Joseph Ready If Called Upon
The 21-year-old defenseman could potentially make his NHL debut on Friday
Move the puck. If he sees a play, make it. Keep it simple on breakouts. Always keep his feet moving.
"Obviously he's going to play with a lot of excitement, potentially playing his first NHL game, so we want to help him out as much as we can," Dumoulin said. "P.O is a great player. He's very smooth. Plays really well both ways, offensive and defensive. Moves the puck really, really well. He's a good skater. He's got a great reach and a great stick. He's a guy that fits our mold. I think he's going to do well."
Joseph practiced with the Penguins on Thursday
with an influx of injuries to the blue line
, and was
recalled from the taxi squad
on an emergency basis Friday. He's trying not to get ahead of himself, but if he does get the call, Joseph will be ready to go.
"I'm just thinking that I'm fortunate to be here," he said. "There's a lot of players around the world that would love to be in my shoes. I'm still young, and I'm still learning from these guys. So whenever the time is going to be, I'm just going to be ready. You can't think about it too much, you just got to keep working and one day your time will come and you're just going to go from there."
Joseph speaks with the media
\\
The Penguins organization has been high on Joseph, originally drafted in the first round (23rd overall) by Arizona in 2017, ever since they acquired him from the Coyotes along with Alex Galchenyuk as part of the Phil Kessel trade in 2019.
He was one of two young defensemen that Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford quietly added into the organization to increase their defensive depth that summer, with John Marino being the other.
And when Mike Vellucci watched Marino and Joseph play alongside each other that fall at the 2019 Prospects Challenge, he was thoroughly impressed with what he saw.
"I think both are going to be outstanding NHL defensemen," Vellucci said.
Marino reached that potential right away, making Pittsburgh's roster out of training camp a few weeks later. And while Joseph accompanied Vellucci, then-WBS head coach and general manager, to the American Hockey League, Vellucci's belief in him never wavered. In fact, it only got stronger following his first season of professional hockey.
Joseph recorded 17 points (3G-14A) in 52 games with WBS before earning a spot on Pittsburgh's Aces playoff practice squad. One of the things that stood out to Vellucci was how Joseph, who measures 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, didn't necessarily gain any weight - but definitely added strength.
"We did testing at the halfway point of last year and his leg strength was double and better than everybody else, not even close," Vellucci said.
After Vellucci was named a Penguins assistant coach in September, he was asked who could realistically push for a spot in Pittsburgh this season - and singled out Joseph.
"I thought that the growth that he made this year was outstanding," Vellucci said. "I think P.O has got a real, real good chance."
\\
It's a credit to Joseph that he earned a spot on Pittsburgh's taxi squad following training camp, especially considering that he hasn't seen any real game action since March 11, 2020.
Instead of trying to play overseas in the midst of a pandemic, Joseph felt that it made the most sense for him to remain in North America and focus on improving off the ice and in the gym. He trained alongside
his older brother and best friend Mathieu
, a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning who won the Stanley Cup with the team in October.
"I gained a lot of tips from him," Joseph said. "I think the plan was really to stay here and come back as ready as possible for camp. And I think I'm happy with my last 10 months."
And so are the Penguins. Mike Sullivan raved about the progress that Joseph has made, saying he's a big part of Pittsburgh's group of defenseman and they know he can play at the NHL level.
"He's stronger, he's faster," Sullivan said. "He's a good two-way defenseman. He has good offensive instincts. He has the ability to join the rush, he can make an outlet pass, he sees the ice well. And because of his mobility and his reach, I think he has the ability to be a good defender."
Joseph has been a sponge when it comes to absorbing information from everyone around him as to how he can become a good defender in the National Hockey League, and has been working hard in the taxi squad practices with skills coach Ty Hennes.
"It's a lot of skill stuff and a lot of cardio, for sure, because we only have three or four on the ice," Joseph said. "But we're really fortunate that the taxi squad exists this year and that we're allowed to play during COVID. But whenever the time is going to be, we are all going to be ready for it. It's a winning mentality here. So, I just got to jump in the boat whenever the time is going to be."
And if that happens to be Friday, Joseph is going to try and keep it in perspective.
"I've wanted to be here for a long time, and I've worked a lot through the last couple of years to be where I am right now," Joseph said. "It's going to be exciting whenever that time is going to be, but I'm just trying to not think about it too much and just play a sport that I grew up playing.
"I'm still really young, so I'm just trying to feed off guys here with a lot of experience and the coaching staff around the team. Just trying to stay ready for whenever the time is going to be."
