It has been a busy 24-plus hours for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who put three players on injured reserve, sent a player back to the AHL, and recalled three other players.
And it comes as no surprise that the roster move getting all of the attention is the call-up of top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov, who thoroughly impressed in training camp, just won AHL Goaltender of the Month honors, and has dominated at every level of professional hockey.
While the two other call-ups may not be young or nearly as exciting for some fans, they were call-ups well-earned - and they are two players at an important crossroads in their careers.
Veteran forward Danton Heinen and veteran defenseman Ryan Graves were those other two players recalled, and this represents a second-chance NHL opportunity for them with the Penguins. Both players were waived at the conclusion of NHL training camp and went unclaimed, and they were re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) in the aftermath.
To their credit, a lot of veteran players get discouraged and don't take those situations very well. In this case, both players handled it as best they could - and they took the opportunity and ran with it.
The 30-year-old Heinen returned to the NHL Tuesday in a tie for the AHL lead in points with 14, and Graves - also 30 - led all defensemen on the team with a goal and seven points in 10 games on the season. Both players could have taken a wrong turn in the wake of their AHL assignment.
But that's not what happened.
Penguins Call Up 3 Players & Announce Several Roster MovesThe Pittsburgh Penguins have made a series of roster moves. "At the end of the day, it’s the kind of person you are, too," Graves said. "You’re not going to go there and sulk and complain. You’re still playing hockey for a living. That’s pretty cool. There’s been some aspects of it that have been really hard. But I’ve been on the side of it where you’re a 20-year-old kid and coming into the American League, and there’s some guys that I’ve played with that came down and you could see both sides of how guys take it.
"You can either go there and ride into the sunset and just take it with a bad attitude and be miserable, or you can go there and you can try to play and work on your game and get better. It’s a good league, so just go there, put in work and try to come back.”
And, now, Graves is just trying to make the most of his second opportunity.
“Obviously, this is where you want to be. It’s a tough situation," Graves said. "Obviously, you want to play in the NHL. It’s the best league in the world. It’s hard to be here. I have an appreciation for that. You go there [to the AHL], you want to go with a good mindset and you want to be back here. So I’m just trying to make the most of the opportunity.”
Sergei Murashov’s First NHL Shot With The Penguins Is HereSergei Murashov is set to make his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the coming days.Heinen gave a pretty similar response.
"You always try to learn from mistakes, learn from things," Heinen said. "I don’t think you can look back with regrets. You’ve just got to keep looking forward.
“I just want to prove that I believe I’m an NHLer and I believe that I can help this team win. That’s what I’m coming up here to do and do everything I can to show it.”
Obviously, an AHL assignment for someone who has been playing in the NHL for a long time is never easy. But it helps that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is off to a hot start in the AHL, and it fostered an environment for Heinen and Graves to thrive.
"The coaches put a good system in.," Heinen said. "They communicate well. It’s a great group of guys, good hockey players… It’s definitely well run.”
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And even if the ultimate goal is always to play at the NHL level, Graves was able to pull a lot from his experience with the AHL squad.
“There’s a lot you can take from it," Graves said. "It’s how you approach it. You go down there. You get a lot of opportunity to play. You play in all situations. You play a lot of minutes, some of them [in situations] you might not play here. It’s nice to be able to build confidence and feel the game. And you can work, and you can make mistakes and you can keep playing because you’re going to play a lot. And you just try to build your game and build confidence.
"So, that’s the approach you have to take to it. I feel like I played well down there. So, again, I’m just trying to make the most of the opportunity here.”
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