It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Hockey Season!

Training camp. Prospects. NHL veterans. Scrimmaging. Beer at 9 a.m. Screaming fans.

Hockey season is here. After an extremely long offseason, Penguins fans have been rewarded for enduring one of the most awkward summers in recent memory.

We watched NHL teams experience tragic losses as several young players passed away. Most of us are under the impression that Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren has lost his mind with some of his trades and acquisitions. The price of a mediocre-to-average-ability player skyrocketed with the cap increase. Sidney Crosby concussion rumors spread like the plague. An entire KHL team lost their lives in a catastrophic plane crash. Many of us became enamored with the Pirates to pass the time, but that franchise's now-record 19th-straight losing season has us all begging for some puck.

I propose no more hockey offseason, but I digress.

On Saturday, Pens fans were treated to the first of two days of open practice at CONSOL Energy Center. From 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., we watched the team and its prospects drill and scrimmage. Of course, the biggest moment of the day came at around noon when Crosby finally took the ice. Sid practiced for about an hour and stated that it was “probably the longest (he'd gone) at that pace” since his concussion and that he felt no concussion symptoms.

The Pens were divided into three groups: A, B and C. From 10 to 10:45, Group A scrimmaged Group B. Group A consisted of Jordan Staal, James Neal, Brian Strait (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens), Keven Veilleux (breakout star in the Prospect Development Camp Scrimmage) and this year's first-round draft pick, Joe Morrow, among others. Group B showcased Evgeni “Geno” Malkin, Tyler Kennedy, Steve Sullivan, Eric Tangradi and Zbynek Michalek.

Group B beat Group A, 5-1. Kennedy scored three goals, doing his best to prove that he's worth his new two-year, $2-million contract. Geno scored the other two goals, one on a penalty shot. My favorite ginger-bearded man, James Neal, tallied the only goal for Team A. With linemates that will better compliment Neal's style and, hopefully, more consistency in our roster with all of our top-liners healthy, I expect Neal to score over 20 goals this year. If I am wrong, feel free to tell me, “Told you so.” Just wait until after the playoffs to do so. But Neal looked strong at practice, sniping at the net like he was on a mission. Whatever he did with Gary Roberts this summer is working. Maybe he is drinking more FIGI Water; I don’t know. But he needs to keep it up.

The true magic on the ice today was the Kennedy-Malkin-Sullivan line. If they perform during the season like they did on Saturday, we can expect to see (hopefully) a 20-goal season from all three players. Sullivan, though older than most of our guys at 37, paced well with Geno and T.K. I’d expect even more out of Geno, though—over 25 goals. Sulley may be his magic linemate, someone who can feed him pucks like Petr Sykora did.

Side note: I gushed about Scott Harrington back in July at Development Camp (), and I maintain, after today, that Harrington is an impressive young player. When he finally makes CONSOL his home, you can bet that his jersey will be on my back. Harrington is a defenseman, but his offensive prowess could be a huge contribution to the Pens if his defensive partner were someone like Michalek. This kid is money.

Other highlights of the day were more personal. My son experienced his first Pens practice today. Partway through the morning, I tapped the glass to get assistant coach Todd Reirden’s attention. I simply pointed at Jordan, and he knew what we wanted. He told me to hold on a minute. The Pens completed another quick drill, and then, Reirden flipped a puck over the glass for Jordan.

Jordan had been asking for a puck, but it took him a minute to realize that he was allowed to keep it. When it clicked, a smile spread across his face, and he said, “Mama, I got a puck!” It is proudly displayed in his room with his other Pens memorabilia.

In addition to Jordan’s excitement at seeing Crosby on the ice, he received a quick visit at the glass from another amazing player. Jordan was standing with his back to the glass when someone began to tap on it to grab his attention. Everyone in our row and the row behind us kept telling Jordan to look behind him. He turned around to be greeted by a smiling, waving Geno. He realized tonight who that was when he saw the Crosby/Geno poster in his bedroom.

Let’s hope for a great season with an improved power play, players at full health and less drama. Preseason games start this week. I said that Development camp was like Christmas. I lied. Saturday was better than Christmas, as it was shared with good friends and my amazing little man.

Let’s go, Pens!

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