Penguins prospect Nathan Legare ready for new experience after rough rookie year
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Nathan Legare’s first professional season of 2021-22 offered plenty of new experiences.
Like healthy scratches.
A total of 18 healthy scratches, including the playoffs, to be precise.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ third-round pick (No. 74 overall) in the 2019 draft, Legare was a prolific scorer at the junior level, and there were ample expectations foisted upon him once he made the jump to the pro level with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League last season.
But that jump turned into something of a tumble.
“When you’re in the stands, you see your teammates go out there, go to (battle) without you, it’s hard to accept,” Legare said of the scratches. “But you have to see the positive in every situation. That’s pretty much my mindset right now. I just focus on what I can control. It’s been pretty good so far.”
It would be a stretch to say Legare has stood out this preseason with Pittsburgh. In two games, he has no points. But he actually leads the team in shots with eight, six of which came during a 3-1 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Additionally, he had a strong showing in a rookie tournament game last month in which he scored a goal and offered a physical component that stood out to management.
“I loved his demeanor in the (rookie tournament) game at Buffalo,” Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. “Just his body language and effort and attitude showed how much he wants to take the next step.”
Suffice to say, the 21-year-old Legare is in a much better place emotionally than he was throughout most of his first professional campaign.
“Obviously, it was kind of a process season,” Legare said. “A lot different than junior, a different role and stuff like that. It was a lot of learning last year. Now, I’m ready to help the team to win. I’m ready to make a step.
“Last year, I grew a lot as a man but also as a player. Sometimes, when you get scratched, you realize a couple of things. That’s what I realized last year. This summer was pretty good for me. I’m just excited and very confident about my camp. Just work hard every day and we’ll see what happens.”
In 57 AHL games last season, Legare had 16 points (seven goals, nine assists). He admitted his work ethic was lacking over that span.
“Every day, it’s a grind,” Legare said. “Every practice, you work for a spot in the lineup. Sometimes (at the junior level), when you’re (an NHL) draft pick, sometimes you take a day off or whatever, you’re a little bit soft on the ice. Here, especially with this type of organization — with (captain Sidney) Crosby leading the way — you’ve just got to be there every morning 100%. You’ve just got to work hard.
“That’s pretty much what I learned last year. It’s my mindset since the beginning of this camp. Every day is a new day. What happened in the past, just let it go.”
The right-handed Legare (6-foot, 205 pounds) focused on improving this footwork this past summer.
“Everything, but especially the skating part,” Legare said. “I (worked with) a power-skating coach this summer. We worked a lot with my skill coach too on a lot of aspects. Last year, I was (making) plays a little bit too fast. Sometimes, I had more time than I thought. So, now I try to keep the puck, using my body to protect it. That’s the thing that I work (on) every day. So far, it’s way better than last year.”
Legare was cut from the training camp roster on Sunday and will likely spend the majority of the 2022-23 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. And he probably can’t help but be better in his sophomore season than he was during his freshman campaign.
But a change in his approach figures to provide a new experience.
“Just work every day like it’s your last day,” Legare said. “It’s pretty much my mindset right now. Last year, I was probably asking myself too (many) questions and focusing on things that I can’t control. This year, it’s more like you focus on what you can control and I’m pretty sure good things are going to happen. I just try to take every day one by one and we’ll see what happens. When you work hard, good things happen.”