Penguins forward Noel Acciari knows 'you can’t take being here for granted'

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari set a career high in games played last year and nearly reached another fairly significant milestone in the process.

But a hip flexor cost him the final three contests of the 2024-25 campaign and capped him at 79 games.

And as it turned out, it wound up costing him the first two weeks of the team’s recently completed training camp as well.

That ailment never fully healed during the Penguins’ lengthy five-month offseason and as a result, Acciari was largely limited to a few skating sessions with other injured players during the initial phases of camp.

“We hoped for it to get better with the time off,” Acciari said in Cranberry on Oct. 2. “But it just kind of stayed status quo. It was something we hoped that would dissipate. But it just stayed the same. Got an MRI, everything was still the same. So we decided on a plan to get it feeling good. Feels great now, which is nice. I felt like I had a good summer regardless of the injury. Taking a couple of weeks off there was frustrating.

“But everything feels good now.”

Healed up by the start of October, Acciari was able to make his preseason debut in a 5-3 road win against the Buffalo Sabres.

His way of describing the sensation of finally being healthy is vivid.

“I would say same car, new paint job,” Acciari said. “It felt good. Everything felt good out there. … Happy with that, happy with the progress. Hopefully, I’ll just leave that behind me now.”

Thus far in the regular season, Acciari has appeared in four games through Friday and has recorded one assist while primarily inhabiting his customary role as a right winger on the fourth line.

His lone assist came during a 4-2 comeback road win against the Los Angeles Kings. Outhustling Kings All-Star defenseman Drew Doughty to keep a loose puck free, Acciari allowed linemate Connor Dewar to claim possession and score the tying goal.

Connor Dewar - Pittsburgh Penguins (1) pic.twitter.com/OBZIwKDort

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 17, 2025

Plays like that illustrate how Acciari has carved out an 11-year career after being undrafted out of Providence College while playing a no-frills game that’s uglier than the outflow pipe from a paper mill.

It also helps explain why he is one of the popular members of the roster among teammates.

“In the room, he’s invaluable,” linemate Blake Lizotte said. “All the guys love him. He’s always encouraging. He’s never in a bad mood. In this world, there’s energy suckers and there’s energy givers. And he’s one of those givers and he gives until it hurts. He loves the guys and the guys love him. He’s invaluable to the room.”

Acciari’s security in remaining in the room was hardly guaranteed entering the season. With a handful of prospects offering strong cases to take jobs from established veterans, Acciari felt urgency in making a case for his place on the roster once he was healthy.

“You can’t take being here for granted,” Acciari said. “Every day, you’re lucky to be here. You’ve just got to play hard every day, whether it’s practice or games. Whatever (management’s) decision is, it’s their decision. But you know inside that you left it all out there.

“I’m going to do everything for the guy next to me out on the ice, whether it’s blocking a shot, making a hit, trying to make a play, score a goal. Leave it all out there every night. If I can do that every night, then I’m happy with that.”