It looks like at least one of the Penguins' young top prospects is in Pittsburgh to stay.
During Thursday's morning skate, top forward prospect Ben Kindel took line rushes in his usual positioning as third-line center, indicating he will be in the starting lineup for the Penguins when they take on the Minnesota Wild.
If he skates against Minnesota, it will be Kindel's 10th NHL game, which means the first year of his three-year entry-level contract is set to kick in.
This is no small feat for the 18-year-old center, who was drafted 11th overall this year and was, largely, not expected to even crack the opening night NHL roster.
"If I get the opportunity, that's very special. Obviously, it's just a number, though," Kindel said to reporters after the skate. "It doesn't really change anything for me. Just going to continue to play my game and just try and help the team win any way I can."
The 5-foot-11, 182-pounder could have returned to his junior team in the Calgary Hitmen - where he put up 35 goals and 99 points in 65 WHL games last season - to be given a chance to dominate and play huge minutes for a playoff-bound team. Instead, he will continue to - at least, for now - have the opportunity to learn from the likes of all-time NHL greats like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Both veterans are off to hot starts, as are the Penguins. The team is tied atop the league standings with 16 points and a 7-2-2 record, and Kindel has been a big part of that, registering two goals in his nine games.
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"He wants to learn," head coach Dan Muse said. "He's very driven, he'll ask questions. There's a quiet confidence. I think there has to be if you're an 18-year-old playing in this league. I think that shows in his game. But I think there's a lot of humility there, too, in this young man. He knows he's going to come and work and not take anything for granted, and he's been showing that out there from the first day.
"I don't think there's ever been a practice or a game where I feel like he's been out there taking anything for granted. I think that's one of the things that has gotten him to this point, where we're now hitting another checkpoint."
Of course, the checkpoints don't stop, even if Kindel's entry-level contract kicks in as of Thursday. The next big one is the 40-game mark, where the Penguins would lose a year of restricted free agency with Kindel, should he stay. That 40-game mark is total team games played, not 40 games for Kindel - and that mark is on Jan. 3 against the Detroit Red Wings.
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Until then, though, Muse, GM/POHO Kyle Dubas, and the rest of the Penguins' developmental staff are going to do all they can to best-position Kindel for the future.
"I think there's been a lot of checkpoints as we've gone through," Muse said. "Going back, even just through training camp, this is another one. We're going to be continuing to evaluate and continuing to work with him, using all departments and resources we have to make sure everything we're doing is the best thing for him now and for the future."
He added: "Anytime you're talking about these young players, it's obviously something that we take very seriously because we're looking at them now, and we're also looking at them in the future."
The Penguins also have a looming decision to make with 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who has played seven games and is in the same situation as Kindel was.
Brunicke - who could be sent back to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL - has put up one goal in those seven games and has been scratched in three out of Pittsburgh's last four games.
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