Penguins A to Z: Jordan Frasca boosts the organization's depth at center

With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Jordan Frasca

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Age: 20

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 184 pounds

2021-22 OHL statistics: 61 games, 87 points (42 goals, 45 assists)

Contract: Entering the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $859,167. Pending restricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.

Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, March 1, 2022

Last season: Frasca didn’t exactly come out nowhere in terms of putting up gaudy offensive figures during the 2021-22 campaign.

Even if he wasn’t drafted, he’s been on the radar of NHL teams and attended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ development camp in September of 2021.

But before his productive overage season with the Kingston Frontenacs in 2021-22, Frasca never even came close to posting a point per game. His most recent season of 2019-20 saw him appear in 58 Ontario Hockey League games and put up a modest 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists).

(Note: The OHL’s 2020-21 season was canceled due to laws in Ontario related to covid-19.)

With the emergence of fellow forward Shane Wright — who is expected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NHL entry draft — as the Frontenac’s top center, Frasca was able to benefit from drawing lesser defensive assignments from the opposition and came through with career numbers.

Serving as an alternate captain, Frasca was second on the team in overall goals and led the squad with 17 power-play goals.

After signing with the Penguins, Frasca helped lead the Frontenacs to a third-place finish in the OHL’s Eastern Conference. Appearing in 10 postseason games, Frasca put up 12 points (four goals, eight assists) as the Frontenacs were eliminated in the second round.

The future: Frasca was widely viewed as one of the top 15 (or even 10) undrafted prospects available to sign this spring. So getting him under contract is something of a small triumph for the Penguins who have made finding undrafted prospects a slightly larger priority ever since Ron Hextall took over as general manager.

In recent years, the Penguins haven’t had a great deal of luck in terms of undrafted free agents out of the junior ranks. The likes of Jean-Sebastien Dea, Sam Miletic and Jordy Bellerive have enjoyed only modest success as professionals. If Frasca were to reach the NHL in a sustained fashion, that would represent a welcome change for the organization.

But he’s still years away from that being a possibility.

Frasca, who turns 21 next month, put up some big numbers in his final junior season as a 20-year-old playing against mostly younger competition. He’ll face a considerably different challenge skating against grown men in the professional ranks next season, presumably with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).

He has some size and is very capable of creating offense for himself and linemates, particularly around the cage. His skating is lagging a bit, but that can improve once he begins his professional career.

For the Penguins, Frasca’s presence boosts the organization’s depth at the center position where there is a considerable drop-off beyond the NHL roster.

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