ST. PAUL, Minn. — When the Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice Thursday night at the Grand Casino Arena to face the Minnesota Wild, there will be no ceremony or special video tribute.
The game will mark a special milestone nonetheless, as rookie Ben Kindel will play his 10th NHL game, meaning his entry-level contract kicks in and he is, for all intents and purposes, now officially an NHL player.
“It’s another checkpoint. For us, there’s been a lot of checkpoints just going back through training camp,” said coach Dan Muse. “We’re going to be continuing to evaluate. We’re continuing to work with him and using all the departments and resources we have here to make sure that everything we’re doing is the best for him now and in the future.”
The team could have sent him back to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL, and technically can still return him to juniors, but his entry-level contract kicks when when he plays his 10th game.
In nine games, Kindel has two goals and a minus-2.
“It’s special, but (the 10th game) is just a number,” said Kindel. “It doesn’t really change anything for me. I’m just trying to play my game and help the team win in any way I can.”
The Penguins selected Kindel with the 11th overall pick, to a chorus of some external criticism, as most amateur draft rankings put Kindel closer to 20th overall. However, from the first days of training camp, Kindel looked like a different player–one capable of making a case to stick around.
He has been scratched for a pair of games in what the organization termed a planned workload management schedule.
Thursday morning, coach Dan Muse returned Kindel to the top power play unit with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, and Bryan Rust.
“Yeah, (this was the goal in training camp), maybe it wasn’t realistic, but there have been examples in the past,” Kindel said. “Whenever you go to an NHL training camp, your goal is to stay as long as you can. That’s always your mindset–to stay one more day, just keep surviving.”
Kindel has done that and more, anchoring the Penguins’ third line with a rotating cast of wingers that would otherwise be a weak spot.
In the meantime, he will have some help with the other handful of rookies on the roster paying for the rookie dinner.
Tags: ben kindel Pittsburgh Penguins
Categorized: Penguins Locker Room