Phase 3 of the training camp has officially ended for the NHL on plans to return to play, and now the Penguins have traveled to their bubble in Toronto for Phase 4. The real games!
And now they’ve released their 31 player travel roster. You can see those and all the others here.
Here is the list of penguins:
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There were no big surprises, although the team left behind 2019 first-round pick Samuel Poulin. Poulin was with the team in Phase 3, although he did not play in the professional ranks this season like Adam Johnson and Phil Varone did. That gap in experience and preparation (both Johnson and Varone have played NHL regular season games) was a major factor.
Another young player, PO Joseph, will go with the team as his tenth defender. Unlike Poulin, Joseph played this season in the pros, gradually taking on more responsibility and expanding his role at AHL Wilkes-Barre. This is a great sign, as hopefully Joseph will advance the depth chart in the coming months.
Along with Poulin, the other Ballpoint Pen players who didn’t make the cut from Phase 3 to Phase 4 were goalkeeper Alex D’Orio and striker Sam Miletic.
The other great story for the Pens is the status and availability of Sidney Crosby. Crosby was injured on July 18. He was gone for a few days, but he’s skated the past few days, mostly solo, although he participated in full team practice on Friday. Crosby was absent for scrimmages on Thursday and Saturday, but yesterday he worked on his own while the team was fighting.
“Monday is the earliest I guess in terms of [practicing] with the team, ”Crosby said Saturday afternoon. “I hope I can skate with the team on Monday and just take it from there. Ideally, you could play in [the Tuesday exhibition vs. Philly]. If not, just go one day at a time from there. But I hope I can get into that game. ”
Seth Rorabaugh of Trib made an observation:
The decision to keep him away from so many games and practices has been a precautionary one.
Identifying the specific nature of Crosby’s condition is a matter of speculation, but since most workouts seem to focus on edge work and involve him skating with closed, confined movements, it is a reasonable assumption that his illness is what Most coaches could label it popular but nugatory. Designation of “lower body”.
“It felt pretty good,” said Crosby. “I had skated on my own in the [second rink] for a good amount of time It was good to go out with the guys and have a little bit more of a game situation. But I felt good. “
Ironically, Crosby’s words yesterday talking about hoping to join the team at a practice in Toronto tomorrow, and keeping the door open to participate in Tuesday’s exhibition game were more information than the team has been able or willing to give.
“I think the fact that I’ve been able to skate for a long time will help overcome that,” said Crosby. “But it’s one of those things that I’ve skated on my own for a long time, I really didn’t feel like I needed another week. But with that said, things are moving in the right direction, so I hope to get into that exhibition game.” .
So at least there is a statement that playing Tuesday is the goal, and it seems to be possible right now. It would be a great sign if Sid is with the full team tomorrow and still on his way to play on Tuesday. Either way, he’ll surely play Montreal on Saturday. The only real question now is probably whether or not he will face a persistent and possibly limiting injury that could be a nuisance for the rest of the season.
To see all of Crosby’s media availability, watch this video:
