When Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened its training camp last week, there was one surprise on the roster.
Forward Tim Schaller.
Schaller, 30, signed a professional tryout contract (which unlike in the NHL, allows players to play regular season games) with Wilkes-Barre to start the season.
It was surprising to see Schaller not only in the AHL, but without a full contract, given that he was a regular for the most part in the NHL for the last four seasons. He set career highs in the 2017-18 season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 82 games with the Bruins.
Schaller didn't have quite the same offensive production or have the role he wanted last season. He began the year with the Canucks, where he scored five goals and an assist in 51 games before being shipped off to Los Angeles as one of the pieces in the Tyler Toffoli trade. Schaller was scoreless in two games with the Kings before being sent down to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he scored one goal in five games before COVID-19 shut down the AHL season.
"The past couple of years really weren't ideal for me," he said when I asked how he came to sign a PTO in the AHL. "I didn't have the numbers I wanted to get, the games I wanted to get. This year I kind of stepped back and I'm using this as a refresher, get my name back out there, get some games, get my confidence back. When I heard they had an opening here for me, it was a no-brainer. I have a lot of buddies in the organization, I've never heard a bad thing about it. It was a no-brainer to step in here for me on a PTO and earn my way into a contract."
Schaller's buddies are all throughout the organization. One is Chad Ruhwedel, who spent parts of two seasons in Wilkes-Barre. They're close enough that Schaller already had Penguins gear with Ruhwedel's name on the back:
Two of Schaller's Providence College teammates are in the organization as well. Derek Army, who spent several years playing for the Nailers and played a handful of games in Wilkes-Barre, is currently an assistant coach in Wheeling. The other is Brandon Tanev, who Schaller has fond memories of from their time together in college.
"Yeah, he's a different character," Schaller said with a laugh. "You've got to love his work ethic. You know, he might be a little spacey sometimes when you're talking to him. But he's an awesome guy both on and off the ice. He's a funny character. But you see his game, it's almost inspiring how frickin' hard he works. He's fun to watch, a great guy. Hopefully I get a chance to maybe play with him a couple of times this year. He's a great player."
One of Schaller's teammates from his time playing for the AHL's Rochester Americans, Kevin Porter, is in his first year as assistant coach with Wilkes-Barre. It creates an interesting dynamic.
"I got a chuckle when I saw that he was coaching here," he said. "I shot him a text to say congrats. I always liked Kev, we've always had a good relationship. We bicker back and forth on the ice now, it's been fun. But at the same time I give him the respect as a coach. If he yells at me, I got to take that. But it's a good relationship, I like it."
Since Schaller joined the team, he's felt that he's fit right in.
"The guys have been great, coaching staff has been great," he said. "The guys on the team have been awesome. It was a good fit here for me, it's the type of game style that I like. Working hard on the forecheck, a lot of pressure everywhere on the ice. It fits my game well. The Penguins are a great organization from top to bottom, so I'm happy to be here."
Schaller said that the "bottom line" to his game is just to be a hard worker.
"I'm not the fastest guy, I'm not the most skilled guy," he said. "But if I'm not working hard then I'm not doing my job. I lead by example on the ice, we've got a young crew here in Wilkes-Barre. So I can work hard, they can see that I'm working hard, and hopefully that can be contagious. Doing the dirty things, blocking shots, getting hits, whatever it takes. That's the kind of player I am."
At 30, Schaller is the second-oldest player on the team after forward Jordan Nolan, and he's also one of the players with the most NHL experience with a total of 276 games over six seasons. He'll be looked to as one of the leaders in the locker room.
"I've always wanted to be in a role like this," he said.
It didn't take Schaller long to make an impact on the ice with the team. He opened the scoring in the Penguins' first preseason game, a 5-1 win over the Binghamton Devils on Sunday.
Schaller, who can play both center and wing, played on the left side of the first line in each of Wilkes-Barre's two preseason games.
"We really like his size," head coach J.D. Forrest said afterward of the 6-2, 205-pound Schaller. "He's got a nice combination of size and skill. He can get going too with the puck, and he's a really smart hockey player. Definitely a hard worker. He's someone we think who has been doing a great job in our short camp. You saw some of his ability on display here."
It's hard to see a scenario in which Schaller doesn't at least convert his PTO into a full AHL contract in the near future. And if he continues to perform well in the regular season, he could be a candidate to earn an NHL deal and get a shot at a call up to the main roster or spend some time on the Penguins' taxi squad.
That start to the regular season, though, will have to wait a few more days. The season opener, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed until Monday due to COVID protocol issues on the Devils' staff. Those two preseason games were a taste of what Schaller and his teammates have been missing for the past 10-plus months.
"It was refreshing, almost," he said. "Men's league is fun and all back home in the summer, but the competition, getting hits, taking hits, it was a little different. It was a lot of fun chatting with the boys on the bench, the other guys on the team, just little things like that. It's things like that that you miss. It was fun. A lot of fun."
