Jack Horbach didn’t hide what drives him when he spoke earlier this week at Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp.
He summed up his game with three words: competitive fire shared among incoming, first-year pros.
That edge is part of why Horbach landed an AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after wrapping up his collegiate career this past spring. And it’s the kind of trait the organization clearly values.
“I would hope so,” Horbach said. “I take a lot of pride in it.
So I hope that’s what they’re taking me for. And I would like to prove it.”
Horbach will get that shot in the fall when he heads to his first pro training camp. He’s not the only newcomer carrying that kind of reputation, either. Forward Tiernan Shoudy and defensemen Maleek McGowan and Tyler Duke all signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late last season, and all four are entering their first season of pro hockey with a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality.
Shoudy already got a small taste of that life after signing his AHL contract out of Michigan State University. He played in six regular-season games with the Wheeling Nailers and then appeared in 15 of their Kelly Cup Playoff games. Amanda Kessel, Pittsburgh’s Manager of Minor League Operations and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Assistant General Manager, said his motor was a big reason the Penguins liked him.
“He’s a dog on the puck,” Kessel said. “He gets pucks back on the forecheck, and that’s what we really liked about him. He’s a high-character kid who comes with praise.”
McGowan brings a different kind of edge. The former Kingston Frontenacs blueliner was a fan favorite in junior hockey, and Kessel said the Penguins had been tracking him for some time. Her description of his game was blunt.
“[McGowan] is somebody that has all the physical tools,” Kessel said before continuing, “He’s somebody that’s mean. He likes to hurt guys, and we like that about him.”
Tyler Duke may be the easiest of the group for Penguins fans to picture, even if he’s never worn the black and gold in a game. His older brother, Dylan Duke, spent the last two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch after being drafted in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dylan led Syracuse with 32 goals this year and posted five points, including two goals and three assists, in four games against the Penguins.
Tyler, a left-handed defenseman, said the family edge shows up in both brothers’ games.
“We get it from growing up with each other,” Tyler said at Development Camp. “Everything we did in the backyard rink when we were kids and going one-on-one against each other, that’s where we get it from.”
Both Duke brothers are listed at under six feet, and Tyler said that size has only sharpened his approach.
“Especially for me, smaller guys, that competitiveness is the number one thing you got to have to be able to compete with bigger guys,” he said. “I’ve been able to do that my whole life.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has made a habit of betting on players with that kind of mentality. Avery Hayes and Atley Calvert are recent examples, and both turned AHL deals into NHL contracts with Pittsburgh. That path isn’t lost on this group, especially McGowan.
“No matter where you go, you’ve got to earn your stripes,” McGowan said. “That’s essentially what I feel like I’ve got to do here. I just want to go and prove myself, and then if another contract presents itself, then that’d be nice.”
All four players will have one more chance to show that competitive streak in Friday’s scrimmage tournament that closes Development Camp. After that, they’ll go their separate ways for the rest of the offseason, with plenty to prove when training camp arrives. It’s too early to say whether Horbach, Shoudy, Duke or McGowan will follow the same route as Hayes or Calvert, but each has a trait that should make him worth watching this season.
In Other News...
So Many Familiar Penguins Names Just Vanished On Day 1
The first day of free agency had a distinctly familiar feel for Penguins followers, only the names were attached to other sweaters. Ian Cole landed with the Chicago Blackhawks, Noel Acciari went to the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Shea headed to the Edmonton Oilers, while other former Pittsburgh players such as Teddy Blueger, Conor Sheary and Connor Clifton also found new homes across the league. It was the kind of opening-day churn that can make a roster tree look suddenly bare, especially when so many of the departures trace back to players who spent real time in Pittsburgh.
For the Penguins, the exodus is less about one headline move than the cumulative effect of seeing so many once-recognizable depth pieces and role players spread out so quickly. Some of those deals were modest, some carried more term, and a few send former Penguins back into familiar territory with new clubs. Either way, the first wave of free agency served as a reminder of how much turnover can hit in a matter of hours, leaving Pittsburgh with plenty of familiar names gone and a few more questions still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Lose Another Blue Line Depth Piece Fans Were Watching
The Penguins blue-line depth picture took another hit this week, with one of the organizational names fans had been tracking deciding to head back overseas. Alexander Alexeyev, a restricted free agent who spent last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, is moving on after a solid AHL stint that included three goals, 12 points and a plus-7 rating in 38 games.
His departure comes amid a broader wave of players leaving North America for the KHL, with Ivan Fedotov also signing a two-year deal with Spartak Moscow after his season split between the Flyers and Cleveland. For Pittsburgh, it is another reminder that the back end is still in flux, and one more depth option the club will have to replace as the offseason keeps unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Dubas Put Penguins Fans Right Back Into One Big Debate
Kyle Dubas spent the opening stretch of free agency and the trade market adding a little of everything to the Penguins' roster puzzle, and that is exactly why the reaction has been so split. Pittsburgh brought in Hendrix Lapierre, David Gustafsson, Kaeden Korczak and Nick Robertson via trade, then added Trevor van Riemsdyk, Declan Carlile, Andrei Kuzmenko and Atley Calvert in signings, giving the front office a busy week that touched nearly every part of the lineup.
The debate now is less about volume than fit, because some of these moves look like useful depth while others feel more like placeholders than upgrades. Robertson stands out as the one move that has drawn the warmest response, while Kuzmenko raises the biggest question about whether he simply occupies a spot a younger player could use, and whether the Penguins have really replaced the edge they lost when Wotherspoon and Clifton were out the door. [Read more 🡒]