Penguins get younger with rookies Owen Pickering, Vasily Ponomarev, Sam Poulin

Over the span of five days, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ active roster saw a considerable decline.

In age.

When they took the ice for a 7-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11, they had an average age of a ripe 30.2.

By the time they dispatched the San Jose Sharks in a shootout 4-3 at home Saturday, they were a sprite 29.5.

That drop began Tuesday when 35-year-old forward Lars Eller was traded to the Washington Capitals. That was followed by recalls of rookie forwards Sam Poulin (23) and Vasily Ponomarev (22) and defenseman Owen Pickering (20) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

While Juan Ponce de Leon might have enjoyed seeing so many cherubic faces in the lineup, it’s probably premature to suggest the Penguins’ various woes have been solved by this injection of youth.

But the combined presence of those three rookies has had an effect on a dressing room full of veterans.

Especially to the veterans.

“It’s awesome to see how excited they are to be here,” said 32-year-old forward Bryan Rust. “Obviously, everybody is excited to be here, but when you’re a young guy just trying to get your opportunity and trying to make the most of it, I think that energy is contagious. You see it with all those guys. (Pickering) in his first game, and you could tell. He’s been all smiles all day. It’s been incredible to watch. I thought he was great today.”

Pickering, the Penguins’ first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall), made his NHL debut Saturday. Opening the contest on the third defensive pairing, Pickering logged 13 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time on 21 shifts, including 2:25 on the penalty kill. He recorded one shot attempt and blocked one shot.

His most notable contribution came during the first period when he recorded a secondary assist on a goal by forward Jesse Puljujarvi.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Jesse Puljujarvi with 13:26 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Drew O'Connor and Owen Pickering.

Pittsburgh: 2
San Jose: 0#SJSvsPIT #LetsGoPens #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/XbJnKcvlXC

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 17, 2024

“(Pickering) had a great game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He played with confidence. He defended hard. He had a great (blocked shot) on one of the penalty kills. That was a real courageous play. He made a real nice play on Jesse Puljujarvi’s goal on that back-side seam pass. He didn’t play a reckless game, he played a calculated game. And he played with confidence.”

Ponomarev was acquired in the highly scrutinized trade that sent All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7. Where it not for a high ankle sprain he suffered with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in late March, he might have skated with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

As it was, Saturday was his debut with the NHL Penguins. Deployed on the right wing of the fourth line with veterans Noel Acciari at center and Matt Nieto on the left wing, Ponomarev clocked 8:40 of ice time on 11 shifts and had three shots. He also recorded one penalty for two minutes.

“(Ponomarev) was good on that line,” Sullivan said. “He kind of fits playing with those two guys. He’s tenacious, he’s a dog on a bone on the puck. He’s hard on pucks, and he checks well. With (Acciari and Nieto), he seems like it’s a better fit there. That line has got a bit of an identity and we can use them in a checking capacity, whether it be (defensive) zone starts or momentum opportunities for us. He had a good game as well.”

The Penguins haven’t had many good games as of late (or for much of the season).

How helpful — or even needed — is the unique energy provided by players trying to prove themselves as NHLers to a team struggling to pull the nose up?

“It’s huge,” 28-year-old goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said. “Anytime you’re going through a rut, you’re trying to find ways to kind of get back out of it and get going again, and bring some life to the table. So, when you’ve got new faces in the lineup, new voices in the room, it does something. Just everybody kind of perks up a little bit or sits a little straighter. Everybody is maybe a little bit more positive.”

It’s fair to wonder if the Penguins are indeed better.

But they are younger.

“When you put guys that are young and trying to establish themselves in the league, they bring a certain level of enthusiasm,” Sullivan said. “They bring a certain level of urgency to their game, and that can be contagious. These guys have been put in the lineup, they’re excited to be here, they love coming to the rink every day and they’re eager every time they step on the ice.

“There’s a lot to that. It’s good for our veteran guys. It pushes everybody.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Sunday.