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Eight new CASA advocates hope to ‘bring hope’ to abused and neglected children

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Our Opinion: Two women can appear atop a political party’s ticket in this day and age; can’t they?

<p>CRANBERRY TWP. &#8212; Jake Guentzel opened eyes when he led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 14 points in 10 playoff games last season.</p><p>Now, during Pittsburgh&#8217;s development camp, he hopes to open eyes again.</p><p>&#8220;I have a lot to show. You always want to keep growing as a player and you can never get too confident,&#8221; Guentzel said.</p><p>Still, Guentzel enters his second development camp with Pittsburgh with a bit more confidence, thanks to his success with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.</p><p>After wrapping up his college career, Guentzel joined the Penguins for the last 11 games of the regular season, posting two goals and six points. In the postseason he was placed on a line with Carter Rowney and Tom Kostopoulos, and Guentzel flourished with five goals and nine assists in 10 games.</p><p>&#8220;I was lucky to play with two great players who took me under their wing and showed me the ropes,&#8221; Guentzel said. &#8220;All of that stuff they showed me is going to help me for next year.&#8221;</p><p>Guentzel&#8217;s success earned him a two-year, two-way contract with Pittsburgh. His production did catch the attention of the Pittsburgh brass, but they weren&#8217;t entirely surprised.</p><p>Player development coach Mark Recchi said Guentzel is a player they were watching closely in college and they knew what he was capable of at the pro level.</p><p>&#8220;He ended up making a great impact. We put him with a couple of veterans in Rowney and Kostopoulos and he fed off that,&#8221; Recchi said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the culture we have down there with our young guys.&#8221;</p><p>Guentzel&#8217;s path into the pro ranks mirrors that of another former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player who found success with Pittsburgh this season - Conor Sheary. During Sheary&#8217;s last three seasons in college, he produced 35, 27 and 28 points. Guentzel topped those totals by playing at greater than a point-per-game pace in his last two college seasons.</p><p>Sheary joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for its playoff run in 2014, posting six goals and 11 points in 15 games, and Guentzel exceeded that with 14 points in 10 games.</p><p>Now, Guentzel is hoping to continue on a path similar to Sheary&#8217;s and break into the NHL in the near future.</p><p>&#8220;Playing so many playoff games helped me because the intensity is really ramped up,&#8221; Guentzel said. &#8220;When you have to play at that level it makes you a good player. It also makes you hungrier and you just want to get back to playing. The atmosphere we had at the end was a lot of fun, and you want to keep that feeling going.&#8221;</p><p>NOTEBOOK</p><p>- Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin and fan favorite Zach Sill resigned for another season with the Washington organization on Thursday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">After a successful season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Jake Guentzel, right, takes part in his second Pittsburgh&#8217;s development camp this week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL041116PensGame3.jpg</photo0><caption0>After a successful season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Jake Guentzel, right, takes part in his second Pittsburgh&#8217;s development camp this week. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>21-year-old center catches eye of Pittsburgh brass</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jake Guentzel hungry to build on success at Pittsburgh’s development camp