Penguins A to Z: Cam Lee restores depth in the prospect pool
While the NHL is on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.
Player: Cam Lee
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Age: 23
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 186 pounds
2019-20 NCAA statistics: 26 games, 21 points (three goals, 18 assists)
Contract: Two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $950,000 that begins in 2020-21
Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, March 17, 2020
This season: Having traded away so many high-end future assets over the past decade-plus in the pursuit of the Stanley Cup, the Penguins usually are fairly aggressive when it comes to signing undrafted free agents out of the NCAA ranks.
They have had some successes with the likes of forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Conor Sheary. They have had a handful of misses such as goaltender Eric Hartzell or defenseman Ethan Prow.
Without first-, second-, and third-round picks at the their disposal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coaches have had to figure out ways to develop undrafted players into NHL-caliber entities.
Cam Lee will start that journey next season.
A nonroster invitee to a prospect camp last summer, Lee signed an entry-level deal with the Penguins in March.
Spending four seasons at Western Michigan playing for former NHL coach Andy Murray, Lee racked up 85 points (18 goals, 67 assists) in 137 career games.
As a senior in 2019-20, Lee finished sixth in scoring on a team that included five other players who were drafted or signed by NHL teams.
(Video courtesy Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
The high point of Lee’s season might have been his final NCAA game when he tied a National Collegiate Hockey Conference record by recording five assists in an 8-4 home win against Miami (Ohio). Five days later, the NCAA canceled the rest of the season.
Had the AHL season not come to an end in mid-March, Lee was expected to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an amateur tryout contract to continue his development.
The future: Lee is expected to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next season, whenever that is, and figures to be one of that team’s top, if not most intriguing, defensemen.
With high-end defensive prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph a candidate to play in the NHL next season, there is a potential opening for a left-handed defenseman at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Lee figures to be a leading candidate to assume those minutes.
A nephew of former NHL all-star goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Lee is straight out of central casting for what the Penguins, and most NHL teams, want out of a defenseman in 2020.
He is mobile and has good vision, which allows him to recognize shooting or passing lanes. He possesses a heavy shot and can work the point on a power play.
Lee is the proverbial “puck-moving defenseman.” He could stand to put on a little muscle and learn how to bump in the corners with professionals, but there should be no misconception on what earned Lee an NHL contract: his offense.
After the Penguins dealt top defensive prospect Calen Addison to the Minnesota Wild in February as part of the trade that netted top-six forward Jason Zucker, Lee helps restore depth in their prospect pool on the blue line.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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