Is this Radim Zohorna's last chance to make an impact on the Pittsburgh Penguins?
After a summer of changes, the Pittsburgh Penguins still lack one of their historically strongest positions, proven forward depth. Still, the team has plenty of options to aid the bottom of their lineup, and several players will be allowed the opportunity to prove their importance to the organization, including Radim Zohorna.
Easily picked out of a crowd, Zohorna is a 6'6", 220-pound Czech forward who has seen several short stints with the Penguins at the NHL level. Heading into this season, the 26-year-old left winger will look to earn himself a spot on the Penguin's opening night roster as either the 12th or 13th forward.
In his limited playing time at the NHL level, Zohorna has shown his ability to provide an offensive punch to the bottom of the lineup scoring 10 points (4-6) in 25 games over the past two seasons. His sneaky wrist shot, matched with his smooth skating stride, has impressed Penguins management and earned him a two-year contract extension before last season.
An easy comparison for what Zohorna could bring to the Penguins is Brian Boyle. Boyle made the team last season after signing a PTO in training camp. While Boyle's ability to play center makes him a more valuable asset than Zohorna, the playing style matches in that both could bring you anywhere between eight to 12 goals a season while providing added size to the bottom six.
The biggest thing standing in Zohorna's way of becoming an everyday bottom six player is his special teams play. In his 25 career NHL games, Zohorna has yet to play a single second on the penalty kill, putting him behind players like Drew O'Connor and Josh Archibald. Both provide a similar offensive upside but can kill penalties for the Penguins.
He has power play experience but would likely not be utilized on either of the Penguin's top two units. With this being the final year of his current contract, this may be the last chance for Zohorna to make an impact on the Penguins.
There are potentially seven players vying for one of the final two spots on the Penguin's opening night roster. While Zohorna has played more games with the Penguins (25) than most of them, excluding Drew O'Connor, he will have to severely outplay players like Ryan Poehling and Drake Caggiula to jump them on the organizational depth chart.
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