There was a lot happening in Cranberry, Pa. at Pittsburgh Penguins practice on Thursday.
Just one day after goaltender Tristan Jarry was waived by the Penguins, Joel Blomqvist arrived in Pittsburgh. Since he has not yet officially been added to the active roster – that won’t happen until either Jarry is claimed or he clears waivers – Blomqvist did not practice with the team and was not available to the media after practice.
Kyle Dubas said they wanted to be patient and give Tristan Jarry some good runway. Now, “at this point, just feel it’s best in the long run for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel (Blomqvist) to come up here.”
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But, nonetheless, teammates are excited to see him continue what he started in his brief stint at the onset of the 2024-25 season, beginning with their upcoming seven-game road trip that starts Friday against the Buffalo Sabres.
“He was great when he was playing in those games,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “He has a sense of calmness about him. It really helps when you play defense in front of a guy like that… He’s a great goalie, so it will be fun to see him.”
In that stint earlier this season, the rookie goaltender posted a .904 save percentage across eight appearances for the Penguins. That number is a bit deflated because of one nightmare performance against the Dallas Stars, when he allowed three goals on eight shots and was pulled in the first period. Taking out that game, his save percentage was .913 across the other seven games.
When asked what stood out about Blomqvist’s game the most during his first NHL stint, head coach Mike Sullivan pointed to a few things.
“I think just his athleticism, his competitiveness,” Sullivan said. “He competes hard on pucks. He’s really athletic. His lateral mobility, his lateral agility, his ability to get post-to-post is exciting. He’s a good goaltender. He’s played extremely well in Wilkes, we thought he played well for us at the beginning of the year when he was here.”
– In other news, forward Cody Glass – who was injured during the first period in the Penguins’ 4-2 loss against the Seattle Kraken – was back at practice on Thursday after missing the team’s practice on Wednesday.
Glass said that he feels fine now and is fortunate given the fact that 6-foot-7. 252-pound Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak landed right on his head.
“Head kind of hit the ice, [Oleksiak] fell on top…