Caggiula shows 'some really good things' in preseason loss

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Before the Penguins' 5-1 preseason loss to the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena here in Columbus on Sunday night, Drake Caggiula hadn't played an NHL game since last November due to a herniated disc in his neck.

There wasn't a ton to like about the game from the Penguins' viewpoint, and really, that was expected given the stark contrast in talent from the Blue Jackets' lineup to the squad the Penguins brought to town that largely featured their prospects and depth players.

There were a few positives, though, and by far the largest was Caggiula's performance.

Even though he didn't register a point, Caggiula attempted seven shots and generated five scoring chances in 17:28 of ice-time, per Natural Stat Trick. No, that's not me just looking at a data table and jumping to conclusions, either. Caggiula commanded the puck throughout the game, made smart plays that led to positive possession sequences, got to the grind areas ... and even flashed some silky dangling ability to get around defenders in 1-on-1 situations.

"Honestly, it’s my first game in almost a calendar year, haven’t played since November, so honestly, I was just excited to be out on the ice playing the game, getting back to playing hockey," Caggiula told me after the game. "Obviously the score, that’s not what you’re looking for. They had a good lineup. They have some younger guys and some new faces trying to figure things out, but we battled until the end. We kept pushing and pushing. … It’s the first game for everybody, just try to find things to build off moving forward."

Oh, you have plenty to build off moving forward.

I'd argue he was the Penguins' most positively impactful presence throughout the game.

When Caggiula was signed by the Penguins on the first day of free agency this offseason, fans and media -- including myself -- wrote off the signing as depth fodder that likely spends most of the season in the AHL. Even considering the Penguins' salary cap restraints, that was a severe underestimation of what Caggiula can bring to the table.

"We’ve really liked Drake," Todd Reirden said when I asked for his impressions on the 28-year-old forward. "Obviously it’s someone we were interested in this summer and adding to our depth and to our forward group. He continues to show some really good things, not just offensively, but his work ethic, his compete, his defensive play. Understanding this is a player that hasn’t played in the minors, so he’s spent a lot of time in the NHL and we’re trying to see as much of him as we can here."

Surprisingly, Caggiula has never not played in the NHL during his six-year professional career with the Oilers, Blackhawks, Coyotes and Sabres. He wouldn't scoff at an assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, but he's pushing to keep his streak going.

During training camp practices and scrimmages, Caggiula has skated on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. That's not some random, thrown together trio, either. The coaching staff has him there because they see his potential as someone who could jump up and down the lineup.

I asked Caggiula if he thinks he can leverage the skill he displayed Sunday night to push for a roster spot with the NHL club.

"I mean, going back to what got me to this level is that I could do a little bit of everything," he said. "I might not be the best at everything, but I can do a little bit of everything. I kind of have that Swiss army knife mentality and try and be good at most things. I guess if people are talking about me, they’re not necessarily talking about my hands, but I like to think I have that in my toolbox, and when the time is right, try to utilize that. But at the same time, I’m not just a skill player. That’s not how I play the game. I gotta stay within myself, do the things I’m capable of doing. When there’s an opportunity, whether that’s shooting, passing, stickhandling, then I’ll take advantage of that opportunity."

In speaking with him, it was clear Caggiula is a determined individual. It also became clear the Penguins value his attitude and mindset just as much as his on-ice impact.

"Just leave a good impression," Caggiula responded when I asked what his message is to younger players in the midst of a lopsided game. "You never know how many opportunities you’ll get, you never know who’s watching. I think it’s just one of those things, you leave it all out there. Battle right to the last buzzer. No one’s gonna quit and that’s a huge piece of the mentality here. I think we did a pretty good job of battling."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• After the game Reirden offered similar insights as to what he's telling his youth in a game like the one on Sunday night:

"It’s about opportunity," he said. "It’s about a process that they’re going through to one day be at this level. We had a little bit more of a developmental roster today against, obviously, a good Columbus team. We’re able to see our team not stop trying from the drop of the puck until the very end no matter how the score went. I was really proud of our effort as the game continued on, especially when you get down 4-1 and we’re still giving everything we’ve got. I thought a lot of guys did a good job taking advantage of their opportunity."

