CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Training camp still is in its early stages, so reading too much into any personnel move can be risky. Coaches, after all, can deploy a player in a particular role for any number of reasons, some of which might have nothing to do with auditioning the guy for a job there during the regular season.
Nonetheless, winger Anthony Angello obviously was pleased to be included in the veteran-heavy group that went on the ice first for the Penguins' camp sessions Wednesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
That was understandable, considering that he dressed for just 27 NHL games during his first two pro seasons.
"It wasn’t something that I took for granted," Angello said. "It’s something that I’ve worked for, and something I have to make sure I continue to work for and earn, day-in and day-out."
Angello was, for at least one day, part of a line that has the potential to be the Penguins' biggest since Mario Lemieux skated between Kevin Stevens and Jaromir Jagr.
Angello, who is 6-foot-5, did drills with Brian Boyle (6-foot-6) and Drew O'Connor (6-foot-3). For the record, Dominik Simon (5-foot-11) also got some work as the fourth guy on that unit.
Whether that line has a future remains to be seen, but if Ron Hextall and Brian Burke are committed to the idea of making the Penguins bigger, it might get consideration.
And because management wants to add some muscle, Angello's physicality also could work in his favor when spots on the NHL roster are being awarded. He carries 210 pounds on that 6-5 frame, and recognizes that taking advantage of his size could be a key to sticking at this level.
"There's definitely an opportunity there for me, but I have to go out there and prove it," Angello said. "I have to play Anthony Angello hockey. I have to play physical. I have to win my battles. I have to make sure I'm hard to play against."
That mirrors what Mike Sullivan said the coaches want from him.
"Anthony is a guy who has good size, can really skate and bring a physical dimension to our team," Sullivan said. "He's good on the forecheck, makes it hard on our opponent's defense."
Angello, 25, is coming off a fairly strong season. Although he had just two goals and two assists in 19 games with the Penguins in 2020-21, he put up six goals and four assists in 12 games with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
"Last season was a really good season for me," he said. "I got to build some confidence on the ice, build some success."
Angello said he has gotten comfortable with the speed of the NHL game, and has developed the situational awareness needed to compete at this level. He feels he now has a better sense of "where plays are going to develop, where I need to be and making sure I'm one step ahead."
Doing that reflexively, he suggested, allows him to keep up with the play.
"If I overthink, my feet stop moving," he said.
Whether all of that will translate to regular employment in the NHL will be determined over the next couple of weeks. For now, Angello is simply trying to take full advantage of the position in which he finds himself.
"I'm just taking days as they come, making sure I make the most of them," he said. "Don't have any regrets, don't take anything for granted."
MORE FROM CAMP
• Goalie Louis Domingue, signed as a free agent, offered a scathing self-assessment of his play during the past couple of seasons, which he spent in the New Jersey, Vancouver and Calgary organizations. "I don't want to hide behind somebody that I'm not, so if i was to tell you that I was putting in a full effort the last two years, it wasn't the case," he said. "When I look back, I left some on the table ... not because I wasn't working hard. It's all about my headspace, the way I'm approaching my work and my game and my level of motivation." Domingue added that his focus and confidence have been restored since he joined the Penguins.
• Sullivan said the first practice group included most of the players projected to start the season in the NHL because the Penguins want to begin preparing for the coming season even as they handle regular camp business, but noted that "you could see some changes" in the makeup of the groups in coming days. "We're trying to maximize the opportunity, even though we're in the middle of training camp, to get the semblance of what we would consider our roster," he said. "Understanding that there is going to be some movement within that. But the core group, I think, you saw together today. And I think that was obvious."
• Bryan Rust, on Jeff Carter: "He's done some really amazing things in this league. He's a good, smart player, a big body and we have to try to take advantage of that."
• Radim Zohorna missed practice because of illness, but Sullivan said he does not have COVID-19. Zach Aston-Reese, who tested positive for coronavirus Monday, remains in the NHL protocol.
• The special teams work during practice focused on penalty-killing. Numerous players got some short-handed work, including the tandems of Angello with O'Connor and Danton Heinen and Boyle.
• Sullivan put a number of veteran players in new personnel groupings. Rust joined Jake Guentzel and Carter on the No. 1 line, Evan Rodrigues moved into Zohorna's spot in the middle of the second unit, Heinen took Aston-Reese's place on the No. 3 line, with Brock McGinn shifting to left wing and Heinen playing on the right and John Marino was paired with Mike Matheson.
• Here are all the personnel groupings from the veterans group workout:
Guentzel-Carter-Rust
Zucker-Rodrigues-Kapanen
O'Connor-Boyle-Angello/Simon
McGinn-Blueger-Heinen
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Marino
Pettersson-Ruhwedel
Riikola-Friedman
