Left-handed Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea gets it right

Skating on the right side isn’t new for left-handed Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea.

He has done it sporadically at the collegiate and American Hockey League levels. And Shea even dabbled there in his first NHL campaign with the Penguins last season.

But doing it as much as he has this season is different.

Entering Tuesday’s home contest against the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena, Shea has skated in 11 games and nine of those have seen him open play on the starboard side.

“I had maybe had one or two practices right during the preseason,” Shea said following Tuesday’s morning skate in Cranberry. “Played left in all the (preseason) games. The way I moved pucks in the preseason and stuff like that, I thought was very efficient. I hopefully (would) be coming in for a guy on the left side.

“But the way things are working … I’ll play whatever to be in the lineup. I didn’t really anticipate it.”

The Penguins experimented with Shea on the right side a bit in 2023-24, but that was roughly 13 months ago.

“The last time I played right in a game was with (former defenseman P.O Joseph) last year against (the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 4). So, it’s been awhile. Summer, it’s hard to practice the right side as much. But after the first couple of games, I think I’m getting used to it. There’s still things that I can get better playing the right side. It’s been an adjustment, but I think I’ve handled it pretty well.”

With one assist in 11 games, Shea’s figures are hardly spectacular. But as a bottom-pairing defenseman playing his off side, they probably have to be mundane. Being basic is best in his scenario.

“It’s simplifying things,” Shea said. “On the left side, I definitely like to break out through the middle the majority of the time. On the left side, it’s a lot easier to do that. On the right side, you might have to shove it up the wall, you might have to rim a couple more. One, to protect yourself from getting hit. And two, it’s just a lot harder to see everything open. But while you have to be more simple in the (defensive) and neutral zone, you can do more in the (offensive) zone. You can see everything, you can make passes left or right. There’s definitely pros and cons to it. As long as I keep working on the cons, the pros will keep coming out my way.”

Coaches have expressed satisfaction with the pros Shea has offered on the right side.

“Some guys have more of a comfort level than others in respect to that, and Ryan was willing to embrace that role out of necessity,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s worked extremely hard at it understanding that we’re not putting him in the ideal position. He’s more comfortable on his strong side.

“Those are some of the challenges of playing the offside. We think Ryan has done a pretty good job there.”

What are those challenges?

“The biggest thing with respect to that is defending the rush, the pivot is different on that side,” Sullivan said. “The angles, the stick detail, all of those things. Any (defenseman-to-defenseman) exchanges, whether it be on breakouts or counters, how you receive that pass is very different, whether you receive it on your forehand or backhand. And there are a lot of details around those things. We work with some of the (defensemen) that we would envision (using) on the offside, we try to get them repetitions with respect to those particular areas.

“In the offensive zone, on the offensive blue line, on any rims that come around the wall, you’re receiving that puck on your backhand as opposed to your forehand.”

As of late, Shea has been teamed with left-handed rookie Owen Pickering, a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2022, on the team’s third pairing.

“I had the same thing last year, it’s kind of like you’re shaking a bit before that first game. In your head, you’re like I’ve got to prove that I’m good enough,” Shea said. “I was telling him, ‘You’re here for a reason.’ We had (25 defensemen) at camp or whatever it was. There (were) probably 17 that were battling for a spot up here. (Pickering) is the first one out of everyone (with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) to get called up, and there’s a reason for that. He’s been playing great.

“And you can tell his confidence is coming out more and more. I keep on telling him he doesn’t have to change up 20 seconds into his shift. Have some confidence. Who cares if it’s (All-Stars like Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov or Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid). We can play against anyone in this league. We’ve just got to keep building. We’ve put together a couple of good games.”

Just given the general surplus of left-handed defenseman in the sport at all levels (and the corresponding deficit of right-handers), Shea understands moving to his right can keep getting him games in the NHL.

“Just having the mindset that I’m just as good on this side as the other side, it might not be true because I definitely like playing left more,” Shea said. “But you’ve just got to have that mindset that you can play anywhere, especially in this league. In the position that I’m in, there’s a lot of (defensemen) that are in and out that can play in this league, I’ve got to do whatever I can to stay in the lineup and help the team win.”

Note: On Tuesday, the team assigned rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany, a right-hander, to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and activated forward Cody Glass from injured reserve.