BOSTON -- Player development is about teaching.
It is about forging one-on-one relationships.
It is about evaluating the finer points of a player's game, then interacting with him on a personal level to upgrade them.
Most of the time, anyway.
But like so many other aspects of life in the era of COVID-19, things are different these days for members of the Penguins' player-development staff.
Simply being able to watch prospects, drafted or otherwise, in person is prohibited in some places, and actually being able to give players in-person instruction is impossible in others.
Instead, most contact with players, regardless of whether the intent is to iron out wrinkles in his game or merely to ask about how his family is doing, takes place on Zoom calls.
"It's always better to be able to meet a player after you see him play a game and talk to him about the game he played, face-to-face," said Scott Young, the Penguins' director of player development. "But we have to deal with all of these different circumstances right now, so we have to adjust. It's watching players now on video, watching our prospects on video and keeping in touch with them, (about) what we've seen on video. It's obviously different."
Young said that player-development coaches Tom Kostopoulos and Andy Chiodo do more actual on-ice work than he does, and that his usual approach to handling his duties is being particularly disrupted by coronavirus complications.
"(Normally), I'm coming in, meeting with the coaches, talking with players down in the locker room, outside the locker room," he said. "That's going to be a big adjustment for (the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre). Hopefully, things change, but right now, there are quarantines in place, where you have to quarantine seven days before you go in and then three days when you get there. So, is it going to be worth quarantining, basically, for 10 days, before being able to go on the ice for a day?"
The start of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp was delayed several days until Friday after an unidentified individual had a positive COVID-19 test result, but Young said Kostopoulos will be able to do some on-ice work when camp gets going because he already has had, and recovered from, coronavirus.
How much the limitations caused by COVID could retard an individual prospect's progress is impossible to predict, but it seems reasonable to believe that some will be affected more than others.
"It's going to depend on the player," Jim Rutherford said, shortly before his surprise retirement Wednesday. "Ultimately, it's the player who's going to put the work in."
Part of Young's job is identifying free agents the Penguins can add to help compensate for the draft choices they've traded in recent years -- he and Kevin Stevens famously prodded the Penguins to acquire John Marino in 2019 -- but in-person contact with such players is out of the question at most colleges because of COVID regulations. Indeed, some of those assessments have to be done via television this winter because scouts are barred from attending games in a lot of places.
"That's a lot different, because you don't get to talk to them, face-to-face," Young said."You can call them, but you don't get to meet them, face-to-face, after a game. You want them to feel comfortable with you. Hockey East, we can't go to any games. It's all (done) on video or TV."
He expressed hope that some restrictions might be eased if the pandemic situation improves, but for now, Young and his staff have no choice but to operate under conditions imposed by the new abnormal.
"It's not the way we would like to do things," Rutherford said. "But it's the same as everything -- you have to adjust."
MORE PENGUINS
• You might have heard a few days ago forward Even Rodrigues is out "longer term" because of a a "lower body injury." Really? What, exactly, does that pseudo-information convey? "Longer" than a few days? A few weeks? A geologic eon? And the bottom half of the body covers a lot of possibilities. Does he have a high ankle sprain? A fractured tibia? Perhaps a torn ACL? Who knows? More to the point, who really cares? The answer to that one likely is, "not enough people who wager on hockey games," because if bettors paid much attention to the NHL, it safe to assume they wouldn't tolerate the purposely vague injury reports that are the norm around the league. Can you imagine the reaction if, say, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it known Tom Brady was questionable to play in the Super Bowl because of an unspecified "upper-body injury?" That scenario is as unthinkable as it would be for the Penguins to go public with word that Rodrigues had a "posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture" in his left knee, or a "tibial tuberosity" in his right leg? The NHL, of course, could compel teams to be more forthcoming with injury information, as the NFL does with its member clubs. But until the time comes that gamblers pay serious attention to hockey, don't bet on anything about hockey's approach to divulging injury information changing. -- Molinari
• Jason Zucker sputtered through the early weeks of the season, and didn't record his first goal until the Penguins' seventh game, a 3-2 overtime loss in Boston Tuesday. His lack of production can be attributed to a number of factors -- his line, centered by Evgeni Malkin, had been ineffective as a group for most of the season -- but one thing that can't be blamed is a failure to establish statistical objectives for the season. Zucker noted early on that doing so is a part of his routine, and that it has proven to be a reliable source of motivation. "I feel that everyone should have goals," he said. "We do, as a team. You should, as an individual, as well. I feel that those goals can have a huge impact on the way we play and how we keep striving to get better, as a player." -- Molinari
