‘I’m Lucky To Be Able To Play With Him’: Penguins’ Rookie Relishes Opportunity To Center All-Time Great

Over the past several days, there has been a lot of talk about Pittsburgh Penguins‘ future Hall-of-Fame center Evgeni Malkin playing in a pretty unfamiliar spot positionally upon his return from injury.

Malkin, 39 – the longstanding second-line center for the Penguins behind only Sidney Crosby on the depth chart – played a little bit on the wing early on in his career, and he has seen some limited minutes there alongside Crosby over the past year. He missed a month of game action and returned to the lineup on Jan. 8 against the New Jersey Devils, and in that return, he found himself on the wing again.

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But, this time, it wasn’t Crosby centering him. Instead, it was 18-year-old rookie Ben Kindel, who manages to just keep climbing the ladder on this Penguins’ team.

It has been a whirlwind season for Kindel, who earned his way onto the NHL squad out of training camp and has been a mainstay on the roster ever since. He himself had the opportunity to play on Crosby’s wing earlier this season, but – for the most part – he’s been positioned as the team’s third-line center this season.

Now, he has an opportunity not only to slot in as the team’s second-line center, but also to center an all-time great that he looked up to as a kid – and who has manned that position for so long.

“Obviously, he’s such a special player,” Kindel said. “So, I’m lucky to be able to play with him and have him on my wing. He’s a great player, so just going to try to do what I can to help that line be successful and help the team win.”

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Of course, Kindel has picked up a thing or two during his tenure in Pittsburgh this season, especially in a room full of veterans that hosts the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson. But it’s a bit of a different experience getting to play alongside those players in game action, and – in particular – be the anchor on a line with one of those players, especially when those players are so accustomed to being in that spot.

The Penguins Have Found Something With Novak Centering Brazeau And Mantha Tommy Novak found instant chemistry with Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau once he started centering them.

Even through just one game and a few practices – and some time on the power play together earlier this season – Kindel has learned a lot about Malkin as a player and how to tandem with him on a line.

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“I think just his overall hockey sense and competitiveness drives his game,” Kindel said. “And, obviously, he’s very skilled. But I think his hockey sense really complements our line well, and I think we have three players – [Egor Chinakhov] as well – that think the game and are all skilled players. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

Kindel had high praise for his other linemate in Chinakhov, too. The 24-year-old scoring winger was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29, and he has a goal and two points in his four games since joining the Penguins.

“Very, very skilled. High-skilled, great shot, great skating,” Kindel said. “Good hockey sense, all that stuff. And, obviously, he’s a good person as well, so it’s nice to have him on the line. And I think we’ve been connecting well so far.”

Chinakhov Trade Shows Penguins Are Starting To Shift Gears Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for Yegor Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, and it could be a sign of things to come over the next several months.

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Although Kindel is simply elevating his role as a center in the lineup, it’s obviously a bit of an adjustment for Malkin to re-enter the lineup after a month and play in a relatively unfamiliar position. But, despite the adjustment, Malkin was happy with how he, Kindel, and Chinakhov were able to play in a 4-1 win against the Devils, which was the team’s sixth-straight victory.

“First period, I play left wing, but third period, I play right wing,” Malkin said after Thursday’s win. “I don’t know why. But, yeah, any little bit of time, it’s not easy changing positions, but long time ago, I play wing. But, after first, I think I take a couple pucks, use my stickhandling. You know, it feels a little better, for sure. Huge [second-period] goal for me, and I hope [our line] plays same next game, too.

“I like playing wing. Like, I don’t care.”

And that line of reassurance from Malkin is probably a sigh of relief to Kindel, whose rookie season has provided him with a wide range of experiences, from playing with all-time great players to spending a week in Stockholm for the NHL’s Global Series in November. He was initially set to be on a team-sanctioned development plan with rest days sprinkled in, but the Penguins’ injury situation has thrown a bit of a wrench in those plans. Kindel has also – simply put – been too important for the Penguins to put him in the press box, as his eight goals and 18 points, the beyond-his-years two-way play, and his value to both special teams units has helped the team win games.

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As a result, Kindel is taking things day by day, taking care of his body, and trying to learn as much as he can from the grind of a full NHL season. So far, he is happy with his progression, with his bump up in the lineup simply being the latest example of that.

“Obviously, there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the year,” Kindel said. “Just trying to get more comfortable and gain more confidence every day. And, obviously, I’m still young and still developing. So, gotta find the balance of trying to help your team win and still also finding ways to develop your game. I think it’s just a fine line.”

Takeaways: In Malkin’s Return, Penguins Oust Devils To Earn Sixth Straight Win The Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of a struggling New Jersey Devils team to earn their sixth consecutive win and catapult them to the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

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