Penguins forward prospect Corey Andonovski has plenty to learn about pro game

Chances are, Corey Andonovski might be the smartest person in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ organization.

If nothing else, he might be the most educated.

At least that’s a safe assumption based on the economics degree he finished this past spring at a small institution called Princeton.

“Very fortunate to have that opportunity to go to such a great school and get such a great degree,” Andonovski said. “Hopefully, I don’t have to put it to use any time soon and I have a nice, long playing career. It’s nice to have in my back pocket. I just hope I get to play as long as I can.”

Andonovski is in the embryonic stages of his current gig as a professional hockey player with the Penguins.

After his senior season, the forward signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins on March 10 as well as an amateur tryout contract at the American Hockey League level with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

In five AHL games, he did not record a point but received a crash course on the considerable difference between the NCAA game and the professional game.

To wit: At 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, Andonovski was one of the bigger bodies in most games he played at Princeton. But in the AHL, there are plenty of grown men who loom over him.

“It’s different coming from college,” said Andonovski, who is participating in the team’s prospect development camp in Cranberry this week. “And that’s kind of what I expected. But there’s obviously still areas of your game that you can be strong, whether that’s being strong on pucks or being strong down low. Everybody is kind on a level playing field. I’m not the biggest guy anymore.”

At the same time, Andonovski isn’t going to abandon the power game that earned him an NHL contract.

“It’s a whole new adjustment, especially coming from Princeton and the Eastern College Athletic Conference into (the AHL). And I thought he did well,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “You’re used to just overpowering guys left and right (in college), and now you’ve got to dig a little bit deeper to do that. You get surprised by some of the strength on the other side of the puck.

“It was great for him to get his feet wet with those first five games and know what he’s getting into. It gives him a whole summer to get prepared for it. I still think he’s on the stronger side of things. He’s a big, strong guy. He can move his feet. He’s going to have to try to utilize some of that speed and not just rely on his strength. But that will come with time.”

Andonovski spent four years at Princeton but was only able to play three seasons. All Ivy League schools canceled athletic competitions during the 2020-21 season as a precaution for covid-19.

“It’s probably the first time in a long time, if ever, that I basically took a season off of hockey,” Andonovski said. “It’s been my life for 23 years now. Not playing obviously really (stunk). It was tough to stay in shape and stay sharp. Princeton gave us a little bit of a chance to come down to campus and work with our coaches and everything at our facility, which was nice (in the spring of 2021). It’s never the same as game play or staying in game shape. … (Covid-19) obviously disrupted a lot of things, so we were fortunate enough that we at least got an opportunity to do that.”

During the 2021-22 season, Andonovski led Princeton in scoring with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 31 games.

He had an opportunity to return for a “super senior” season that the NCAA had granted to athletes in all sports because of the pandemic. But Penguins management, including president of hockey operations Brian Burke, made a convincing pitch for him to turn professional.

“There were a couple of options at the end,” Andonovski said. “But I just felt like for me, opportunity-wise, it was a good spot. I had some good conversations with management before I signed here. Just conversations with them and with my agent and my family, this just felt like it was obviously a pretty good opportunity for me. And it’s hard to pass up on an organization like Pittsburgh with the names of (Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang), the guys that have come through this room. That was pretty cool and special for me, as well.”

Part of the Penguins’ pitch was their strong history of signing undrafted college free agents and turning them into NHLers. Players such as forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Drew O’Connor and Conor Sheary all have taken the route Andonovski is embarking upon.

“I was able to get my degree and get that done but also get an NHL contract on top of that,” Andonovski said. “All the NCAA guys that have come before me, it definitely plays a factor in any organization that you go to. It shows that they’re able to develop those guys. That’s obviously something that’s optimistic for me coming into a new organization.”

After playing a few AHL contests this past spring, Andonovski appears very optimistic over what he has learned so far.

“There’s obviously a little bit of a jump,” Andonovski said. “Guys are bigger, stronger, very detail-oriented. It was a little bit of an adjustment. But even though it was (brief), I got into some games right away. It’s an adjustment anytime you make that jump. But I think I kind of held my own. As I get more games, hopefully, I’ll get to start to feel more comfortable and other things will come and I’ll get even more adjusted to that level.”

Note: Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith, a 30-year-old who is decidedly not a prospect, participated in the first day of camp working with other goaltenders. He has been rehabilitating after suffering a groin injury during a postseason game in early May that eventually required surgery.

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