Penguins to start goaltender Joel Blomqvist in preseason opener
The Pittsburgh Penguins are slated to start goaltender Joel Blomqvist for Saturday’s preseason opener, a road contest against the Buffalo Sabres.
Per coach Mike Sullivan, Blomqvist is scheduled to play the complete game with Filip Larsson dressing as the backup.
Occasionally, NHL teams will switch goaltenders mid-way through preseason contests to get each of them playing time.
Blomqvist is coming off a strong debut season at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2023-24. An All-Star selection last season, the 22-year-old appeared in 45 games and had a 25-12-6 record, a 2.16 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and one shutout.
A second-round pick (No. 52 overall) in 2020, Blomqvist is one of the organization’s top prospects.
“He had a really good year (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton),” Sullivan said. “His game really evolved over the course of that season. I think he’s technically pretty sound and he has good size. He’s tall, he’s rangy. By nature of that, he takes up a lot of net. So, when you combine some of his technical game and how sound he is with his size and his physical stature, I think it really sets him up for success. He had a really good year for (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) last year. We’re hopeful that he’ll build on it. The sky is the limit for him.”
Management isn’t limited in its options with the position. This summer, the Penguins signed the 26-year-old Larsson to a two-year contract and also inked promising prospect Sergei Murashov, a fourth-round draft pick (No. 118 overall), to a three-year entry-level contract.
With incumbents Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic challenging one another for playing time on the NHL roster and Taylor Gauthier, the ECHL’s reigning goaltender of the year, entering the final year of his entry-level contract, there is plenty of competition at the position from top to bottom.
“That position has more of an impact on a team’s ability to win night in and night out than any position in any sport,” Sullivan said. “Maybe, I guess, you could argue a pitcher in baseball. For me, it’s one of the most influential positions in all of sports. By nature of that, it’s a critically important position for everybody. To establish and work and develop depth at that position, I think, is really important as a position if we want to stay competitive.
“That’s something that will constantly be a point of emphasis for our hockey operations. That was one of (president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas’) priorities coming in here was trying to solidify that spot for us so we constantly have a push from within internally for our guys. Depending on the nature of how the season goes or how he chooses to manipulate our roster, to have depth at that position is really important.”
Penguins go young in Buffalo
In advance of their preseason opener in Buffalo, the Penguins staged a morning skate at their practice facility in Cranberry. They are scheduled to deploy a mostly younger lineup full of prospects
The graybeard of the group was 29-year-old Ryan Graves, he of 372 career NHL games.
The team’s lines and pairs during the morning skate:
2 Rutger McGroarty – 10 Drew O’Connor – 19 Cody Glass
18 Jesse Puljujarvi – 26 Tristan Broz – 48 Valtteri Puustinen
41 Ville Koivunen – 11 Vasily Ponomarev – 52 Emil Bemstrom
74 Tanner Howe – 16 Jimmy Huntington – 85 Avery Hayes
27 Ryan Graves – 81 Mac Hollowell
5 Ryan Shea – 4 Nate Clurman
7 John Ludvig – 45 Harrison Brunicke
32 Jarrett Lee – 57 Philip Waugh
The top power-play unit involved Glass, Hollowell, McGroarty, O’Connor, Puustinen. The second unit included Bemstrom, Broz, Brunicke, Koivunen and Puljujarvi.
In contrast, the Sabres are scheduled to dress a pretty veteran-laden lineup including 20-goal scorers such as forwards Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
That team announced its lineup on Saturday via social media:
Forwards - Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens, Jiri Kulich, Peyton Krebs, Sam Lafferty, Beck Malenstyn, J.J. Peterka, Jack Quinn, Lukas Rousek, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch
Defensemen - Jacob Bryson, Bowen Byram, Connor Clifton, Henri Jokiharju, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson
Goaltenders - Michael Houser, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer
Sullivan sees the lopsided nature of the matchup – in terms of the experience – as valuable in terms of auditing the organizations’ younger players.
“It will be a great test for our guys against an NHL lineup,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to have to be ready to play. They’re a talented group. They have a lot of pedigree with some of their draft picks that are emerging as pretty good players in this league. It will be an opportunity to see how some of our guys stack up against an NHL lineup. There’s value in that. It will be a tough challenge for our guys.”
Waugh represents Mercyhurst
Defenseman Philip Waugh participated in the morning skate but is expected to serve as a healthy scratch in Saturday’s game.
Regardless, being in an NHL training camp is no less profound for Waugh who signed a two-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in March.
“Soaking in the experience,” said the left-handed shot. “A lot of good guys here. Obviously, the regular Pittsburgh Penguins (players) are here. So, you can just learn a lot from watching.”
After signing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Waugh skated in 12 games for the Wheeling Nailers to complete the 2023-24 season. He previously played in Erie for Mercyhurst University the three seasons.
The only Mercyhurst product who has played for the AHL Penguins was defenseman T.J. Kemp who skated in 22 games during the 2008-09.
Waugh takes pride in being one of the relatively few Lakers to reach the pro ranks.
“It doesn’t really get the greatest recognition as a smaller school,” Waugh said. “I loved my time there. The coaches were great to me. It wasn’t always pretty. Started out slow and just worked my way up. Senior year was a blast. Just had fun and it worked out. Here I am now.”
A large presence at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, the 24-year-old Waugh posted 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in 31 games as a senior at Mercyhurst.
He professes to offer a mostly defensive style of play.
“Just a bigger defenseman,” said Waugh, a native of McLean, Va. “I try to get myself involved in the offensive zone but a defense-first mindset. Penalty kills, first pass and shutdown (defenseman).”
Karlsson skates
Defenseman Erik Karlsson took to the ice prior to a practice session on Saturday. The seven-time All-Star has yet to fully participate in training camp due to an undisclosed injury. Per a team spokesperson, Karlsson remains day to day.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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