Click here to subscribe today or Login.
David Warsofsky and Kevin Porter are two of the more experienced players on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins roster.
Combined, they have 15 pro seasons and nearly 300 NHL games.
Yet both have the excitement of a rookie in anticipation of this year’s Calder Cup playoffs.
Warsofsky and Porter both missed the playoffs last year, and are eager to get back.
Porter missed the postseason after suffering an injury in the regular season with Pittsburgh. He spent the playoffs watching as his Pittsburgh teammates won the Stanley Cup.
“It was hard to sit and watch, especially when you’re injured,” Porter said. “To be a part of it and play, that makes it more special.”
In his career, Porter has been on a team to make it through the first round of the playoffs only once – in 2015 with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Watching Pittsburgh make a run to win the Stanley Cup was a learning experience.
“You learn what it takes. You see the guys being ready for every game and practice,” Porter said. “Going on a long run like that, you learn a lot from the guys.”
Warsofsky also could’ve been a member of Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup team last season. He split the early part of the regular season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh until he was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils.
Warsofsky spent the rest of the season with New Jersey, which didn’t make the postseason.
“Last year, the way my whole season turned out was kind of a fluke,” he said. “I was upset I didn’t make the playoffs. I kind of wish I was in Pittsburgh when they made that run, but the business side of things got in the way of my playoff run.”
The playoff excitement among the Penguins veterans isn’t limited to Warsofsky and Porter. The team’s elder statesman, 38-year-old Tom Kostopoulos, is a veteran of 71 AHL playoff games and another 16 in the NHL.
He said neither age or past experience matters when it comes to the anticipation of the postseason.
“Whether you’re an older or younger guy, the playoffs are exciting,” Kostopoulos said. “It’s what you prepare for all year. There’s always a buzz about the playoffs.”
Kostopoulos admitted the possibility that this is his last postseason.
“I want to play and see what happens and we’ll think about that later,” he said.
Perhaps that buzz is even greater this year as the Penguins enter the postseason as one of the top teams in the AHL, and a squad that has dominated the Eastern Conference for most of the season.
Porter said this year’s Penguins squad is unique in it’s ability to push-back no matter how far they’ve fallen behind during a game. The attitude that no game is ever over will be valuable in the postseason, he said.
Kostopoulos, who will enter his fourth consecutive playoffs with the Penguins and seventh overall with the team, said there are several elements that set this year’s squad apart.
“Our goaltending, which has probably been our best asset all year, and our depth have been crucial. The amount of players that have contributed to where we are in the standings is awesome,” Kostopoulos said. “That depth will be huge in the playoffs.”
So will the contributions of the new faces, such as Zach Aston-Reese, who joined the Penguins in late March after completing his college career.
Aston-Reese has been a mainstay on the top line with Kostopoulos and Porter, and admits he’s wondered what it would be like to raise the Calder Cup.
“It’s ran through my head a little bit,” Aston-Reese said. “Playoff hockey is a different beast. Everything is left out on the ice. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
For other sports stories, click here.
