Penguins - Development Camp

Development Camp

The Penguins' 2017 development camp concluded on Saturday with a 3-on-3 scrimmage in front of packed stands at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. We talked with director of player development Mark Recchi afterward to get his thoughts on how the week went…

- Recchi said that a lot of players stood out during the scrimmage, particularly Zach Aston Reese, Sam Lafferty, Anthony Angello and free-agent invitee Adam Johnson from Minnesota-Duluth. "It was a very talented development camp," Recchi said. "We had a lot of these guys who we thought were very, very good and what we expected and it's great."

- Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong were two of the biggest names at this camp, and general manager Jim Rutherford was asked about them when he spoke to the media about the Penguins' free agent signings. He said they're both tracking very well and he's expecting them both to have impressive training camps. "They'll put themselves in the conversation as to where they should start the season," Rutherford said. "I do believe that it's in their best interests to follow the tracks of a (Jake) Guentzel, where you play at a minimum half the season there (in WBS) or full season. But we'll see how it goes. Injuries will dictate how much of a chance they'll have at the big camp and of course their play. But they're young guys. They still have some things to learn but they're very, very good prospects."

I asked Recchi what those things to learn are. His response:

"They've all got to keep working on everything. Sidney Crosby works on something every day. They know what they got to get better at. Spronger's obviously a very talented kid, he's a goal scorer, but he's got to continue his progression and maturity and developing and keep getting his legs stronger and the two-way game is going to be very important. Zach, he's got to maybe work on his first three or four steps, but he's a man. He's ready. He's a big, strong guy, very high character guy that is going to be a good Penguin at some point."

- As Recchi put it, this isn't a tough camp - it's a teaching camp. The off-ice activities take on a bigger importance for the prospects than the on-ice sessions. This year, the prospects partook in several strength and fitness presentations, participated in team-building exercises and listened to guest speakers provide tips on becoming, and then succeeding as, a professional athlete.

"It's learning how to be a pro," Recchi said. "We don't kill them physically. We set it up and we practice like we normally practice, with pace, and we show them that and then we have a lot of the off-ice stuff." Among the guest speakers were Penguins director of sports science Andy O'Brien, former Penguin Kevin Stevens and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert. "We some great people come in and speak and I think it has an impact on these guys," Recchi said.

- It's been absolutely nonstop for the Penguins since they lifted the Stanley Cup in Nashville three weeks ago. After taking a couple of days to celebrate, the team then began preparing for the draft, free agency and this camp, which all happened in the last week. It's been crazy busy - as Recchi said with a laugh, now that they're getting a break they're going to have a drink or two tonight - but they like it this way. Having development camp right after the draft instead of mid-July like they used to has been more beneficial, and it helps that hockey operations personnel from Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling are there to assist.

"We've got a lot of great people," Recchi said. "You can't do it without those guys, especially when we're running up and down. We had meetings this morning, we finished at five to 12 and Billy (Guerin) and I ran upstairs and he's got to start getting on with agents. It's what we do. We like it right after the draft. We just think it's better because then everybody's done, they've got a full July of incorporating our training and stuff like that instead of having them come back in the middle of July where it takes a couple of weeks out of their time. We think it's just important right now to do it then and it's worth it for everybody to deal with the busy and do that."

Johnson

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed undrafted free agent forward Adam Johnson to a two-year, entry-level contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal will run through the 2018-19 campaign. Johnson, 22, attended the Penguins' prospect development camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry last week. He is coming off an impressive sophomore season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he scored 18 goals and tallied 37 points in 42 games. He finished second on the club in both goals and points.

A 6-foot, 174-pound product of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Johnson clinched Minnesota-Duluth's berth in the 2017 Frozen Four when he scored an overtime, power-play goal to defeat Boston University, 3-2. Johnson and the Bulldogs eventually fell to Denver, 3-2, in the NCAA championship game. Johnson proved himself to be plenty versatile at Minnesota-Duluth, as he played all three forward positions in 2016-17 - center, left wing and right wing - before filling in on defense late in the season when the Bulldogs had a rash of injuries on the back end. He also manned the point on the power play. 

Johnson was Minnesota-Duluth's top-scoring freshman in '15-16, racking up 18 points (6G-12A) over 39 games. He wrapped his two-year college career with 81 games played, 24 goals, 31 assists, 55 points, nine power-play goals and five game-winning markers. Before advancing to the college ranks, Johnson skated for two-plus seasons in the United States Hockey League. He broke in with the Indiana Ice near the conclusion of the '12-13 campaign, before spending his final two campaigns with the Sioux City Musketeers. In his second and final year with Sioux City in '14-15, Johnson produced 31 goals, 40 assists, 71 points and a plus-25 to earn First-Team All-USHL honors. That year, Johnson's 71 points ranked second in the league, while his plus-25 and seven game-winning markers placed third overall.