Faces On The Farm
By Bob Grove

It appears the young players the Penguins most wanted to see in the American Hockey League during a lockout will be playing there after all.

The NHL made no special provisions easing the movement of developing players to the AHL during a labor impasse, meaning Pittsburgh players beyond their initial professional contract had to clear waivers before reporting to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the start of training camp Sept. 26. Pittsburgh would have risked losing a number of such players, including Tomas Surovy, Shane Endicott, Rob Scuderi, Kris Beech, Ramzi Abid, Guillaume Lefebvre, Ross Lupaschuk and David Koci.

So GM Craig Patrick left it for the Baby Penguins to offer them AHL-only contracts, and on the eve of camp it appeared all or most would accept those offers - which will expire upon the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement by the NHL Players Association.

Milan Kraft and Brooks Orpik remain unsigned restricted free agents, with Kraft expected to play in the Czech Republic and Orpik's plans uncertain. Konstantin Koltsov was expected to play in Russia, while Ryan Malone was scheduled to leave for Europe in late September to join a group of NHL players for a series of workouts and exhibitions.

Only newly-signed Ryan VandenBussche was among the players participating in the Original Stars Hockey League, a four-on-four league that began touring Canada in mid-September.

'The AHL is just a half-step below the NHL, and it's a great training ground for young players,' said Patrick. 'If they're going to play, we prefer they play in the AHL rather than Europe or a no-checking situation, like a lot of players are starting to play in already. This gives them a chance to grow; the other situations don't.'

Patrick said the development of any young players who turn down AHL-only contracts 'won't be retarded, but that certainly won't give them the best opportunity to improve.'

The week before the start of the Baby Penguins' camp, Pittsburgh assigned 14 other players to the AHL - all players still under terms of their first pro contract. Those included goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Andy Chiodo, defensemen Ryan Whitney, Alexander Rouleau and Drew Fata and forwards Colby Armstrong, Matt Murley, Matt Hussey, Ben Eaves, Maxime Talbot, Michel Ouellet, Cam Paddock, Erik Christenson and Steve Crampton.