While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Player: Chad Ruhwedel

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 30

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 191 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 41 games, six points (two goals, four assists)

Contract: First year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $700,000. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July 1, 2016

This season: The Penguins like to boast of how their coaching and management can help turn around the fortunes of a defenseman whose career is in dire need of a course correction.

And there’s a pretty impressive list of alumni who have benefited from that tutelage, particularly from assistant coaches Sergei Gonchar and Jacques Martin.

Justin Schultz, Ian Cole, Trevor Daley and Ben Lovejoy have each emerged as better players upon their service time with the Penguins.

There might not be a better representative of what the Penguins’ environment can do for a wayward blue liner than Chad Ruhwedel.

Sure, he’s a seventh defenseman and, if everyone is available, he’s a healthy scratch. But consider where Ruhwedel came from.

As an undrafted free agent signing out of Massachusetts-Lowell in 2013, Ruhwedel could barely crack the lineup of the Buffalo Sabres. And keep in mind, Ruhwedel’s tenure with that organization occurred when it openly tanked to draft superstar forward Connor McDavid in 2014-15 (only to land forward Jack Eichel as a consolation prize).

Discarded by that wretched organization, Ruhwedel quietly signed a one-year two-way contract with the Penguins in 2016 and slowly became a dependable, albeit unspectacular, NHLer.

As a member of the Penguins’ 2017 Stanley Cup championship team, Ruhwedel established what he could offer the Penguins as an injury fill-in for a blue line which was bludgeoned by injuries that season. Since then, he has stepped in any time the likes of players ranging from Kris Letang to Matt Hunwick were absent.

Things have been status quo on that front throughout the 2019-20 campaign. A healthy scratch for the first 21 games of the season, Ruhwedel didn’t dress until an injury sidelined Schultz on Nov. 21. Further injuries to the likes of Letang, Brian Dumoulin and others ensured Ruhwedel would be a member of the lineup for 38 consecutive games from Nov. 30 until Feb. 29.

The high point of Ruhwedel’s season came in a 5-3 road win against the Detroit Red Wings when he collected a goal and an assist.

(Video courtesy NHL)

By the time the NHL halted play in mid-March, the Penguins’ defense was at full health and Ruhwedel had been a healthy scratch for five consecutive games.

The future: Presuming the NHL season resumes, Ruhwedel will once again be a healthy scratch. There are some analytics which would suggest he’s a better fit in the lineup than Schultz, a fellow right-handed shot, on the third pairing but management isn’t going to make that switch unless something dire happens.

Beyond this season, Ruhwedel has another year on his contract and with a fairly low cap hit, he’s a perfect fit to be the team’s seventh defenseman. He is under no misconception as to the nature of his role and is studious in his preparation in the event he is needed. In many ways, that makes him invaluable.

Ruhwedel is always ready and reliable, even if rarely used.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

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