---

Shortened Penguins Roster Arrives in Sweden

The Pittsburgh Penguins arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, at about 3:30 AM this morning (Pittsburgh time) after a tiring 10.5 hour flight (including a refueling layover in Ireland).  Despite the lengthy trip, the team got checked into their hotel, met for a team meal, and then hit the rink at Hovet Arena in Stockholm for practice.  The goal for today is for the team to get adjusted to the 6-hour time change by staying awake through the evening and getting a good night’s sleep tonight.  According to Max Talbot, most players managed to get some sleep on the plane so that fatigue was not much of a factor in this morning’s practice.  The Penguins’ schedule is part of a program put in place by the training staff to help the players adjust to the change. 

The 10-day trip to Sweden comes on the heels of Friday night’s 5-4 pre-season win against the Leafs in Toronto.  Despite playing from behind most of the night, the Penguins won the game late in the 3rd period on goals by Kris Letang and Matt Cooke.  Sidney Crosby, Mark Eaton and Janne Pesonen also scored in the win, advancing the Penguins pre-season record to 3-0-1.  Sidney Crosby picked up the game’s 1st star with 2-points (1G, 1A) and Ruslan Fedotenko got the game’s 3rd start with 3-points (3A).  The Penguins will officially complete their pre-season play on Thursday, October 2nd, playing against the Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League in Helsinki, Finland.

Before boarding the 5PM flight to Stockholm, the Penguins skinnied their roster down to 25-players through assignments to the AHL and injured reserve.  Forward Connor James and defenseman Danny Richmond were both assigned to the Penguins’ AHL-affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.  Injured defensemen Sergei Gonchar (dislocated shoulder) and Ryan Whitney (foot surgery) have been assigned to the injured reserve and will not make the trip.  The Penguins will have to make one more roster cut by Friday, October 3rd, to get down to a 24-man roster before the season-opener in Sweden on October 4th.  The Penguins will ultimately need to make an additional cut after October 5th to get down to the 23-player roster required by the league for the rest of the regular season.  The league made an exception and allowed 24-players to be on the roster for the games in Sweden, so that the team would have an extra player in-country in case of injury. 

The Penguins remaining 25-man roster for the Sweden trip is comprised of 15 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goaltenders.  This includes forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke, Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Pascal Dupuis, Eric Godardm Jeff Taffe, Janne Pesonen, Bill Thomas, and Paul Bisssonnette.  The defensive corps consists of Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill, Mark Eaton, Darryl Sydor, Kris Letang, and Alex Goligoski.  The goaltenders are Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin, and John Curry.

After arriving in Stockholm early this morning, the Penguins went to Hovet Arena for practice at about 8AM Pittsburgh time.  The Hovet Arena is located alongside the Globe Arena where the Penguins will practice for the rest of the week, and where the Penguins will face off against the Ottawa Senators next weekend.  After practice, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot spoke to the press.  The following videos of practice and those interviews are courtesy of PittsburghPenguins.com:

• VIDEO:  Team Practice’s at Hovet Arena
• VIDEO:  Sidney Crosby Post-Practice Interview
• VIDEO:  Marc-Andre Fleury Post-Practice Interview
• VIDEO:  Max Talbot Post-Practice Interview

 

Comment on this post: - (1) Posts

Training Camp Opens Next Week!

Let’s Go Penguins!  The long and winding road to the 2009 Stanley Cup begins on 16 September as the Pittsburgh Penguins assemble for Training Camp and then head into the pre-season.  In their first official meeting of the new season, the players will spend next Tuesday going through a spate of physicals, testing and meetings at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) facility on the South Side.  On Wednesday, 17 September, the players will assemble at Mellon Arena at 9AM for their first on-ice practice session.  They will continue to meet daily at Mellon Arena from 9AM-1PM through Friday, 19 September, before heading into 5 pre-season games.  All practice sessions will be open to the public and free of charge, with entry through Gate #1 opening at 8:45 AM.                

The Penguins will play their first preseason game at Mellon Arena against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, 20 September, before traveling to Tampa Bay on 22 September for their second game.  The Penguins then return to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, 24 September, before traveling to Toronto on Friday, 26 September.  The final preseason game will be an exhibition game against Finnish Club Jokerit on 2 October in Helsinki, Finland.  The overseas trip sets up their first two games of the season against the Ottawa Senators which will be played in Stockholm, Sweden, on 4 and 5 October.  The Penguins then return back to Mellon Arena for their home opener on Saturday, 11 October, against the New Jersey Devils.

Penguins 2008-09 Training Camp Schedule

Tuesday, Sept. 16

• 8-11am medicals, testing & photos
• 1:30-3:30pm ice available @ Mellon Arena (optional)

Wednesday, Sept. 17

• 9:00-10:00am practice group A
• 10:15-11:15am scrimmage – A vs. B
• 11:30am off-ice training – group A
• 11:30-12:30pm practice group B
• 12:45pm off-ice training – group B

Thursday, Sept. 18

• 9:00-10:00am practice group B
• 10:15-11:15am scrimmage – A vs. B
• 11:30am off-ice training – group B
• 11:30-12:30pm practice group A
• 12:45pm off-ice training – group A

Friday, Sept. 19

• 9:00-10:00am practice group A
• 10:15-11:15am scrimmage – A vs. B
• 11:30am off-ice training – group A
• 11:30-12:45pm practice group B
• 12:45pm off-ice training – group B

Saturday, Sept. 20

• 9:00-10:00am practice extras
• 10:30-11:15am practice game group
• 10:30am extras off ice workout
• 7:30pm vs. TAMPA BAY

Sunday, Sept. 21

• 9:00-10:00am group A practice
• 11:00am group B practice

Monday, Sept. 22

• 11:30am Practice (at Tampa)
• 7:00pm game @ TAMPA BAY
• 10:30am Practice (at Mellon Arena)

Tuesday, Sept. 23

• 12:00pm Practice

Wednesday, Sept. 24

• 10:30am practice
• 7:30pm game vs. TORONTO

Thursday, Sept. 25

• 12:00pm practice

Friday, Sept. 26

• 10:30am practice (@ Southpointe)
• 7:30pm game @ TORONTO

Saturday, Sept. 27

• 12:00pm practice

Penguins 2008-09 Pre-Season Schedule

• Saturday, Sept. 20th vs. Tampa Bay 7:30 PM
• Monday, Sept. 22nd at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM
• Wednesday, Sept. 24th vs. Toronto 7:30 PM
• Friday, Sept. 26th at Toronto 7:30 PM
• Thursday, Oct. 2nd at Jokerit (Finland) 6:30 PM

Comment on this post: - (1) Posts