COMMENTARY: BARRY KAUFFMAN AND JOHN MARION Candidates, take ‘People’s Pledge’

Taking stock of Cornstock

First Posted: 9/19/2014 There was a striking similarity among a group of players who took to the ice for the second part of practice during Friday&#8217;s first day of Pittsburgh Penguins training camp.
Toughness.
Among those skating in the second group were Daniel Carcillo, Steve Downie, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Bobby Farnham, Zach Sill and Dominik Uher.
&#8220;There were a couple of line combos out there that I&#8217;m sure not too many guys would want to play against,&#8221; Sill joked.
But there were a couple that plenty of players would want to play with.
Farnham appreciated the opportunity to skate with veterans Downie and Carcillo and said it&#8217;s a perk of being at an NHL training camp.
&#8220;Those are guys that I watched play as they established themselves at the NHL level,&#8221; Farnham said. &#8220;It&#8217;s awesome just to see how they work every day.&#8221;
Carcillo, who is in camp on a tryout, brings over 390 games of NHL experience over the last eight seasons. For younger players like Farham who are carving their niche with physical play, he knows the road they&#8217;re on.
Carcillo also knows what they need to do to have an NHL career.
&#8220;I did some things early in my career that maybe labeled me as someone who takes bad penalties,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Once you have that name it&#8217;s really hard to get rid of. When you&#8217;re young and dumb and full of vinegar you want to do anything you can to make the league. I thought that was an element of my game that I had to do to get to the next level.
&#8220;But I think I&#8217;ve done a good job the last few years of drawing penalties instead of taking them.&#8221;
Downie has 336 NHL games over seven seasons. He signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh this summer and likes the emphasis that the organization is placing on toughness.
He also doesn&#8217;t mind being someone that the younger players look up to.
&#8220;As you get older in this league you remember the players that you looked up to. For me it was guys like Derian Hatcher and Mike Richards - hard-nosed players who play the game hard,&#8221; Downie said. &#8220;With the younger guys, you just try to lead by example, show up to work and do the right things.&#8221;
It&#8217;s a role that Carcillo readily accepts if he makes the team out training camp.
&#8220;You have to be a pro on and off the ice,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It can be hard controlling emotions and walking that line, but every year you get better at it.&#8221;
NOTEBOOK
- Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff participated in the first practice group with fellow netminder Thomas Greiss, with whom he is competing against for the backup job in Pittsburgh. Zatkoff spent the 2012-2013 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before making Pittsburgh&#8217;s roster out of camp last year.
It&#8217;s a job that he wants to keep.
&#8220;This year is probably my best opportunity to make a team out of camp than any of the other training camps I&#8217;ve been to,&#8221; Zatkoff said. &#8220;I have an opportunity to earn a spot, and the competition gives you the extra push and motivation to take your game to the next level. You have to take the pushes from others and build on that.&#8221;
- Two scrimmages will be held today in addition to practices. New head coach Mike Johnston didn&#8217;t hold back on his players in the first day, putting each practice group through a lengthy series of skating drills.

Plenty of grit at Penguins training camp