Penguins A to Z: Taylor Fedun commands respect
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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.)
Taylor Fedun
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Age: 34
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: Four games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)
2022-23 AHL statistics: 58 games, 11 points (three goals, eight assists)
Contract: In the first year of a two-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $762,500. Pending unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.
Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July 28, 2021
Last season: Don’t you dare disrespect Taylor Fedun. His teammates won’t stand for it.
At least that’s what one can assume from a display that unfolded during a brief recall to the NHL roster in January.
As media crowded around rookie defenseman P.O Joseph in the home dressing room of PPG Paints Arena following an optional morning skate, Fedun had to wedge himself behind a few reporters in order to get to his neighboring stall and shed some of his equipment.
As Joseph wrapped up his availability, another teammate observed Fedun’s inconvenience and curtly stated, “Hey, give him some room. Make sure he can get in there.”
Such is the respect Fedun carries serving as captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as well as some combination of big brother and assistant coach to those who have toiled for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in recent years.
Fedun is a journeyman who has suited up for six teams over eight sporadic seasons at the NHL level. And to be frank, even by AHL standards, his play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2022-23 was inconsistent, at best.
But for the Penguins, the role he inhabits is important.
In his second season as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s captain, Fedun often provides guidance to the organization’s young prospects in all matters on and off the ice.
In fact, when defenseman Owen Pickering, the Penguins’ first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in last year’s draft, signed an amateur tryout contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late in the AHL season and got his first taste of the professional game, the 18-year-old was placed on the second pairing with Fedun in something of an apprenticeship.
As worthy as his leadership is in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Fedun is essentially an option of last resort for the NHL roster. In other words, things really need to go bad for him to get a crack at the lineup.
As it was, things did go bad in late March when several maladies hobbled many of the NHL club’s incumbent defensemen, prompting Fedun to be recalled and he played NHL contests for the first time since he was a member of the Dallas Stars in the 2020 postseason. Appearing in four games, he did not record a point but offered a steady presence, often deferring to safe, inert decisions with the puck.
March also happened to be his most productive stretch of the AHL season as he generated six points (two goals, four assists) in eight games over the month.
Returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 29, Fedun’s season came to a premature end as he suffered an undisclosed injury on April 7 and missed the final four games of the season.
The future: While he’s not the Penguins’ most consequential entity, it’s hard to find any player who fulfills his duties with the organization better than Fedun, who has one year remaining on his current contract.
For an organization that is stricken with a poverty of legit NHL-caliber prospects, Fedun is an invaluable teammate to have around them and he has embraced that role of being a mentor.
That is why he commands the respect he does.