The Penguins took to the ice for practice on Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa.
But, no, it was not the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins - Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate - held a practice at the NHL club's regular facility on Thursday, giving fans and media the chance to see some of the organization's best prospects in action.
This was the first time they've been in Pittsburgh since training camp, and a lot has happened since then. WBS is in the midst of a great AHL season, as they clinched a playoff berth against Hartford on Mar. 27 and are looking to make a deep playoff run.
“There’s not many teams that can match our skill level," forward Avery Hayes - who recently signed a two-year entry-level contract - said. "We can all skate, and personally, I feel like we can play any style of game. We’re learning to play a gritty game right now, but I’m confident that we can come playoff time.
"I’m just super excited. We have a close team, which helps... so I’m excited.”
And the Calder Cup run - as well as a chance at a bye - is something that isn't all that surprising when you sense the energy around the group. Many of the players - as well as management and coaches - talked about the close-knit culture in the locker room, which they believe has very much contributed to their success as a group.
WBS Penguins Clinch Playoff Berth With Thrilling 4-3 Overtime Win Over HartfordHeading into a massively important game against the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had led the season series 5-0 and had outscored Hartford, 24-5.
There is a good mix between veteran leadership and youth, and those relationships have benefitted the group as a whole.
"We have a good group of older players, and they know how to handle the younger players and to be close to us," defenseman Filip Kral said. "So I think that's the main thing. We support each other every day, and that's the biggest thing."
Head coach Kirk MacDonald also pointed to the veteran support being a crucial aspect of the team's chemistry and success this season.
"I think our leadership group has done an outstanding job showing the young guys what it means to be professionals and how they need to show up every day and work," MacDonald said. "To me, they have a lot of fun together, so it’s a lot easier to show up every day and work hard and compete. Watching practice today was a great example with the energy level. We worked really hard, but they were having a good time. That’s part of it.”
But it's not just the the players who have fostered an excellent team culture.
“[It's] a mix of a little bit of everything," said Amanda Kessel, who is the manager of minor league operations and assistant general manager of the WBS Penguins. "Great coaching. It’s been great to have Kirk and staff this year. They’ve been unbelievable with our young guys. Spend a lot of time on development. They’re heavily bought into that."
But it certainly helps when the players to have great relationships on and off the ice, especially within a young prospect group that figures to be part of the team's future.
Hayes said the team even gathered together in Charlotte, NC to watch the NHL debut of Ville Koivunen against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. Rutger McGroarty made his return to the NHL in that game as well.
Crosby Earns OT Winner For 1-0 Win Over Senators On Koivunen's DebutThere was hockey being played on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, although one might not even know it for how low-event it was.
“It’s awesome," Hayes said. "We were watching that game, all together, in Charlotte at a restaurant. We’re the biggest fans when they come up, so it’s amazing watching them [in Pittsburgh]. And, hopefully, we don’t get them back until the end of the regular season and we can watch a couple more of their games.”
WBS has a crucial back-to-back set against the Cleveland Monsters on Friday and Saturday. In order to clinch a bye for the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, they need to leapfrog at least the Charlotte Checkers within the Atlantic Division, as they are currently ranked second behind the Hershey Bears. The top-two teams in the Atlantic clinch a first-round bye.
MacDonald and the rest of the team is aware of how important that bye is, and - despite the Penguins having already clinched a playoff berth - it's giving them a lot to play for during the final stretch of the season.
"It's huge," MacDonald said. "I actually went and looked, and five of the six teams that made the finals in the American League since they changed the playoff format got the bye. We know how important it is. It’s not the end of the world if we have to play a best of three, but we do know it’s important.”
And what is most important through all of this is that the young group of Penguins prospects is winning together, which is important to fostering a championship culture within the group.
Hopefully, that's something that can carry over as the wave of youth makes the jump to the NHL level, too.
“I feel like it’s huge," Hayes said. "You don’t want to be playing throwaway hockey at the end of the year. Everyone wants to be playing for the championship. So, that’s our goal in the end.
"Playing winning hockey starts now. You go to war with guys, you become brothers with them, and it makes everyone play harder, so I feel like it’s going to be huge for all of our development.”
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