• Jordan Frasca scored the lone goal for the Penguins in the third period after Danton Heinen maneuvered his way toward the middle and lost a handle under pressure, allowing the puck to slide right to Frasca's blade before unleashing a hefty wrister:

Including his goal, Frasca attempted four shots, two of which were high-danger chances.

The 21-year-old continues to draw attention to himself with his performance. He has some work to do on his skating, but he has a really nice set of hands and seems to create passing lanes out of nothing. He also scored during the Penguins' training camp scrimmage on Friday, after forcing Malkin to turn the puck over in the neutral zone.

The Penguins signed Frasca as an undrafted free agent in March. He recorded 42 goals and 45 assists in 61 games with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL last season. Frasca doesn't figure to sniff the NHL anytime soon, but the Penguins will take all the positive developments from their prospect pool that they can get.

• P.O Joseph led all Penguins skaters with 23:28 of ice-time. He really is a much more polished player now than he was at this point a year ago, and that's being said after an unimpressive showing from him on Sunday night. Perhaps, even in an elevated role, Joseph isn't the type of player who will stand out or wow you, but that doesn't mean he isn't or can't be effective.

In all likelihood, Joseph's ceiling is a high-end, third-pairing defender or low-end, second-pairing defender, and that's OK. I believe he's ready for a full-time role if the Penguins can find a spot for him. I also believe Jan Rutta could be a very strong partner for him.

• Jack St. Ivany enjoyed his finest day as a Penguin on Sunday. I was interested to see how he would handle playing against NHL-level competition and, while he didn't dominate by any stretch, he didn't look out of place. 

His pairing with Xavier Ouellet was on the ice for only one high-danger chance against at 5-on-5, and that's largely thanks to St. Ivany using his legs to pinch in the offensive zone to sustain pressure and prevent the Blue Jackets from breaking out cleanly. As he's done since the beginning of rookie camp, he once again displayed really strong gap control and a good defensive stick. He knows how to use his 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame along the wall, too.

If there is a knock on St. Ivany right now, it's that his puck-handling needs to improve. It could be nerves, sure, but the puck just seems to bobble more often than not when it's on his stick, and this causes him to take an extra second to pass or get the puck off his stick. In some cases, he loses a lane to his optimal target and is forced to find other options. 

Even though I'm a fan of what I've seen, an inability to make plays quickly could be the difference in him ever becoming something more. It's still early, so this is just something to keep your eyes on.

• Dustin Tokarski started in goal for the Penguins and made 27 saves on 32 shots. An .844 save percentage isn't stellar -- not even close -- but that's more an indictment on the sloppiness in front of him than anything else.

I mean, would Tristan Jarry -- or anyone else -- have stopped this bullet from Patrik Laine after the puck was moved across the ice and through the slot so quickly?

Tokarski did allow a juicy rebound to sit in his crease for Jakub Voracek to whack home on one of the goals against, but the Penguins also left him all alone to do so. Other than that goal, though, he's hardly to blame for the score.

• Reirden largely agreed with that assessment of Tokarski.

"I thought Dustin was outstanding," he said. "I really did. I think that we gave up some really high-quality scoring chances tonight against some good players, guys that scored a lot of goals in this league. I thought he kept us in it. We were excited to be able to have this player return to our organization and I thought he had a real strong game."

• Ryan Poehling didn't do a whole lot to drive play on Sunday night, but he did find his way to the net-front and traffic areas. He had a couple of prime chances from in tight, one on a redirect and one on a rebound. He finished the game with four shot attempts, all of which made it on goal, and three scoring chances.

Over the offseason I wrote that Poehling could play a unique role for the Penguins -- one where he serves as the net-front presence on their second power-play unit. What I saw from him Sunday only reinforced that idea.

• Yes, Radim Zohorna still looked much faster in a non-practice setting. He was already pretty good when he found his way into the Penguins' lineup over the past two seasons. He might be even better now. It's almost freaky how well -- and quick -- he moves around for his size.

