Penguins A to Z: Will Reilly's progression has been limited

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.

Will Reilly

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 196 pounds

2021-22 AHL statistics: 40 games, five points (one goal, four assists)

2021-22 ECHL statistics: Three games, six points (two goals, four assists)

Contract: In the final year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $806,250. Pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

(Note: According to Cap Friendly, Reilly is eligible for salary arbitration in August.)

Acquired: Seventh-round draft pick (No. 217 overall), June 24, 2017

Last season: Reilly will always be an answer to a trivia question.

As the last overall selection of the 2017 draft, he will always carry the unofficial title as “Mr. Irrelevant” in the NHL.

Two years into his professional career, Reilly is far from being relevant in the Penguins’ plans.

The 2021-22 campaign was his first full professional season — the 2020-21 season was limited by the pandemic — and the results were far from ideal for Reilly.

He played in only 40 of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 76 games during the regular season and was even sent to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL for a stretch in mid-November.

After being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Oct. 2, Reilly was a healthy scratch for the AHL Penguins’ first six games of the season before making his debut Oct. 30. Primarily deployed on the third defensive pairing, Reilly was assigned to Wheeling on Nov. 23 and was fairly prolific during his brief stint in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia as he averaged two points per game.

Once Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster began to become pockmarked due to covid-19 cases, Reilly was recalled to the AHL Penguins’ roster Dec. 1. Things were so dire for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in terms of finding healthy bodies, Reilly was even used as a fourth-line forward for a handful of games in mid-December.

Reilly remained with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the remainder of the season and was moved up and down the right side of the Penguins’ blue line while seeing the occasional healthy scratch.

His only goal of the regular season was the game-winning score during a 5-1 home win against the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 30.

In the final weeks of the regular season and for most of the postseason, Reilly was primarily deployed on the second pairing with high-end prospect P.O Joseph. Reilly enjoyed a bit more success in the postseason as he scored two goals in six playoff contests.

The future: Reilly is far from a priority for the Penguins this offseason. As a seventh-rounder — the final pick of a draft, no less — he was never going to be on the top of management’s checklist.

And he has done little to change that status through his two professional seasons.

Considering right-handed defensemen are always something of a precious commodity compared to left-handers, the fact that Reilly, who turns 25 on July 23, was such a frequent healthy scratch this past season on a team with relatively few starboarders doesn’t bode well for his future.

In addition to being right-handed, Reilly has some base elements that give him a chance to be a potential NHLer. He has some size, fair skating and a strong shot.

But given his limited progression as a professional, it’s a question mark if the Penguins will even offer him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights.

Follow the Penguins all season long.