Ben Kindel always envisioned himself making it to the NHL and scoring a goal one day. He just didn't quite expect it to come as an 18 year old in his third game.
Kindel had the Penguins' only goal in Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Rangers, flying up the right side of the ice and ripping a wrist shot past Igor Shesterkin:
"It was definitely nice to get the first one, get it out of the way," Kindel said. "A loose puck in the neutral zone popped out to me, their D kind of had a bad gap so he tried to attack. I heard (Filip Hallander) call for the drop and I just decided to shoot. Lucky it went in."
Kindel was a long shot to make this roster coming into camp, being that he's only 18. Now, it'd be a real surprise if the Penguins do send him back to the WHL. In addition to his goal, he has four shots on six attempts, two hits, three blocked shots and just one total giveaway. He leads all Penguins centers with a 57.14% faceoff percentage.
What's been one of the most pleasant surprises, though, is that Kindel seems to be handling the pace of NHL action just fine. After all the hand-wringing after the draft over various independent prospect rankings listing his skating as a weakness ... that's just not showing here.
"I think I've been adjusting throughout training camp and the preseason," he said of handling the pace. "It's been a long time, so every game is kind of getting more and more comfortable. So just keep building."
Kindel can play another six games before his entry-level contract kicks in. The Penguins aren't locked into whatever decision they make on Kindel after those nine games, but ideally they'd make a call at that point and stick with it in order to avoid burning a year of Kindel's deal prematurely.
It's hard to imagine Kindel does anything over these next six games that would necessitate sending him back. He looks like he belongs, and is getting better each game in some areas of his game. Is it possible to say now that he's ready to be a full-time, 82-game NHL player? No. But even if he sticks around, ends up needing to be healthy scratched at times, and takes some time off mid-season to go to the World Junior Championship ... is that not going to be better for him long-term than going back to junior?
Kindel shouldn't see Calgary again ... until the Penguins go there in January.
THE ASYLUM
Kindel looks to 'keep building' after first goal
Ben Kindel always envisioned himself making it to the NHL and scoring a goal one day. He just didn't quite expect it to come as an 18 year old in his third game.
Kindel had the Penguins' only goal in Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Rangers, flying up the right side of the ice and ripping a wrist shot past Igor Shesterkin:
"It was definitely nice to get the first one, get it out of the way," Kindel said. "A loose puck in the neutral zone popped out to me, their D kind of had a bad gap so he tried to attack. I heard (Filip Hallander) call for the drop and I just decided to shoot. Lucky it went in."
Kindel was a long shot to make this roster coming into camp, being that he's only 18. Now, it'd be a real surprise if the Penguins do send him back to the WHL. In addition to his goal, he has four shots on six attempts, two hits, three blocked shots and just one total giveaway. He leads all Penguins centers with a 57.14% faceoff percentage.
What's been one of the most pleasant surprises, though, is that Kindel seems to be handling the pace of NHL action just fine. After all the hand-wringing after the draft over various independent prospect rankings listing his skating as a weakness ... that's just not showing here.
"I think I've been adjusting throughout training camp and the preseason," he said of handling the pace. "It's been a long time, so every game is kind of getting more and more comfortable. So just keep building."
Kindel can play another six games before his entry-level contract kicks in. The Penguins aren't locked into whatever decision they make on Kindel after those nine games, but ideally they'd make a call at that point and stick with it in order to avoid burning a year of Kindel's deal prematurely.
It's hard to imagine Kindel does anything over these next six games that would necessitate sending him back. He looks like he belongs, and is getting better each game in some areas of his game. Is it possible to say now that he's ready to be a full-time, 82-game NHL player? No. But even if he sticks around, ends up needing to be healthy scratched at times, and takes some time off mid-season to go to the World Junior Championship ... is that not going to be better for him long-term than going back to junior?
Kindel shouldn't see Calgary again ... until the Penguins go there in January.
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