• Nathan Legare struggled to impact the game the same way he did in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo last week. A repeat performance wasn't expected, but I think this game exposed an issue that could seriously hinder his impact: A lack of foot-speed.

In the third period, Legare made a really nice play in the defensive zone to intercept the puck high in the zone. He had a ton of open track in front of him to race down the ice, but was sealed off by Adam Boqvist just after Legare crossed over the blue line into the Blue Jackets' zone. He had to settle for a low-percentage attempt.

I love, love, love Legare's character, compete and heavy shot. For any of that to matter, though, his speed, acceleration and quickness will need to improve.

• I found it mildly amusing that the Blue Jackets continuously trotted out their top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Kent Johnson and Laine when the Penguins had their young, inexperienced fourth line of Ty Glover, Frasca and Lukas Svejkovsky out on the ice, even after the Blue Jackets jumped out to a big lead.

Things went ... as you'd expect. The youngsters spent much of that time running around in the defensive zone, completely blowing assignments as the Blue Jackets' top line skated circles around them and diced up their coverage with passing.

• Svejkovsky has all the raw skill in the world, but it will never matter if he doesn't beef up and learn to play through -- and even embrace -- contact. The things that made him successful in junior aren't going to translate as well to the pros. It will be interesting to see if he can adapt while maintaining what has brought him to this point.

He hasn't even turned 21 yet or played a pro season, so there's time.

• Josh Archibald had two really nice looks from the slot on the same shift in the second period, but missed the net on both attempts. He's a good skater. His hands and shot? Not so much. 

• Ouellet dropped the gloves late in the third period with Josh Dunne. Ouellet threw a couple hits before dropping Dunne to the ice with a right, winning the fight rather handily:

• I also asked Reirden if he plans to keep his goatee for the rest of the season.

"We'll have to see," he laughed. "If more games go like that, maybe not."

• Heinen and Archibald served as the Penguins' alternate captains in this one.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file

THE THREE STARS

As selected at Nationwide Arena:

1. Justin Danforth, Blue Jackets F
2. Jakub Voracek, Blue Jackets F
3. Johnny Gaudreau, Blue Jackets F

THE INJURIES

• Defenseman Owen Pickering has been dealing with an injury that occurred prior to rookie camp. Taylor Haase saw him skating with non-game teammates at the Lemieux Complex in Cranberry on Sunday morning. He has been sporting a brace on his right wrist.

• Defenseman Colin Swoyer, who left Day 1 of training camp with an apparent lower-body injury, also skated Sunday morning with the non-game group in a regular jersey.

• Defenseman Nolan Collins injured his shoulder during his OHL team's training camp before Penguins rookie camp began, he told Taylor. He has skated with the group every day of rookie and training camp in a white non-contact jersey. He skated Sunday morning, as well, once again in non-contact fashion.

• Forward Jeff Carter is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury after leaving early from the Penguins' training camp scrimmage on Saturday. He did not skate with the group on Sunday morning. Mike Vellucci said later on Sunday that they are still waiting for a report back on the 37-year-old.

THE LINEUPS

Reirden's lines and D-pairings:

Danton Heinen - Ryan Poehling - Josh Archibald
Drake Caggiula - Radim Zohorna - Alex Nylander
Raivis Ansons - Sam Houde - Nathan Legare
Ty Glover - Jordan Frasca - Lukas Svejkovsky

Xavier Ouellet - Jack St. Ivany 
P.O Joseph - Taylor Fedun 
Chris Ortiz - Mitch Reinke

And for Pascal Vincent's Blue Jackets:

Johnny Gaudreau - Kent Johnson - Patrik Laine
Gustav Nyquist - Justin Danforth - Jakub Voracek
Mikael Pyyhtia - Josh Dunne - Trey Fix-Wolansky
Tyler Angle - Justin Richards - Matt Olivier

Zach Werenski - Andrew Peeke
Samuel Knazko - Adam Boqvist
Jake Christiansen - Erik Gudbranson

THE SCHEDULE

The Penguins have a scheduled day off on Monday. They will play their next preseason game against the Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

THE CONTENT

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