John Ludvig is progressing in his return from a concussion, but could his return be at the perfect time in the Pittsburgh Penguins schedule? Not long after Kyle Dubas joined the Pittsburgh Penguins front office, he went hard to work to shake up and retool the lineup from top to bottom. Between depth forward adjustments and defensive changes, the Penguins entered the 2023-24 season with a completely new look. One of those additions to the blue line was an aging prospect in Ryan Shea; a 26-year-old defenseman who was yet to make his NHL debut. Before signing with the Penguins, Shea spent three seasons with the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. In his time at the AHL level, Shea blossomed into a stout defenseman and solid puck mover with 56 assists in 163 games. Shea’s first camp with the Penguins wasn’t going to be easy as he had to fight through a huge battle as a depth defenseman. Thanks to some solid efforts in the preseason and training camp, Shea made the Penguins’ opening night roster, but as a healthy scratch. An opportunity quickly arose, however, as head coach Mike Sullivan liked what he saw from Shea and wasn’t afraid to pull the plug on P.O. Joseph early in the season. Shea made his NHL debut and is yet to be taken out of the Penguins lineup; now, 10 games into his NHL career, the 26-year-old rookie is settling in nicely, but he feels there is still room to improve. “I think I’ve adjusted decently well,” Shea said. “There’s some aspect of my game I’d like to improve on. It’s a completely new level, it’s going to take a little bit longer… to get used to every aspect of the game.” Shea is yet to record a point in the NHL, but he’s been getting his chances; however, as a depth defenseman, Shea’s role doesn’t really need to be predicated on scoring. The main focus for Shea and whoever he shares the ice with, is to keep the puck out of the Penguins net. While averaging almost 13 minutes of ice time per game, Shea has done pretty well on the defensive side of the puck. There is definitely still competition within the third pairing, but Shea seems like the leader of the clubhouse in Sullivan’s eyes. As a left-shot defenseman, Shea has been trusted to share a blue line with some of the Penguins’ top defenders like Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. “We’re a veteran team, so it’s easy to go out with a lot of these vets,” Shea said. “Whether it’s Karl or Tanger, or Rudy (Chad Ruhwedel), they all help. They all communicate which makes it really easy… and to gel with anyone.” Ruhwedel has been Shea’s usual partner since cracking the lineup, but has been flexible enough to mesh well with whoever he’s paired with. The Penguins have liked the work Shea has put in so far and are looking to add more overall success while riding a five-game winning streak. The start of the season didn’t go the Penguins’ way, but they’ve turned it on as of late and are back in the playoff picture. “We’ve played very well,” Shea said. “We just couldn’t score. I think that’s why it was pretty easy to move on from that. If we went four or five games of not playing our style and not playing the way we know how to, it would have been a lot different.” Dubas, Sullivan, and Penguins have given Shea a great opportunity at the lineup, and so far, he’s succeeded. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Sidney Crosby on Pace for Standout Year [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/pittsburgh-penguins-sidney-crosby-pace-standout-year] GAME RECAP: Captain Leads Penguins Past Blue Jackets 5-3 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/sidney-crosby-leads-pittsburgh-penguins-passed-blue-jackets] Streaking Penguins Back In Playoff Hunt [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/streaking-pittsburgh-penguins-playoff-hunt] Sidney Crosby Hat Trick Seals Penguins Fifth Straight Win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/sidney-crosby-hat-trick-pittsburgh-penguins-fifth-straight-win] Penguins Re-Assign Forward Hours After Recall [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/pittsburgh-penguins-reassign-jonathan-gruden-hours-recall] * undefined * undefined
