September 15th marks the official mid point of the month and there is no better time to look at what lies ahead for the Pittsburgh Penguins in what will be a busy week around the team as activities will begin to pick up in a hurry, especially towards the latter part of the week with training camp opening set for Thursday.
Before the entire team convenes in Pittsburgh for the beginning of training camp, there is still some work left to be done by the Penguins prospects up in Buffalo as they wrap up their
participation in the NHL Prospects Challenge with a meeting against the prospects of the host Sabres.
Through two games in Buffalo thus far, the Penguins prospects have acquitted themselves well with a win over the Boston Bruins on Friday then a high scoring overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday afternoon.
The undeniable star of the Prospects Challenge for the Penguins has been forward Avery Hayes who tallied a last minute game winner against the Bruins then added a pair of goals on Sunday against the Blue Jackets. Hayes made his name known with a solid season in Wilkes-Barre last year and looks to be building on that heading into 2025-26 where he is expected to compete for a roster spot in camp.
It remains to be seen whether Hayes plays on Monday against the Sabres, but even if he is given the day off like many were on Sunday, you can already call this tournament a success for a player the Penguins have high hopes for coming into the new season.
Monday will serve as the final chance for the prospects to impress on their own before training camp with a game against the Sabres prospects set for noon.
Following the conclusion of the Prospects Challenge, the Penguins will have a few final days of down time before the 2025-26 season starts to rev up in a major way with the opening of training camp on Thursday, September 18th at the UPMC Lemieux complex in Cranberry.
As always, all training camp practices are free and open to the public so if you are in the area and have some free time, this may be an event to check out. A full training camp roster is expected to be announced some time this week before the team reports to open camp.
Practices will begin Thursday and run through Saturday with Sunday being a scheduled off-ice recovery day for the players before opening the preseason slate of games next Monday, September 22nd against the Montreal Canadiens.
In terms of hockey being back, this is as close as we have come for the Penguins since the season ended in April. There may still be a few weeks until the puck drops on the games that matter, but seeing the prospects in Buffalo this weekend and knowing by this time next week training camp will be in full swing it’s a welcome sight after another long summer in Pittsburgh.
