Penguins Notebook: Tomasino Arrives In Pittsburgh

The newest Pittsburgh Penguin made it to town for practice on Tuesday.

Forward Philip Tomasino, acquired on Monday from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 fourth-round pick, was in full gear for the Penguins during their off-day practice at Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry on Tuesday.

And, it goes without saying that Tomasino is excited to be in Pittsburgh and turn the page on a new chapter.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Tomasino said. “I’m glad to be here. I don’t even want to say too much about what happened in Nashville, but all I can say is, obviously, I think this is a great opportunity for me. Really excited to be here, and I’m excited for the rest of the year.”

Tomasino, wearing no. 53, saw some work on the second power play unit, but the biggest development from his practice was having the opportunity to skate on a line with Evgeni Malkin – one of his childhood heroes.

“Yeah, he’s a legend,” Tomasino said. “I mean, honestly, Pittsburgh was my favorite team growing up, so watching Sid and Geno was, like, my whole childhood. So it’s kind of crazy to be on a line with him today. It’s awesome. Another guy I’ve looked up to and a heck of a player.”

Forward Cody Glass – who, along with forward Blake Lizotte, was full-contact for the first time during his concussion protocol – is a former teammate and linemate of Tomasino’s from their time in Nashville together.

Glass is excited to help get his new teammate acclimated both on and off the ice, saying he Facetimed Tomasino “right away” when he heard the news from another former teammate.

“He’s a great guy,” Glass said. “He’s young, energetic. Me and him got along really well, he’s one of my best friends, in Nashville, so it’s kinda cool that he can come to Pittsburgh with me. He plays a great offensive game. Very skilled, good speed, strong on pucks, so I’m looking forward to watching him. A had a lot of fun playing with him, so it’s pretty cool that he’s here.”

Head coach Mike Sullivan mentioned that he had long discussions with GM and POHO Kyle Dubas about what Tomasino can bring to the lineup, and he’s hopeful that a change of scenery can benefit the 23-year-old forward.

“First foremost, he’s a young player that has a whole lot of potential moving forward,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes, in a different environment, players can find their respective games and can thrive. So, the fact that he was drafted as high as he was, he’s still a very young player and has shown some capacity to be an impact player in this league.”

He added: “From our standpoint, I think we meets a lot of our own objectives as far as trying to transition this team into bringing younger players into the fold and trying to do everything we can to become more competitive.”

The Penguins figure to introduce Tomasino to the lineup when they take on the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Some other notes from Tuesday’s practice:

– There was a lot of special teams work in the second half of practice. The Penguins’ penalty kill surrendered three goals to Utah on Saturday, and much of the power play drills in practice were focused on positioning and pressuring from the penalty kill unit.

Both Glass and Lizotte rotated in on the penalty kill, with Lizotte working on the top unit alongside Noel Acciari.

– The lines and pairings for Wednesday’s game may be coming into focus a bit:

After working with Jack St. Ivany in Monday’s practice, Owen Pickering was placed back on the top pairing with Kris Letang. In addition, Puustinen and Puljujarvi were the odd men out. They were both sporting white jerseys for the entirety of practice.

And that led to the news later that Puustinen was placed on waivers:

In 10 games with the Penguins this season, Puustinen registered a goal and an assist.

– Glass gave me yet another update regarding his beef with Pickering, which escalated last week when Pickering ranted about Glass bothering him about the socks he wears in the gym.

The “Cody Glass v. Owen Pickering” saga has begun. I will do justice to investigative journalism and provide these all-important updates as they come along.