Penguins prospect Owen Pickering takes his 1st professional steps

Owen Pickering didn’t want to be in Wilkes-Barre by April.

To be certain, he doesn’t have any kind of objection to Northeast Pennsylvania in the spring.

He just wanted to be back in southwest Saskatchewan playing games that mean a bit more with his junior team, the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

But a 4-3 road loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers in their regular season finale March 25 eliminated the Broncos and Pickering from postseason contention.

“A week ago now, we were in a win-and-you’re-in game,” Pickering said via video conference on Saturday. “And the second year in a row, we weren’t able to come out on top. So that was difficult.”

That difficulty led to opportunity, however, as Pickering took his first steps as a professional after being assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in last year’s draft, Pickering signed his entry-level contract a few weeks after being selected and was eligible to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once his junior season was completed.

(Note: Pickering’s contract won’t begin until he reaches the NHL or his junior eligibility — he has another year remaining — expires.)

Pickering has already played in two games with the AHL Penguins and gotten some valuable experience, even with a pair of losses.

“It’s a transition obviously,” said Pickering, who has no points and two shots in his two AHL games. “The speed, it’s older guys. So yeah, it’s a transition. But the guys around me have been really good. It’s been tough to not get the result we wanted.”

Individually, Pickering had some wonderful results with Swift Current in 2022-23.

Serving as the Broncos’ captain, Pickering, 19, appeared in 61 WHL games this season and led the team’s defensemen with 45 points (nine goals, 36 assists). A left-handed shot, Pickering (6-foot-4, 185 pounds) was selected as a Central Division first-team All-Star this season.

His skills, even if still raw, are very evident.

“To be that size and to be able to move like he does, I think that’s a very good sign,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “He also makes pretty quick, decisive decisions with the puck. The more that he adapts to this level, the more plays that he’s going to be able to make, the more he’s going to be able to use his feet. Even on the blue line, he’s got such a reach to get some of those shots through.

“It’s a situation where all of a sudden you’re going up against really good players every night. And you’re probably used to being the best player on the ice (at the junior level). Now, you’ve got to learn to be the best player in this environment.”

Primarily deployed on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s second defensive duo through two games, Pickering has been paired with right-handed veteran Taylor Fedun.

Given Fedun’s status as captain and mentor to a lot of the younger players already on the roster, that union was no accident.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Pickering said. “He’s really good at communicating on the ice. That’s something that I’ve had to learn quickly here that is super important at the pro level. Then just little things in the room. … Just trying to take things from him because he’s a very good pro.”

It remains to be seen when Pickering will be a pro at the NHL level. After he was drafted in July in Montreal, he wasn’t bashful as far as projecting his goals with the Penguins.

“My mentality was as soon as I was drafted to a team before this was to try to make that team in the fall,” Pickering said in the Bell Center on July 7. “If I don’t make it, then I go back to Swift (Current) and I try to make it the next year. That’s kind of the mentality that I have and I’m going to carry that forward.”

His aspirations for the 2023-24 season aren’t any different as he spoke from Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.

“I’d probably give you the same answer that I gave you at the draft,” Pickering said. “For every hockey player, the goal is always the NHL. Whenever I get back (home) from here, that’s going to be my mindset when I’m training is to make the NHL.

“If that doesn’t happen, I’ll go back to junior and then try to make it again. That’s always the goal.”