overtime win over Maine. Bjorkqvist has 12 goals and five assists in 31 games this season.
• Goaltender Filip Gustavsson (second round, 2016) picked up his second shutout of the season in Luleå's final game before the league's Olympic break.
• Defenseman Connor Hall (third round, 2016) is now week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He's missed 12 of the Kitchener Rangers' 53 games this season due to multiple injuries and the flu.
WHEELING WATCH
This week’s Wheeling Watch will provide an update on Cody Wydo's season.
PROSPECT FUN THING
Before the Super Bowl, the Penguins gave their picks. Chris Summers appears to be out of the loop:
I find this hilarious. #WBSPens #SuperBowl52 pic.twitter.com/y54JRFqUsF
— Brenden (@NinBrenden) February 5, 2018