Tristan Jarry offers Penguins rare 2nd-round success
The tale of goaltender Tristan Jarry has turned into one of the greatest development success stories written in the Penguins organization in recent years.
Jarry was a highly touted amateur, a Memorial Cup champion with the Edmonton Oil Kings who the Penguins traded up to select in the 2013 draft. His road to the NHL, however, was anything but smooth.
Jarry spent the better part of his first four pro seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, stumbling at times, falling behind undrafted Casey DeSmith on the depth chart more than once, going through the growing pains that young goaltenders sometimes succumb to as they strive to reach NHL heights.
Jarry’s long road reached a successful conclusion before the coronavirus put a halt to the NHL season last month. He went 20-12-1 with a .921 save percentage, even making an appearance in the NHL All-Star Game.
How did Jarry make the climb?
As far as he’s concerned, that’s an easy question to answer.
“It’s been a lot of trust,” Jarry said. “I’ve had trust in the Penguins organization since Day One. Their plan, what they were going to do with me, they were always vocal in what they were going to do. They told me what they were going to do every step of the way, whether I was going to play some games in the NHL or be in the minors for the year.
“I think that’s been something I’ve had to take in stride and be able to play well while doing it. Working last year, I had a lot of fun playing in Wilkes. I had some great teammates and some great coaches help me. I think that’s what made a huge jump for me and helped me prepare for this year.”
On-ice development aside, Jarry’s story is an unusual one because of an odd quirk in Penguins history that probably defies logical explanation. For whatever reason, the team has whiffed on second-round draft picks over and over again in recent decades.
From 1996-2009, for instance, the Penguins made 15 second-round draft picks. Only defenseman Alex Goligoski played at least a full season in the NHL. Seven never sniffed the NHL.
With that in mind, Penguins beat writer Seth Rorabaugh and former beat writer Jonathan Bombulie compiled a list of the five best second-round picks in franchise history. It wasn’t an easy task.
Bombulie’s Top 5
1. Greg Malone, center
Before the curse really took root, Malone was a mainstay in the Penguins franchise for about three decades. As a player, he averaged 20 goals in seven seasons with the team, scoring 35 in 1978-79. He’s 16th on the club’s all-time scoring list. As a head scout, he won a pair of Stanley Cups. Also sired popular winger Ryan. A hands-down choice for the top spot.
2. Russ Anderson, defenseman
A rugged defenseman drafted in 1975, Anderson had a career a lot of players would die for. Won a national championship under Herb Brooks at Minnesota. Racked up 684 penalty minutes in six seasons with the Penguins, fighting the likes of Terry O’Reilly and Dave Semenko. Dorothy Benham, Miss America 1977, was his first wife.
3. Colin Campbell, defenseman
Yes, that Colin Campbell. Long before he was the NHL’s much-maligned discipline czar, he was a feisty defenseman for the Penguins after being chosen in the second round in 1972. He played four seasons for the team, collecting 517 penalty minutes with the likes of Clark Gillies, Dave “The Hammer” Schultz and Ted Irvine, Chris Jericho’s dad, on his fight card. Scored the series-winning goal on St. Louis goalie Eddie Johnston in the 1975 playoffs.
4. Wayne Bianchin, left winger
The 1973 second-round pick had 68 goals and 109 points in parts of six seasons with the Penguins, but his comeback story is more impressive than his overall stat line. After recording 25 points as a rookie in 1973-74, Bianchin broke his neck while body surfing in Hawaii. After two long years spent mostly in the minors trying to work his way back, he scored 28 goals for the Penguins in 76-77 and 20 more the next year.
5. Alex Goligoski, defenseman
Using the draft pick they got for trading Johan Hedberg to Vancouver, the Penguins took Goligoski with their second choice in the second round of the 2004 draft. He had a better Penguins career than their first choice of the round, someone named Johannes Salmonsson. Goligoski had 90 points in 177 games with the team and appeared in two playoff games during the 2009 Stanley Cup run.
Rorabaugh’s Top 5
1. Greg Malone, center
The fact Malone is universally considered the best second-rounder in franchise history is something of a Shakespearean tragedy. After his playing career, Malone was in charge of the Penguins’ amateur scouting operation for nearly two decades and failed to find anything resembling a solid second-round pick in that role. The Penguins found several Alexander Zevakhins and Jeremy Van Hoofs under Malone’s watch but no Greg Malones.
2. Tristan Jarry, goaltender
Jarry has yet to play a full season at the NHL level, but he’s the only All-Star the Penguins have ever drafted in the second round. He’s also one of only three goaltenders the Penguins have sent to the All-Star Game (Michel Dion and Marc-Andre Fleury being the others). With an expansion draft looming in 2021 and goaltender Matt Murray’s future in the air, Jarry could very well become the franchise’s No. 1 goaltender in short order.
3. Russ Anderson, defenseman
One of the relatively few American-born players in the pre-Miracle On Ice NHL, Anderson fought — literally — to get into the NHL. A perfect fit for the rough-and-tumble late 1970s and early ‘80s, Anderson still holds the franchise’s single-game record for penalty minutes (51) with the 51 he record in a brawl-filled 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 19, 1980. During Wayne Gretzky’s first visit to Pittsburgh, a brawl erupted and spilled into the stands where police intervention was required to bring it to a halt.
4. Alex Goligoski, defenseman
The only second-rounder the Penguins have drafted to win the Stanley Cup as a player with the franchise, Goligoski was a member of the 2009 team and was pressed into service in the second round when Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin injured Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar with a low hit. Goligoski is also the answer to an obscure trivia question as he scored the Penguins’ first game-winning goal at the former Consol Energy Center in a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders on Oct. 15, 2010.
5. Richard Park, right winger
Park might have enjoyed the best career of any player the Penguins selected in the second round. He just happened to spend most of his career in places other than Pittsburgh. The second Korean-born player in NHL history (Penguins defenseman Jim Paek was the first), Park, a versatile bottom-six forward, bookended his career with separate stints in Pittsburgh playing three seasons in the mid-90s with the Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr then playing his final NHL season with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in 2011-12.
Jonathan Bombulie is assistant sports editor for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@triblive.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib. Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@tribweb.com or via Twitter @sethrorabaugh.
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