Seth Rorabaugh stories, Page 13
Prospect Finn Harding wants ‘to prove the Penguins right for believing in me’Video
Finn Harding is patient. He waited a long time to get drafted. About a year (plus more than 200 selections). The right-handed defenseman did not hear his name called the first year he was eligible to be selected in the NHL Draft (2023). About 12 months later, Harding went through...
Penguins forward prospect Max Graham signs with Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Max Graham signed a two-year American Hockey League contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Graham (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) just completed his junior career with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. Serving as captain of that team last season, Graham appeared in...
Former Penguins forward Josh Currie signs in Austria
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Josh Currie has signed with the Graz 99ers, an Austrian team that competes in the International Central European Hockey League (ICEHL). That team announced the transaction via a release on Tuesday. A native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the 32-year-old Currie spent the 2024-25 season with...
Penguins prospect Chase Pietila embraces ‘meaner’ defense as his route to the NHL
Even if he isn’t in the NHL just yet, Chase Pietila had his “welcome to the NHL moment” this past spring. On March 12, three days after he signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pietila was brought to UMPC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry to get a...
Former Nailers coach Derek Army hired as assistant with AHL’s Colorado Eagles
Derek Army is leaving as head coach of the Wheeling Nailers, ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, to accept an assistant coaching position with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Colorado announced the hiring via a release on Monday. Army took over as interim head coach of the...
Penguins to participate in Prospect Challenge event at Buffalo
The Pittsburgh Penguins will once again participate in the Prospect Challenge event hosted by the Buffalo Sabres in September. This event is a series of scrimmages between prospects from five NHL teams. In addition to the Penguins and Sabres, the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils will...
Penguins to face Rangers, Mike Sullivan on opening night
It won’t take long for the Pittsburgh Penguins to cross paths with former head coach Mike Sullivan. On Monday, the NHL announced the Penguins will face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on the league’s opening night of the 2025-26 season, Oct. 7. The game is scheduled to...
Penguins management intrigued by forward prospect Mikhail IlyinVideo
Mikhail Ilyin did not wait for the translator. The young Russian answered almost immediately. When Ilyin, a Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect, was asked who his favorite player was, he knew what to say, even in a language he isn’t overly familiar with. “Evgeni Malkin,” he said with a slight smile....
Penguins acquire goaltender Arturs Silovs from Canucks
The Pittsburgh Penguins added to their goaltending depth Sunday by acquiring Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Chase Stillman and a fourth-round draft pick in 2027. Silovs, 24, is entering the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $850,000. He is...
Penguins defensive prospect Emil Pieniniemi is ready for his next stepVideo
As is usually the case with most prospect development camps in the heat of summer, the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t have many players with professional experience on hand earlier this month. More often than not, these camps are populated with recent draft picks or hopefuls trying to earn NHL contracts. Players...
Penguins defensive prospect Daniel Laatsch is more than a big bodyVideo
Daniel Laatsch is Wisconsin nice. Pardon … Wis-kahn-sin. Does he prefer Daniel or Dan? Danny, even? “Whatever you prefer,” he replies diplomatically. And if you happen to extend your hand to shake his after a hockey practice, he’ll politely decline, explaining his hands are sweaty having been in gloves for...
Even at 6-foot-6, Penguins defensive prospect Peyton Kettles is still growingVideo
Given that he shot up from 5-foot-5 in eighth grade to his current height of 6-6 as a freshly drafted defensive prospect for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Peyton Kettles had plenty of clothing to pass on to his younger brother Chase once he outgrew it. But not hockey gear. And there’s...
Penguins acquire defenseman Matt Dumba from Stars
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Matt Dumba and a second-round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft from the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok. This transaction follows a pattern established last offseason by Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas in acquiring veterans with large contracts along with...
Penguins sign top draft pick, forward prospect Ben Kindel
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward prospect Ben Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract Tuesday. Financial terms were not announced. Kindel was the Penguins’ top selection (No. 11 overall) in the NHL Draft last month. A right-handed shot, Kindel skated for the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen last season. Appearing in...
Penguins goaltending prospect Gabriel D’Aigle learned to have fun from Marc-Andre FleuryVideo
Gabriel D’Aigle and Marc-Andre Fleury won’t be confused for one another. D’Aigle is a stout 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds as a goaltender, and Fleury was listed at a sinewy 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds. Polite but shy, D’Aigle is something of a wallflower compared to the giddy and effervescent Fleury. And...
Former Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi signs in Switzerland
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi signed a two-year contract with Geneve-Servette HC of Switzerland’s National League. That team announced the transaction Tuesday. Puljujarvi, 27, spent parts of the past two seasons with the Penguins. After going unsigned through the 2023 offseason as he recovered from surgery to both hips,...
Former Penguins forward Marc Johnstone signs with AHL’s Toronto Marlies
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Marc Johnstone signed a two-year American Hockey League contract with the Toronto Marlies on Monday. Johnstone, 29, spent the past two seasons with the Penguins under a two-way NHL contract that carried a salary cap hit of $775,000. During that time, he appeared in one NHL...
Former Penguins forward Toby Petersen hired as coach of AHL’s Texas Stars
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Toby Petersen was hired as head coach of the Texas Stars, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars. That team announced the appointment Monday. Petersen, 46, spent the past two seasons as a skills coach with the Colorado Avalanche. Before that, he had...
Penguins coaches Mike Stothers, Rich Clune find their passion through challenges
Cancer can take a lot out of a person. And Mike Stothers is no exception. But it didn’t strip away his sense of humor. On Sunday, when a reporter noted he looked “pretty good” for someone who overcame a 2023 diagnosis of stage 3 melanoma of the lymph node, Stothers...
Penguins notebook: Development camp concludes with increased numbers of prospects
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished their five-day development camp for prospects Monday in Cranberry. A four-on-four tournament between three teams concluded the event. The number of teams was a necessity based on the number of prospects participating. Including injured players, this camp had 52 invitees. Not too long ago, the Penguins...
Former Penguins forward Mark Letestu hired as coach of AHL’s Colorado Eagles
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mark Letestu has been hired as head coach of the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. That team announced the transaction Saturday. The Eagles are the primary minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Letestu, 40, spent the past four seasons as an assistant and development...
Assistant coach Todd Nelson is grateful to rejoin the Penguins
Todd Nelson played as many games for the Pittsburgh Penguins as he has hockey cards. One. A fourth-round draft pick (No. 79 overall) of the Penguins back in 1989, Nelson’s career as a defenseman saw him primarily bounce around the minor leagues, including his first two professional seasons with the...
New Penguins coach Dan Muse seeks collaboration with his assistants
It’s probably still too early to ask Dan Muse about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play. Or the forecheck. Or who will be on the second defensive pairing. After all, it’s July. And Muse, who was hired as the team’s coach June 4, just finished rounding up his coaching staff. The...
Penguins’ Nick Bonino adjusts to a new role as coach
Like a lot of members of the workforce, Nick Bonino is having to adjust to a new gig in this economy. And the transition hasn’t been completely smooth as he has had to develop a few new skills. “I had to learn the computer for two hours yesterday,” Bonino bemoaned...
Penguins go big with Anthony Mantha, Alex Alexeyev
On the second day of the NHL’s free-agent signing period, the Pittsburgh Penguins did what they did on the first day by avoiding big names. However, they did sign some big humans looking for second chances to get their NHL careers on track. Forward Anthony Mantha (6-foot-5, 234 pounds) and...
