Riding with the Rookies

The last time I rode the bus with the rookies, Bryan Rust was among them. After being drafted by Pittsburgh in 2010, the winger was considered a marathon prospect who needed a few years to grow and develop before making the jump. Now, over a decade later, Rust is a valuable member of Penguins leadership.

That's what makes the Prospects Challenge so exciting. These kids come from different backgrounds and have different paths, but they're all one step closer to ending up in Pittsburgh. However, that doesn't mean they - or even I, as a longtime veteran presence - are above a good old bus trip to get there.
The Penguins had just one game in Buffalo for this year's tournament, so they made it a day trip, leaving Cranberry around 10:30 AM and returning around 9:30 PM after skating out to a 6-4 victory over Boston. Here are some highlights from the day…
- Bus rides have changed since I last took one. I got on expecting to watch movies, which I was looking forward to after what Valtteri Puustinen told us the other day. He said when he roomed with Juuso Riikola in Wilkes-Barre last year, to help Puustinen learn English faster, his countryman wouldn't let them use Finnish subtitles. So I was hoping to get a review of sorts from him on whatever we watched, but apparently movies aren't a thing on bus rides anymore! I was told that they're ultimately too distracting since it's hard to find the right volume, and guys prefer to just do their own thing anyway.
- Both trips were relatively quiet, with a lot of guys sleeping - and a few of them donning sleep masks to do so - or putting their headphones in. At this point in their careers, they're all bus ride veterans (though someone did joke that the college guys probably never have to do this), so they have their routines down. Luckily for me, I was sitting in front of the injured players, who are all from the 2022 NHL Draft - first-round pick Owen Pickering, fifth-round pick Zam Plante, and sixth-round pick Nolan Collins. Since they weren't playing, they were able to be a little looser, so we had some enjoyable conversations.
- They all seem like great kids, and were disappointed to be sidelined. I went and watched the third period with them, and they were pretty animated watching their teammates battle. Hopefully Penguins fans will get to watch them sooner rather than later.
- The rookies who skated had a lot of eyes on them, with the majority of Penguins hockey ops in attendance - including Ron Hextall and the management team and Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff. I had the opportunity to sit alongside Hexy for the second period and get some of his insights. He's pretty focused during games, occasionally making notes on the lineup sheet in front of him, where he keeps track of the scoring lines.
- He prioritizes watching players who are close to contributing in Pittsburgh, namely Puustinen and Filip Hallander, who each made their NHL debuts last season; 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin, who played on their line; and goalie Filip Lindberg, who is set to be the starter in WBS after recovering from an injury that sidelined him for most of last year after being named AHL Goalie of the Month last October.
- All of those players stepped up and performed really well. WBS head coach J.D. Forrest said since it's the first game of the year, nobody had a perfect game, but Lindberg was the closest. Hallander, who wore one 'A' while Jonathan Gruden wore the other, scored twice, while Poulin and Puustinen also got on the board.
Forward Corey Andonovski
- another player Hextall pointed out - and Nathan Legare rounded out the scoring.
- "I feel like I was playing like the real Nathan Legare," said the 21-year-old, who didn't have the smoothest transition to the pros in his rookie season with WBS last year. Pittsburgh's 2019 third-round pick had seven goals in 57 games after pretty much scoring at will in juniors. "I was finishing my checks, putting pucks on net and sometimes, getting under the skin on the other side, so that was good."
- It was great,as Legare drew a few penalties that sent Pittsburgh's red-hot power play to work. They ended up scoring five (yes, five!) times on the man-advantage, which had to make Penguins assistant coach Todd Reirden really happy. Legare impressed management with his compete level and willingness to mix it up.
- Hextall does try to get around and watch some of the amateur players throughout the season so he's got a frame of reference, but obviously this is a perfect opportunity for him to do that without having to make too much of an extra effort. "It's exciting for us because we get a first look at a lot of the young players, but also against their peers," said Hextall, who explained that sometimes it's difficult to accurately assess their abilities in training camp because they're playing against such a high level of players. "This gives us a great read on them," he said.
- Finally, as we disembarked from the bus, the players made sure to clean up and dispose of all the garbage from the meals and snacks they had, which were very similar to what the Pittsburgh players get. A small gesture, but one that stands out. I was pretty impressed (and a little ashamed because I forgot to grab my own trash. Thanks to Owen Pickering for having my back!)