2023-24 Pivotal Year for Penguins’ Young Defensemen
P.O. Joseph and Ty Smith entering Pittsburgh Penguins training camp with plenty to prove.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will open training camp for the 2023-24 season in a few weeks. Competitions for roster spots have begun emerging as players hit the ice in preparation for the season.
One of the Penguins' more intriguing roster battles will be the rematch between P.O. Joseph and Ty Smith to see who begins the season as the left defenseman on the third pairing.
Last season, Smith was the clear victor, outperforming Joseph both in practice and during the Penguins preseason contests. However, because of salary cap management, Smith was sent down to begin the season, allowing Joseph to make the NHL roster out of camp for the first time.
Joseph took the opportunity and ran with it, becoming a steadying force for the Penguins' bottom pairing. The 24-year-old blue-liner played 75 games, second-most among Penguins defensemen, scoring 21 points (5G - 16A) and emerging as a reliable everyday player.
Meanwhile, Smith finished 2022-23 with only nine games at the NHL level. He was called upon mid-season when Kris Letang and Jeff Petry went down with injuries on the right side. Smith scored one goal and four points while heading up the Penguins top power play.
Due to his experience in the Penguins system last season, Joseph figures to have the advantage heading into camp later this month. It also helps that Joseph played over 300 minutes at 5v5 with projected right-side defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.
Fortunately for Smith, the playing field has been leveled in multiple ways. Smith's ability to play both sides will allow him to battle Joseph and Ruhwedel for a spot on the Penguins' opening night lineup. The 23-year-old defenseman is no longer exempt from waivers, eliminating the one factor that forced him off the NHL roster out of last year's camp.
And with Penguins associate coach Todd Reirden's aggressive and offensive mindset from the blue line, Smith may be closer to overtaking Ruhwedel than Joseph.
All three defensemen enter this season in the final year of their current contracts. Joseph and Smith will be Restricted Free Agents next summer, while Ruhwedel heads to the open market as a 33-year-old free agent.
While they appear to be entering camp as competitors for the same position, Smith and Joseph could set themselves up as the Penguins third pairing moving forward. The additions of Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson solidified the Penguins' top four for the next few seasons, capping how high the young defensemen will be able to advance in the Penguins lineup.
But with the only other top defensive prospect in the system, Owen Pickering, still a few seasons away from making an impact at the NHL level, the duo of Smith and Joseph have an opportunity to earn an everyday role together for the next few years of Penguins hockey.
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