The depth that Kyle Dubas added to the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason is yet to start paying off.

When Kyle Dubas joined the Pittsburgh Penguins, he put a ton of emphasis on revamping the forward depth and increasing talent at the AHL level.

That mission was obvious when the Penguins acquired numerous names that would either be utilized nicely in the bottom six, play well in the AHL, or step up in big ways if injuries occur.

Over a quarter of the way through the season, however, those new names and faces have done very little to help the team in times of need.

Maybe in terms of injury replacement they would be called upon one or maybe two at a time; the Penguins are brutally injured to the point where four of the current bottom six forwards are recalls.

Not only are there more than expected some of the fresh faces that made early impacts have just about completely faded to nothing.

Jansen Harkins made noise in his couple of skates during preseason but hasn’t come anywhere near the same level ever since.

Head coach Mike Sullivan has started to push back on Harkins in the lineup, as well, with him sitting out the entire second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning and playing a total of 6:52.

Radim Zohorna has been on Sullivan’s bad side lately, too; he made an impact right away upon his first recall, but things have looked ugly since late-November.

Sullivan benched Zohorna through the entire third period against the Lightning, holding him to just 8:49 of ice time; Zohorna saw under five minutes in the first battle against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Joona Koppanen likely never would have been recalled had it not been for the injuries, but it’s not like he’s brought much to the table.

In his three NHL games, he’s yet to play over 10 minutes and has also been given a short leash from Sullivan.

Vinnie Hinostroza started training camp on Sidney Crosby’s line, but has been a healthy scratch for multiple games now.

Dubas did a great job of adding depth names and retooling spot NHL talent, but when they’re all up at once it’s a disaster.

Once the Penguins get a healthy lineup back, guys like Harkins and Zohorna may have to wait quite some time before seeing the NHL again.

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