• If, as Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse suggested, the search for Rutherford's replacement will be conducted by co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, along with Morehouse, any leaks about candidates for the position figure to come from the candidate's camp. Lemieux, who is ultra-private, is a Kardashian-caliber attention-seeker compared to Burkle, a reclusive billionaire. And Morehouse is astute and experienced enough to know his bosses aren't likely to appreciate having any details about the process circulate in public if they'd prefer to keep those to themselves. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• By now you've seen all the stuff about Ben Roethlisberger wanting to return in 2021 and the Steelers wanting him back, as well. But the Steelers also still believe in Mason Rudolph. When asked if his team would have any interest in any of the veteran quarterbacks who might be available via trade this offseason, team president Art Rooney II quickly turned the conversation to Rudolph. "We are comfortable that he's a quarterback that can play in this league and be a starter in this league," Rooney said. "And obviously beyond that we just signed a young player, you know, who knows, but we'll see if he develops in Dwayne Haskins. But I think when you look at our room, we obviously are going to have to add somebody to the room here this off-season, and so we'll look at all the opportunities we have to do that." If the Steelers think Rudolph can be a starter in the NFL, they're unlikely to trade away the draft picks it would take to land a Deshaun Watson or Matthew Stafford. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• You can expect Roethlisberger's deal to be extended two more years, but in reality, that will mean nothing. It will simply allow the Steelers to lower his 2020 salary and roster bonus -- some $19 million -- over three years, lowing his cap hit in 2020 by a little more than $12 million. Does that sound reasonable enough to everyone? Roethlisberger will still get his money -- at least the roster bonus, which is guaranteed -- and the Steelers will get the cap relief they need. It means he'll count $12 million against their 2022 salary cap, but the Steelers have $170 million in cap space in 2022. They ate $21 million in dead money for Antonio Brown to no longer play for them. They can certainly afford $12 million for Roethlisberger for one more year. -- Lolley
• The Steelers' scouting depart is in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl, but the coaching staff is not -- at least not on the field. That's due to restrictions put on each team regarding how many people can be in attendance at practices. But just as important a part of what goes on in Mobile each year is the gathering of coaches -- especially those who are out of work or looking for a change in jobs. There are a lot of interviews, both formal and informal, that take place this week. With a defensive backs, offensive line and quarterbacks coach still remaining to hire, that's what Mike Tomlin has been doing with his time. With no NFL Scouting Combine this year, it will put much more emphasis on pro days once they start happening. Because of NFL rules this year, those pro days will be the only time teams can see many draft-eligible players work out and run. Tomlin and Kevin Colbert usually make a show of visiting some of the bigger ones -- Alabama, Ohio State, etc. -- together. But this year, it will be worth noting even more than ever where Tomlin and Colbert show up at. With so many pro days and that being the lone chance to see some of these prospects, expect Tomlin and Colbert to be very thoughtful about where they show up. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• With spring training just over two weeks away, the Pirates’ roster construction is very unbalanced. Of the 40 players on the roster, 25 are pitchers and 15 are position players. That position player group also includes infielders Oneil Cruz and Rodolfo Castro, neither of whom have reached Indianapolis and shouldn’t be in the mix for an opening day spot. One spot will open up when Rule 5 pick José Soriano, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, is placed on the 60-day injured list, but that can’t happen until spring training gets underway and Ben Cherington is looking to add to the team’s Major League pitching. That spot could go right back to a pitcher. If the Pirates are looking to add some depth to the position player core, especially at outfield and catcher, they’re going to need to start removing pitchers. -- Alex Stumpf
• Hitting coach Rick Eckstein has had a hand in picking his assistant hitting coaches, and he certainly has a type – young minor-league hitting coaches. Jacob Cruz came from the Cubs’ system, Mike Rabelo, now the Major League field coordinator, from the Tigers’ and new coach Christian Marrero from the Phillies. Marrero is only 34 and just three years removed as a player, which means he’s in a unique position where he understands how coaching has evolved over the past few years because he’s experienced it. “One thing they told me is they want somebody that can help translate the information to the players in a way that makes it easy for them to understand,” Marrero said. “Being young, I also relate with the guys as well.” -- Stumpf
• After a flurry of middle infielders signed in free agency this week, Adam Frazier’s trade market looks to finally be heating up. One team to keep an eye on is the Athletics. They were interested in Frazier last offseason and lost two infielders to free agency this week -- shortstop Marcus Semien and second baseman Tommy La Stella. While Frazier’s ceiling isn’t as high as those two, he has been a Gold Glove nominee the last two years and has a career 100 OPS+. However, Ken Rosenthal reported the Athletics offered Semien a $12.5-million deal with $10 million deferred, which would indicate they don’t have much left to spend this offseason. Frazier’s $4.3 million salary is hardly a backbreaker, but chipping in a little cash could go a long way to getting a deal done. -- Stumpf