With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season - with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28-29.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)

Ryan Poehling

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 195 pounds

2022-23 NHL statistics: 53 games, 14 points (seven goals, seven assists)

Contract: In the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $750,000. Pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

(Note: Poehling is eligible for arbitration.)

Acquired: Trade, July 16, 2022

Last season: Ryan Poehling was a throw-in piece to a large trade in which defenseman Jeff Petry was the main component from the Penguins’ perspective.

A first-round pick (No. 25) of the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Draft, Poehling never lived up to the enormous expectations typically affixed to high-end prospects with that franchise.

“I’m glad they moved on from me and gave me a fresh start,” Poehling said in October. “I’m looking forward to being here.”

In Pittsburgh, Poehling finally found something of a steady role for the first time in his career. Largely deployed among the Penguins’ bottom-six forwards and on the penalty kill, Poehling seemed to finally gain traction for the first time as an NHLer.

With Teddy Blueger injured during training camp, Poehling opened the season as the team’s fourth-line center. By the time Blueger was healthy enough to play, Poehling was bumped to the left wing of the fourth line and formed a fairly effective trio along with Blueger and right winger Josh Archibald.

Appearing in 10 games with that station, Poehling generated four points (three goals, one assist) before injuries started to stagger him.

Beginning on Dec. 6, Poehling missed 30 of the next 46 games due to various maladies, most notably a shoulder injury.

Poehling was able-bodied enough to play in the team’s final 15 games while primarily serving as a third-line center in place of an ineffective Jeff Carter.

The future: Even with his health woes and the team’s overall malaise, Poehling was one of the Penguins’ individual successes in 2022-23 in that he finally seemed to find a purpose as an NHLer.

The Penguins have contract control and retaining Poehling on an affordable deal shouldn’t be difficult. And at 24, there’s still plenty of time for him to reach his ceiling.

Ideally, he’s a fourth-liner and not a third-liner. But with his versatility and his natural athleticism — at one point, Poehling reached the highest recorded speed of any skater in the NHL last season — he can be a very useful component to any team’s bottom two lines.

And while the struggling penalty kill was hardly a point of pride for the team, Poehling carved out a semi-regular role on that front, averaging 2:26 of short-handed ice time per contest.

The Penguins’ bottom-six forwards need something of a considerable overhaul this offseason, but Poehling made a strong enough case that he should be part of the group moving forward.

He appeared finally to find a role in the NHL.

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