At 9 AM sharp this morning in Cranberry at the UPMC Lemiuex Sports Complex, the two-time reigning, defending, Stanley Cup Champions took to the ice to open Training Camp.  The first step in the road to a potential three peat began with two of the three teams practicing on separate sheets of ice before scrimmages and conditioning.  Team Three would start later in the morning on Friday.

The Penguins begin their preseason slate of games on Tuesday the 19th at the Pegula Ice Arena on the Penn State Campus vs. the Buffalo Sabers at 7 PM.  The following night finds the Pens preseason home opener vs Detroit at PPG.

Pittsburgh will play seven preseason games in all, closing it all up by hosting Columbus in the annual Kids Free Pre-Season game on Saturday, September 30th at 3 PM.

The Pens prospects went up to Buffalo last weekend for the prospects challenge featuring up and comers from the NJ, Buffalo and Boston Bruins.  After falling in OT 3-2 vs Boston last Friday, the Penguins won their next two games, beating Boston 6-2 behind a Jordy Bellerive hat-trick.  Bellerive led the Pens with four goals and three assists for the weekend.  The Penguins would then defeat Buffalo 5-3 on Monday evening to wrap up the tournament with a 2-0-1 record.

Led by Daniel Sprong, Thomas Di Pauli, and Zach Aston-Reese the team showed the Pens trademark fast-paced play.

On Wednesday, the Penguins signed the netminder of that prospects team, Alex D’ Orio to a 3-year entry-level contract.  The 18-year-old Quebec native stopped 74 of 82 shots in three games last weekend.  He is currently a member of the St Johns Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In big club news, Kris Letang was cleared for contact this past Tuesday.  A huge step for the defenseman who missed the end of the regular season and ALL of the playoffs last year.  While you can expect to see Letang on the ice at training camp…..you should also expect the Pens to take a slow, cautious approach in getting him back into game action.  Letang was quoted as saying he expects to still be able to log 25 minutes or more of ice time this season and feels fresh.

But the risk that comes with it, especially early on will be something the Penguins make sure they get right.  The star blue-liner is now 30 and has a very notable track record of injuries and bad luck and strokes.  When he is full on, he is a difference maker for the Penguins and is frustratingly one of the players around the league who does not get the recognition he deserves.

Also a question to start the season will be Patric Hornqvist, although reports this morning indicate he could return right at the end of camp.  Come on, Horny, you’re not pulling a Casey Hampton move, right?!?!

Kidding, kidding, he is recovering from hand surgery underwent after the Nashville series.

Among the 59 players invited to camp, the most notable story to watch is…..who exactly will fill the role of the Center position on the third and fourth line?  It is a question that has been hot button issue number one since the departures of Nick Bonino to Nashville and, more recently, Matt Cullen to Minnesota.

The public expectation has been that a trade will happen at some point, but thus far Jim Rutherford, the Pens GM has not pulled the trigger.  To be honest, the club could go until Christmas time before really having their hand forced to make a move.  When you have hoisted the big silver chalice each of the last two years, patience can be had.  Taking your time and seeing if a player opens eyes out of camp, Jay McClement who is on a tryout contract is someone who could fill shoes with a good September showing…..at least in the short-term.

It will be the first Pittsburgh Training Camp for free-agent signings Antti Neimi, and Matt Hunwick and trade piece acquisition Ryan Reaves.  All three are set to be interesting stories for the club this season.  Reaves, brought in from St Louis was the most controversial move this Summer.  Rutherford had publicly went on record saying was going to make a move to get his star players some protection, and he did just that.  The noted tough guy, widely considered the most feared in the league will now have the backs of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin when the like of Tom Wilson feel the need to be froggy.  Reaves also has underrated speed and can chip in offensively from time to time.  this part will be a key aspect of how much ice time Reaves sees.

Hunwick will try to take the minutes lost when Trevor Daley signed a three-year deal in Detroit.  Hunwick is a solid addition and figures to slot in on the third D pairing and eat up a good chunk of penalty killing time too.

Neimi comes over and comes off of having the worst statistical career of his career.  His small cap hit and salary makes the signing worth the risk, especially if he returns to previous season’s form and is able to spell Matt Murray 25 or so games on the year.  If he cannot and falters, the salary loss will not cripple the club and Tristian Jarry will arrive from WB/S sooner than the expected thoughts of next year.

Also, keep an eye on Murray who will get his spot as full-time keeper.  Can Murray stay healthy?  Can he continue his historic start to his career?  Time will tell.

The other area of interest with this club will be the leadership and chemistry of the locker room.  Make no mistake, this team has enough character and leadership with the Malkins, the Crosbys, and the Letangs of the world…..but in losing Chris Kunitz, Cullen, Daley and Marc Andre Fleury (still choking up here) the club has lost just as much off of the ice as on it.  By no means does this writer think it will be an issue that cripples the team.  But if the team struggles out of the gate, this could be a factor along with fatigue from two grueling seasons.

So here we go, the ice is cleaned and meaningless hockey that is not so meaningless has begun.  The chance to do something no one has done since 1980-1983 when the NY Islanders completed a three-peat.  Probably the ONLY chance for Crosby and Malkin and Letang to accomplish the feat.  The motivation will be there, Coach Mike Sullivan has already said on record ‘Why not?’.

So let’s lace them up and go…..

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