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Kingston native C.J. Yakimowicz became the first locally born player to win the Memorial Cup in juniors earlier this year, and now he’s the first to earn an invite to Pittsburgh’s development camp, which opens on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old Yakimowicz just wrapped up his third season with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League. He was drafted by St. Louis in 2014 and is an unrestricted free agent.
Last season the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Yakimowicz posted 11 points and 117 penalty minutes in 52 games with London.
Other familiar faces invited to development camp include Jake Guentzel, who led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in postseason scoring with 14 points; goaltender Tristan Jarry who won 17 games for the AHL Penguins and recorded five shutouts last season; center Teddy Blueger, goaltender Sean Maguire and defenseman Ethan Prow — all of whom joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for their playoff run last season.
In addition, four of the players selected in the 2016 NHL Draft will be at the camp, highlighted by the top pick, goalie Filip Gustavsson, who was the No. 1-rated European goaltender by NHL Central Scouting. The Penguins took Gustavsson with the 55th-overall selection, making him the third goaltender chosen this year.
The 35-man roster features 18 forwards, 13 defensemen and four goalies.
In addition to Gustavsson, the other 2016 draft picks scheduled to attend are three of the four defensemen selected, Connor Hall (third round), Niclas Almari (fifth round) and Joseph Masonius (sixth round). This is the second-straight year Masonius will be attending camp, as the University of Connecticut product attended last year as an amateur tryout.
The campers will practice for the first time on Wednesday, June 29 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Team A will hit the ice at 2:15 p.m., followed by Team B at 3:15 p.m.
Camp will conclude on Saturday with a 3-on-3 competition from 3-5 p.m. at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
WBS signs forward
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announced the signing of former Cornell captain Christian Hilbrich to an AHL contract for the 2016-17 season on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-7, 223-pounder played four years at Cornell and wore the “C” in 2016. The winger scored 14 points in each of his last three seasons with the Big Red and finished college with 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists) in 111 games.
On Monday, the Penguins signed another former captain, defenseman Michael Webster, out of junior hockey from Barrie of the OHL. Pittsburgh has also re-signed defenseman Tim Erixon, who spent all of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, this summer.