Don't Mess With The Metro

Hockey in Pittsburgh has always been different, home to the black and gold that’s been laced into NHL history. It’s not just the colors, its the players who have been attached to its history, Paul Coffey, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, and now its emerging icons. The current squad is pretty good too, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, Phil Kessel so on and so forth. The back-to-back champions face a challenge not many teams get the opportunity to face ever, a three-peat in NHL. The strength comes in depth, being able to have every line contribute through every game. Some players we can already expect greatness from, but some might be diamonds in the rough, others may be challenged throughout this year, and rising to the challenge is something Penguins always do. So with the season facing-off this week, here are five Pens players I’ll have my eye on to grow and develop throughout the year.

Evgeni Malkin: One of the great Pens of all time, Evgeni Malkin never fails to disappoint wherever role he's in. He will always one of the players that don't have an answer for, one of the most well-rounded players in the league. Malkin commands the top scoring line of the Pens, plus the power play which simply has to stay consistent for Pittsburgh to boss it this year. With all the plusses, there have to be bottoms, the chemistry issues occurring at the end of last year with winger Phil Kessel have to be absolved if the Pens are to keep their team intact from the last two seasons.

Zach Aston-Reese: Free agency had the Pens lose a lot of squad depth, especially down the middle, not being able to really replace either Nick Bonino or Matt Cullen, but the replacement may come through the youth. Zach Aston-Reese’s chances won’t come plentiful, if those chances even come. ZAR’s stats with Northeastern and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in NCAA and with the AHL respectively speak for themselves, 63 points in 38 games with Northeastern and 8 points in 10 games. A chance to get game time with Tom Kuhnackl to drop back in defense and allow ZAR to push up with Carl Hagelin on the third line could be vital role for him, even if it is 15 more games. He's drawing comparisons to another Pen later on this list, and maybe for the chances he gets, he’ll take them.

Jake Guentzel: In one year, Jake Guentzel went from barely making the Pens’ AHL team after 3 years of minor league hockey, to Sidney Crosby’s left winger. Guentzel’s Penguin career was saved following an outburst in the 2015 AHL playoffs vs Providence, and that same career rose to stardom following an outburst in the 2017 NHL playoffs vs Columbus and Nashville, being robbed of the Conn Smyth in my eyes. 21 points in 25 playoff games says it all, his agility helps the Pens play from the back, his duo with #87 became lethal as the two play off each other well, his stamina keeps him in big games allowing him to play 17 minutes a night, that’s not even getting to his shooting, 13 playoff goals including 5 game winners, scoring on every 4th shot he takes. Guentzel will be someone the Pens may have to rely on to take a few less minutes with the center depth, lets say… not ideal. Even with that, no 22 year old will complain about playing with Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin.

Bryan Rust: Proving grounds for Bryan Rust this season, with the Pens continuing to stack on right wingers(Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Tom Kuhnackl, Ryan Reaves). For a player of Rust’s quality, this isn't the perfect situation to have to fight for a spot on this team, but it'll be interesting to see how he responds to the pressure. The lack of development is concerning, injury-riddled and chemistry issues have been problems. He knows the task at hand, and he’s one who's ready to fight for his place in this team. Still 25, he still has room to improve, but Rust still has to impress this year, or otherwise he could be shipped out.

Matt Hunwick: Losing Trevor Daley to Detroit means someone has to step in to fill the veteran role in defense for the Pens, nobody really knows how healthy Kris Letang can be, Olli Maatta may have been a rock, but his penalty minutes still raise eyebrows. Matt Hunwick isn't someone who most people would expect to see on this list, but may be the answer to a few problems for Pittsburgh. His talent may be fading in old age, but his leadership is still there. A good puck mover is something that Daley struggled with, Hunwick can step right in and be able to move the puck to a lot more teammates than in Toronto. Hunwick’s 8 +/- also raised some eyebrows, and the injuries daunting him may be a thing of the past after playing 72 games for TOR last year, his 2nd best tally dating back to 2009-2010 with Boston. He's no stranger to big games and big atmospheres, and he might be a sleeper to Mike Sullivan’s system.