DANIEL RUSSELL APPLYING AHL EXPERIENCE TO OFFSEASON PREP

CRANBERRY, Pa. – The last two months of the American Hockey League season take place in spring, but it might as well be known as “ATO season”.

All 32 AHL teams start scooping up players from major junior and collegiate ranks on amateur tryout agreements. Some of them are draft picks. Some of them are not. But all of those players join the pros late in the year to get a taste of what the next level is all about.

Daniel Russell was one of those players for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last year. The Michigan State Spartan inked an ATO and one-year AHL contract with the Penguins on Apr. 1. Like most ATO rookies, Russell’s brief AHL experience has him prepared for what to expect come training camp in the fall. However, he’s not waiting for September to showcase what he learned. He’s applying those lessons now in his offseason training.

“Seeing the way we do things here, all that stuff was super, super valuable,” Russell said after the first day of Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp. “The way you treat yourself, the way you handle everything on the ice, the way we skate, the way we work, that’s the important stuff that you get a feel for.”

The 24-year-old identified getting “bigger, stronger, faster” as his goals for the offseason, benchmarks he’s attacking with his time in the AHL at the top of his mind. But Russell was far from a passenger during his first foray into pro hockey.

He recorded a point in both of his first two AHL games, and his slick playmaking frequently created scoring opportunities across the four contests in which he played. While he wanted to make the most of his opportunities on the ice, he also made sure to be observant off the ice. He said that all of the veterans in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton locker room demonstrated best practices worth adopting, but Russell was particularly drawn to the habits of Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes.

Russell believes that he can model his game after Hayes and McGroarty, two fellow Michiganders (McGroarty in more of an honorary sense.) He also saw the grind that all of his teammates went through during the playoffs. While Russell didn’t see any game action during the postseason, he remained on the club’s roster for the entirety of its postseason run. Once again, he was sure to absorb as many behind-the-scenes details as he could.

“In college, it’s all one game and you’re done,” he said. “Getting a little feel for a series, like a full, seven-game series, it really is a grind, game-after game. Like you could be losing a game, but even that third period, the way you respond is important for the next game. Building on shifts, building on games is huge. I think that was super valuable.”

Development Camp affords Russell an opportunity to demonstrate the small progress he made while practicing regularly during Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s playoff run. However, Russell isn’t playing for summertime accolades. He’s eyeing an opening-night roster spot with the Penguins.

And now he’s equipped with the knowledge and experience to put himself in a position to seize that goal.

“Nothing’s given,” Russell said. “But I’m pretty used to that, having to earn my spot everywhere I go.”