Tom Kuhnhackl was yucking it up on the bench at the Pittsburgh Penguins morning skate on Tuesday, just not the bench he was used to sitting on during his three seasons - and two Stanley Cup runs - in Pittsburgh.
Kuhnhackl was catching up with his old teammates like Bryan Rust, as the Islanders forward prepares to play his former team for the first time.
"It feels a little weird being on the other side," Kuhnhackl said. "Playing in Pittsburgh for three years, had some great memories, so it'll be an emotional night."
Kuhnhackl was a fourth-round pick (110th overall) for the Penguins in 2010, breaking into Wilkes-Barre in 2012 before graduating to the Pens in the 2015-16 season. Kuhnhackl was a part of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.
"I've made so many good memories with this team, this organization," Kuhnhackl said. "This club gave me an opportunity to play in the NHL, which I'm really thankful for, but it'll be a little weird tonight."
The German-born forward was a popular guy in the Penguins room judging by the reception he got at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
"He became one of my best friends," Rust said. "Seeing him last night and this morning, we picked up right where we left off, but it's a little odd to see him over there."
"He's a great guy. We all have a lot of great memories together with our couple years together," Matt Cullen said. "Happy for him and the situation he has there, but obviously we miss him a lot."
