Penguins forward prospect Justin Almeida didn't have an ideal start to his professional career.
In the summer before his rookie 2019-20 campaign, Almeida underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, an injury he had been playing through throughout almost his entire final season of junior hockey in the WHL.
While rehabbing from his surgery, he was unable to participate in the Penguins' development camp, and he wasn't a full participant in Pittsburgh's or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp.
"Missing training camp and the rookie camps and all that, that slowed my development a little bit compared to some other guys," Almeida told me last season. "Playing infrequently is tough."
Almeida, with a full extended offseason of training under his belt as he prepares for his second professional season, feels more prepared than ever. He trained near his home in British Columbia over the summer and fall, where he was able to work out in a gym regularly skate five days a week.
"I was very fortunate," Almeida told me of his offseason on Saturday. "An extended offseason, being healthy the whole offseason really helped. Coming in here I just feel way more confident in my skating, my puck skills. Just confident. Going through pro last year and feeling good this year, it's a big difference."
Almeida spent most of his rookie professional season in the ECHL. He scored one goal in seven games with Wilkes-Barre at the start of the season, then went down to Wheeling where he was able to play more consistently and play big minutes. He scored five goals and 11 assists in 37 games with the Nailers before earning the call back to Wilkes-Barre.
He played just two games with Wilkes-Barre before the season shut down due to coronavirus.
Even in that brief stint back in the AHL, then-head coach Mike Vellucci told me that Almeida was noticeably better after spending that time in Wheeling.
"Almeida came back, he had a very good attitude," Vellucci said in March. "He's a smart, intelligent player. He can make plays, he just has to make them at a quicker span than he was accustomed to. It was a short little two games, but he played really well, I was really happy with his improvement."
I asked Almeida on Sunday about his experience in Wheeling, and he told me that he thought it helped with building his confidence as a first-year pro.
"I think that time was good," he said. "You go down, you play a lot, you play against guys that play in the AHL. It's definitely more ice time down there, last year it was three lines there. You just touch the puck more, you get in the rhythm of things more, and you play with bigger, older guys coming out of junior. You just get more familiar with the pro game."
"It's always tough, that transition to professional hockey," head coach J.D. Forrest, who was an assistant coach in Wilkes-Barre during Almeida's rookie season, told me on Saturday. "I think he's going to feel better this year after having that experience in Wheeling and partially with us, a full pro season. He should take a step there."
Almeida said that in order to take the next step in his career and find success at the AHL level, the coaching staff wants to see Almeida play with more speed, an element of his game that was one of his strengths in juniors.
"The biggest thing I think for (the coaching staff) and for me is just to play with speed," he said. "The quick little games, play fast, get to spots faster, that takes time and experience. But over the summer I was able to work on my speed and just overall quickness."
Forrest spoke highly of other aspects of Almeida's game, and noted that it looks like he's already made strides when it comes to his speed in training camp.
"He's such a good playmaker, and he still has such good vision for the ice," Forrest said Saturday.. "In the talks that we've had, he's just looking to make a play, and sometimes he's just got to get his feet moving and make it himself. He's a guy who looks to be a bit quicker than he was last year. Now it's a confidence thing. He's the type of guy that can change games with his vision and his playmaking, and we're going to try to get him in some spots where we can accentuate those attributes and see what he can do."
MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE CAMP