Yes. The answer is, by and large, “yes.” It’s too early to break down Penguins’ potential line combinations.
However, after two days of training camp, that doesn’t mean there isn’t some kind of method to the madness.
Up to this point, the same guys on each of the three teams have largely stuck together. This is pretty common – even in the early days of training camp when there are three teams and 69 rostered players for camp – and a lot of it tends to get shifted around once rosters are shrunk, guys are cut, and teams begin to combine.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to read into. And here’s why.
It’s no secret that head coach Mike Sullivan likes his “pairings” in training camp. Typically, he pairs one winger with each of his centers, and – for the most part – those pairings seem to stick throughout most of camp and into the regular season.
At this year’s camp, it’s been no different. Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust are a pair, as are Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, Lars Eller and (interestingly) Michael Bunting, and Blake Lizotte and Kevin Hayes.
But here’s where “not reading into things” might get a bit saucy. The way the three teams are split, what tends to happen is that the remaining forwards in the group – especially the ones deemed more NHL-ready and are distinguished as such during separate team practices – tend to be groups of guys who may be in the mix to fill the open wing slot alongside the pairings.
Related: Penguins Training Camp: Notes from Day 2
Think about it this way: When you look at Team 1, it’s no accident that the remaining forwards within the “NHL-ready” group are Drew O’Connor, Anthony Beauvillier, Rutger McGroarty, and Sam Poulin. Although nothing is a given, all of these players are guys who have either already played with Crosby in the past or who, presumably, match some kind of skillset that the coaches see as a potential fit with Crosby and Rust.
O’Connor and Beauvillier are, likely, the candidates most primed – and most logical – to hold down that left wing on the first line when the season opens on Oct. 9. They’re both speed wingers with 20-goal upside. But Poulin and McGroarty are, again, presumably, two guys who could be potential matches youth-wise and skillset-wise.
The same goes for Team 2. It is mildly interesting that Bunting was paired with Eller on Team 3, and this may be an example of a pairing that doesn’t stick once rosters are cut down.
But the remaining “NHL” guys in the Team 2 group are Vasily Ponomarev, Emil Bemstrom, Valtteri Puustinen, and Ville Koivunen – who has played on the open wing slot alongside Malkin and Rakell thus far.
Related: Penguins Training Camp: Notes from Day 1
Out of that group, Puustinen has played with Malkin, so his placement makes sense, and Koivunen and Ponomarev are both guys who have potential to profile well with Malkin in terms of skillset. And based on what Sullivan said Thursday in his press conference, the coaching staff seems to be high on both of those guys.
And as for Team 3? This entire group is pretty much comprised of forwards who assume to claim bottom-six roles, aside from (maybe) Bunting. K. Hayes and Lizotte have worked a lot with Noel Acciari on the right wing. Bunting and Eller have worked mostly with Cody Glass. And those six are, pretty clearly, the six “NHL” guys on this squad.
So what does this all mean? Although a lot changes between now and the end of training camp roster-wise, these teams are put together and constructed the way they are for a reason: It maximizes the amount of time both the pairings and the candidates for the third spot on a potential NHL line have to work together and mesh. The longer a line combination has to train together, the higher the likelihood that they’ll develop chemistry.
And that’s why this first week-plus of training camp before the first roster cuts, even though it might seem largely insignificant for the final roster picture, isn’t necessarily a a crapshoot. It does mean the smallest something because the teams are put together intentionally, and that’s just food for thought to keep in mind as the remainder of training camp unfolds.
So while everyone awaits the first round of cuts at the end of next week, it might be wise to pay even just a little bit of attention to some repeat patterns as far as lines and groupings go.
Related: Five Prospects to Keep an Eye on in Penguins’ Training Camp
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