Guentzel not surprising former coaches with playoff scoring for Penguins
Forward always 'played the game without any fear'
So when the Pittsburgh Penguins forward brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Maplewood, Minnesota, on July 13, in addition to family, friends and former teammates, he invited his high school, junior and college coaches to the private reception.
"Every coach who helped me get here, I brought them," said Guentzel, whose Penguins trail the Washington Capitals 2-1 in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round, with Game 4 at Pittsburgh on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). "It was a cool experience, and to thank them for everything they've done."
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Those coaches -- Bill Lechner of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood; Brett Larson, who coached him with Sioux City in the United States Hockey League; and Dean Blais, who coached him at the University of Nebraska-Omaha -- witnessed at different stages of Guentzel's development the characteristics that have helped him rise to the occasion in big moments with the Penguins.
Of Guentzel's 21 goals in 34 playoff games since last season, seven have been game-winners, including the one in a 3-2 victory in Game 1 against the Capitals.
"When it came to playoffs in our world, sections and state tournaments, he loved that," Lechner said. "He loved the lights. It's not for the arrogance and not for the publicity. It's because that's the way he's built. He was always trying to prove that anybody who says he can't do it, 'I can do it' and he can do it really well."
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Riding shotgun with center Sidney Crosby as the left wing on the Penguins' top line with Patric Hornqvist on the right wing, Guentzel leads the NHL with 19 playoff points (eight goals, 11 assists) and is tied for the League lead in goals with Crosby, Alex Ovechkin of Washington and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets. The 23-year-old has six points (two goals, four assists) in the three games against the Capitals and has had at least one point in seven consecutive games (15 points; seven goals, eight assists).
The Penguins' third-round pick (No. 77) in the 2013 NHL Draft, Guentzel began last season in the American Hockey League with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. By the time it was over and Guentzel was raising the Stanley Cup over his head, no player had scored more than his 13 playoff goals, including five game-winners, a rookie record.
His 21 playoff points (eight assists) also equaled the NHL rookie record shared by Minnesota North Stars forward Dino Ciccarelli (14 goals, seven assists in 1981) and Philadelphia Flyers forward Ville Leino (seven goals, 14 assists in 2010).
"He's young and he's not very big, and yet he's doing what he's done just because he's a competitor," Blais said of Guentzel (5-foot-11, 180 pounds). "He had to compete with his two older brothers all the time, so the youngest one wants to show the older ones that he's going to keep up with them."
Lechner also coached Guentzel's brothers, Ryan, 31, and Gabe, 30, at Hill-Murray and remembers Jake as "a little tiker."
"When he was starting high school, you saw that he had a special gift," Lechner said. "You see him when he's 13-14 years old and he was pretty small of stature, as you can see now. … But you saw his skill -- really good hands, really good feet, good vision -- the things you're seeing at the highest level right now."
Guentzel was 5-7, 145 pounds as a sophomore at Hill-Murray in 2010-11, his first varsity season. That didn't stop him from getting 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) in 25 games.
As a junior he had 75 points (23 goals, 52 assists) in 31 games and five more (one goal, four assists) in three playoff games, when he helped Hill-Murray win the 2012 Section 3 championship and finish second in the state tournament.
"He was a proud little turkey," Lechner said. "He'd go to the front of the net and he'd do all that, and he thinks nothing of getting in there and chirping with anybody."
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Going to the net for rebounds or deflections, as he did to tip in the Penguins' first goal in their 4-3 loss to the Capitals in Game 3 on Thursday, is something Guentzel has never shied away from. Larson, now the coach at St. Cloud State, remembers watching Guentzel battle in the dangerous areas in front of the net, between the face-off dots and in the corners throughout the 2012-13 USHL season with Sioux City.
"He was so competitive and his skill set was so high," Larson said. "That's usually a good combination."
The jump to the USHL when he was a high school senior was big, and Guenztel took some time to adjust. But he found his comfort zone in the second half of the season and ended it on a 21-game point streak (33 points; 16 goals, 17 assists) to finish sixth in the league with 73 points (29 goals, 44 assists) in 60 games.
"He wasn't afraid to go against bigger, stronger guys," Larson said. "He used his quickness and his strong stick to be able to gain the puck and to make plays in tough situations. He played the game without any fear."
Seeing what Guentzel did in the USHL, Blais recognized he was ready to play at Nebraska-Omaha as a true freshman in 2013-14. He had 34 points (seven goals, 27 assists) in 37 games that season.
Back then Guentzel seemed more focused on setting up teammates for goals than scoring. Blais had to push him to shoot more.
"Jake's hockey IQ is what makes him a special player," Blais said. "He's got [Wayne] Gretzky-like vision. He makes plays. That's why Crosby likes to play with him, too."
Guentzel's ability to elevate his game in big moments was evident then. He helped Nebraska-Omaha reach the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four as a sophomore, getting two assists in a 4-0 win against RIT in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final and scoring in a 4-1 loss to eventual champion Providence in the national semifinals.
Over his three seasons at Nebraska-Omaha, Guentzel had 119 points (40 goals, 79 assists) in 108 games. He decided to turn pro following his junior season and joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the remainder of 2015-16.
"He's always been, regardless of age, one of the top players in whatever league he's playing in," Blais said. "It doesn't matter if it was peewees, bantams, high school, juniors or college. Now here is in the NHL leading in (playoff) points. It's a long grind … but I'm sure Jake will figure that out, too."
