Tomasino’s Lofty Aspiration: Be ‘Sparkplug’ for Struggling Penguins

These are not necessarily the high-flying, Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins that forward Philip Tomasino grew up watching intensely. That doesn’t dull his desire to play for them.

In his expected debut with the Penguins Wednesday after he was acquired from Nashville in a trade Monday, Tomasino, 23, might even play alongside one of the heroes of his youth. He was on the right side of Evgeni Malkin’s line Tuesday in his first practice with the team at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“He’s a legend,” Tomasino said of Malkin. “Pittsburgh was my favorite team growing up. Watching Sid (Crosby) and ‘Geno’ was my whole childhood. It’s kind of crazy to be on a line with him today. It’s awesome. Another guy I’ve looked up to, and, obviously, a heck of a player. So I’m just going to try to do everything I can to help him and help this team.

“He’s one of the most skilled guys ever. Try and get him the puck as much as possible. That would be a guy I would love to play with, get an opportunity (Wednesday) I’ll make sure I take advantage of it. He’s a guy that can make plays. Get open for him and, hopefully, we can connect and help our team.”

Regardless of where he lines up Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks in the Penguins’ annual Thanksgiving Eve game, Tomasino could be in a nearly unwinnable situation – being the spark that helps the Penguins start to climb out of their tailspin that has them on a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) and last in the Metropolitan Division at 7-12-4.

Not that the Penguins have asked him to be that, but the former first-round pick is the latest “new thing” that could provide a bit of a lift, even as he tries to regain the form that gave him his pedigree. He had 11 goals, 32 points in 76 games as a rookie in 2021-22 but hasn’t come close to that since, bouncing between the NHL and AHL and, this season collecting just one point, an assist, in 11 games while being a healthy scratch for 10 games.

“First and foremost, he’s a young player that has a lot of potential moving forward, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Sometimes in a different environment players can find their respective games and can thrive. The fact that he was drafted as high as he was, he’s still a very young player and has shown some capacity to be an impact player in this league.”

In other words, Tomasino is something the Penguins have had some success with in recent seasons – he is a reclamation project with an upside.

“I think I can try and use my speed here,” Tomasino said. “Don’t know too much about what’s been going on here, but we had a kind of similar thing in Nashville. All I want to focus on is doing everything I can to help the team, be a guy our coach can trust in each situation.

“My game is more on the offensive side, I think. That’s where I think I can use my speed and help generate chances off the rush. It can, hopefully, be a sparkplug for this group.”

Besides a relatively short practice Tuesday, Tomasino could look forward to dinner with former Predators teammate Cody Glass on his first day with his new club, then a game day Wednesday in an organization other than Nashville for the first time as a pro.

“It’s going to be a little bit different,” Glass said of the transition for someone who was a former linemate with the Predators. “Nashville, they play high-pace, high-tempo. And here we want to play a little more structured. So it will be a little bit of a change, but he’s a smart player, so it will probably take him no time to get used to it.”

Some Penguins fans might have to get used to the team’s style being described as structured as opposed to high-pace, high-tempo.

Tomasino fell behind in his development, but he is young and fast with a strong pedigree and the ability to play all three forward positions. Just the kind of player the Penguins have been seeking, Sullivan said.

Even if things did not work out with the team that held him in high enough esteem to select him 24^th overall in the 2019 draft.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Tomasino said. “I’m glad to be here. I don’t really want to say too much about what happened in Nashville. All I can say is I think this is a great opportunity for me. I’m really excited to be here.”