First-Round Pick Poulin, 2019 Draftees Attending Development Camp

All five players selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins at last weekend’s NHL draft will be attending the club’s annual development camp this week at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

They are: first-rounder Samuel Poulin, third-rounder Nathan Legare, fifth-rounder Judd Caufield, and seventh-rounders Valtteri Puustinen and Santeri Airola. All are forwards except Airola, who is a defenseman. The Penguins seemed to put an emphasis on power forwards this year. You can judge for yourself.

Also among the 41 players on the development camp roster are defenseman Calen Addison, the Penguins’ top pick in 2018 who recently signed an entry-level contract; and forward Jake Lucchini and goaltender Emil Larmi, recently signed undrafted free agents.

Three prospects who might have been of interest to Penguins fans won’t attend because of injuries and rehab – Justin Almeida, Kasper Bjorkqvist and Nikita Pavlychev. The strapping Bjorkqvist attended last year but did not skate because of injury.

A familiar name returns in Arizona State forward Austin Lemieux, son of Penguins Hall of Famer and team co-owner Mario Lemieux.

An interesting name is goalie Matt Murray. This one is a 21-year-old free agent from UMass-Amherst. We will let you know if he drapes a towel around his neck for interviews.

As always, all development camp sessions are free and open to the public. The sessions begin Wednesday and culminate with a three-on-three tournament Friday evening. Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday, June 26

1:00PM – Team A Goalie Session

1:30-2:15PM – Team A Practice

2:45PM – Team B Goalie Session

3:15-4:00PM – Team B Practice

Thursday, June 27

9:30AM – Team A Goalie Session

10:00AM– Team A Skills Session

10:30AM – Team B Goalie Session

11:00AM – Team B Skills Session

Friday, June 28

10:30AM – Team B Morning Skate

11:30AM – Team A Morning Skate

7:00PM – 3-on-3 Tournament