New Faces Supply Penguins With Physical Presence

The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't the toughest team in the league, but still have a couple of gritty players.

One gripe many fans have had with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last few seasons has been their lack of physicality from a majority of the lineup.

With players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang on the roster, Penguins fans have wanted to see them have a sense of protection outside of themselves.

While the role of enforcer or a pure fighter is on the decline in the NHL, this year’s roster does feature new faces who provide a sense of physicality.

Forward Noel Acciari and defenseman John Ludvig are in their first season with the Penguins and have more than made an impression as gritty players.

Both have missed some time due to injuries but are still among the top hitters on the roster.

Acciari has appeared in 23 of the Penguins’ 30 games, yet leads the team with 46 total body checks and has always played with no fear.

His 244 hits in 77 games in 2022-23 finished 10^th in the NHL; he also produced more points (23) than all but one of the names ahead of him on that list.

As a fourth line forward, Acciari plays exactly the type of game Mike Sullivan loves in his lineup; a defensive minded forward who isn’t afraid to play with grit and can contribute at key times.

From the moment Ludvig made his NHL debut, it was obvious he loves to throw his weight around.

In his first game he took himself out with a concussion while attempted to lay a huge hit at center ice.

Upon coming back, Ludvig made it a point that that’s just the way he plays and isn’t letting a head injury get in the way of that.

Of course, he still plans to be safe with his brain, but in just 14 games this season, he’s fourth on the Penguins in hits with 32, an average of 2.28 per game, most on the team.

Ludvig has also already dropped the gloves a couple of times already this year.

The Penguins still don’t blow teams out of the water with their physical play, but in a league continuing to further itself from toughness, they still carry some grit.

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