The Pittsburgh Penguins had their first training camp practice on Thursday after the team announced their 69-player training camp roster on Wednesday.
The players were split into three groups, with Group A practicing from 8:45 to 10:15 a.m. ET, Group B practicing from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, and Group C practicing from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET.
It was only the first day of camp, but there were still some positive developments from practice. Here are some notes and observations from day one.
Group A
Ville Koivunen shines
Koivunen stood out the most during his practice session in the morning. He was knifing through players left and right, and showed a ton of improvement in his skating. His skating had gotten better towards the end of the 2024-25 season and during the Prospects Challenge, but has been taken up a notch to start camp.
Here’s a prime example:
He had an eight-game sample with the Penguins to end the 2024-25 season and finished with seven points. He got 5v5 ice-time with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and never looked out of place.
As long as he keeps it up at camp, he’ll likely be a lock for the opening-night roster.
Erik Karlsson starts fast
Karlsson missed all of training camp last year due to an injury and didn’t look like himself for the first several weeks of the season. He eventually settled in a bit, and ended up playing in all 82 regular-season games.
The Penguins’ No. 1 defenseman is fully healthy at this year’s camp and looked the part on Thursday. His skating and playmaking were very noticeable throughout the session, and he even got to up against Penguins top prospect Harrison Brunicke in some 1v1 situations.
Karlsson has a lot to play for this year since he’s trying to make Sweden’s Olympic team after playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off. There’s a chance that he really improves this year since he’ll be under a new system.
Group B
Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha skate together
Malkin and Mantha were in a lot of drills together and were feeding off one another during 2v2 drills.
It looked like head coach Dan Muse was trying to test them on the same line since there’s a good chance he’s looking at giving them top-six minutes together to start the regular season, and he was probably happy with the results.
Malkin was scoring some nice goals off the rush during drills and Mantha’s skating looked to be fully back after suffering a torn ACL last November.
Jack St. Ivany back healthy
St. Ivany is a dark-horse for the right side of the Penguins’ defense, and he got off to a solid start on Thursday. He was showcasing his release and scored a few goals during some drills, and also skated really well.
St. Ivany was banged up for a good chunk of last season, but is back healthy and pushing for a spot on an already-crowded right side. Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are locks for top-four minutes, but after that, it’s anyone’s game for the bottom-pairing spot. St. Ivany is going against Matt Dumba, Connor Clifton, and Harrison Brunicke, who had a five-star camp last year.
This is going to be a fun battle to watch over the next two weeks.
Group C
Kevin Hayes
Hayes was the best player during Group C’s session before going down with an injury. Defenseman Ryan Graves hit him along the boards, and Hayes stayed down for a few moments before some trainers helped him skate off the ice.
Muse told reporters after practice that Hayes is being evaluated for an upper-body injury, so we’ll see if he’s on the ice for Friday’s practice.
Before the injury, Hayes was playing like someone who knows there’s a lot of competition for a roster spot. He was protecting the puck beautifully and being a pest defensively during 2v2 drills.
He’s heading into his second season with the Penguins after finishing the 2024-25 season with 13 goals and 23 points in 64 games.
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Sergei Murashov dazzles in net
Murashov had a great Prospects Challenge for the Penguins and is riding that momentum into training camp. He was paired with fellow goaltender Joel Blomqvist in Group C, and was the better goalie.
He was showcasing his agility in the crease and didn’t give up a lot of goals during drills. He was challenging shooters throughout the session and looked calm and composed.
He’s still probably at least a year away from becoming a full-time NHL goaltender, but the talent is very much there. The next step in his development is being the starting goaltender in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year.
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