You don’t have the same sacred reverence as … let’s say … being an Art Ross Trophy winner for the Pittsburgh Penguins or a goalkeeper for the Montreal Canadians.
But there certainly is a legacy in the job.
Over the past decade, there have been few positions in hockey as unusual or demanding as being the Penguins’ third-line center.
Jordan Staal established it. Nick Bonino expanded on him.
Brandon Sutter was, at best, adequate. Derick Brassard apparently refused to accept it.
And Nick Bjugstad has been too injured to inhabit it.
That leaves Jared McCann to fill it out.
On the brink of the NHL postseason, McCann has a first understanding of what is required of him as the team’s third center behind franchise icons Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
“Being a two-way player,” said McCann. “Being solid at both ends of the ice. Always making the right move. … just trying to keep confidence, trying to make plays, trying to be good on defense. “
I mean, I know a little bit of everything. Offensive threat. Defensive impairment. Specialist in confrontations. Penalty killer. Occasional power play option. Forechecker Backchecker
All penguin centers do those things, at least in the five-on-five game. But the third-line center is ideally deployed in such a way as to facilitate the life of the other centers, particularly the first two, in all those realms. In particular, a third-line center will ideally have a large number of draws in the defensive zone to free the two main centers to begin turns in more offensive situations.
During this training camp, McCann has been working with Patrick Marleau, a potential Hockey Hall of Famer, and Patric Hornqvist, one of the league’s leading presences on the network front.
That trio helped open the scoring during a scrimmage on Thursday when Hornqvist, with the help of defender Juuso Riikola, chased defender Jack Johnson on a turn in his right corner. The puck rolled above the fold, where McCann was able to hit with an awkward forehand past goalkeeper Tristan Jarry’s right leg.
“Okay,” said McCann. “We are growing every day with our mutual trust. We are making plays. “
“We feel we have excellent chemistry in that vein,” said assistant coach Jacques Martin. “Patrick Marleau brings a lot of experience. He is a player who plays extremely well on both sides of the puck. Patric Hornqvist, we know what you bring to our hockey team. His energy, his enthusiasm. He can be one of the best players in the league in terms of net presence. He is fast on the record. Jared brings a lot of speed to that line. He has the ability to score some goals, to throw the disc. He’s a good two-way player. “
On paper, the trio seems like a good collaboration. But ultimately, the effectiveness of this line will not be tested until it hits the ice against another team. The first opportunity to do so will be Tuesday in an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto.
“We see ourselves as game changers,” McCann said. “We feel like we have something that many teams don’t have. We have that veteran presence with Patty and (Hornqvist) as well. I’m just trying to complement them. “
As one of the franchise’s most titular members, defender Kris Letang has had a direct glimpse of what has worked and not with third-line centers for Penguins. He said McCann has the basic skills to meet the considerable demands of the position.
“He has a lot of speed,” said Letang. “He can play in any situation. And he’s a guy who pays attention to many details on the defensive. We all know how skilled he is, and he can bring tons of offenses. It’s a good line with Pat and … uh … the two Pats. He brings a lot to the table. “
Seth Rorabaugh is a writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or by Twitter.
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