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Water main breaks in West Pittston causing road closure

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Penn Staters in the NFL: Robinson grabs first two touchdowns of season

<p>CRANBERRY TWP. &#8212; Stuart Percy knows pressure.</p><p>He&#8217;s dealt with high expectations, demands and having to grow up quickly.</p><p>After all, when you&#8217;re a first-round draft pick in one of hockey&#8217;s biggest markets, those elements come with the territory.</p><p>When the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Percy in the first round of the 2011 NHL draft, he was 18 and very excited.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Toronto. I was very happy,&#8221; said Percy, who grew up in Oakville, Ontario, about 20 miles from where the Maple Leafs play.</p><p>But Percy didn&#8217;t get to experience playing in Toronto right away. Aside from a brief stint with the Toronto Marlies at the end of the 2011-12 season, he spent most of 2012-13 playing with Mississauga in the Ontario Hockey League.</p><p>Percy surfaced with the Marlies again at the end of the 2012-13 season and availed himself well, scoring a goal and three points in four games. He spent all of 2013-14 with the Marlies, and after that, he had a few brief looks by the NHL club but spent the bulk of his time in the AHL.</p><p>&#8220;Being a first round pick in Toronto was a good learning experience. There&#8217;s a bit of pressure but I thought I dealt with it well and had some opportunities with the NHL club,&#8221; Percy said.</p><p>&#8220;But they were going through some changes.&#8221;</p><p>That meant it was time for Percy to leave the only organization he had ever known as a pro, so he picked the one that won the Stanley Cup.</p><p>But that&#8217;s not the only reason why Percy signed with Pittsburgh over the summer.</p><p>&#8220;The way they play the game, as a five-man unit, that&#8217;s a system I can really contribute in,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When they called, I was excited to join.&#8221;</p><p>Percy has established himself as a reliable defender who can contribute offensively at the AHL level. Last season with the Marlies, he posted 24 points in 58 games but was held without a point in three games with the Maple Leafs.</p><p>Now with the Pittsburgh organization, Percy understands that the amount of defensive depth means he&#8217;ll likely start the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But Percy reasoned that in today&#8217;s hockey every team needs a solid group of 12 defensemen to provide depth over the course of a long season.</p><p>His goal is to simply establish himself as high on the depth chart as possible.</p><p>&#8220;What Pittsburgh did last year with some of their forwards working their way up and being contributors in the playoffs, it shows you the need to keep working no matter where you end up,&#8221; Percy said.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking for a different opportunity here and I&#8217;m happy Pittsburgh had the confidence in me to pick me up.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Like old times</strong></p><p>During Monday&#8217;s final preseason intra-squad scrimmage, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Clark Donatelli reunited the line of Tom Kostopoulos, Carter Rowney and Jake Guentzel. The move paid off as Guentzel and Rowney each scored a goal. Guentzel also scored before the line change was made, giving him two goals in the scrimmage, and J.S. Dea also scored twice. Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel scored a goal as well.</p><p><strong>Up next</strong></p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will open its training camp this Friday or Saturday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Percy </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Percy.jpg</photo0><caption0>Percy </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></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>

Former NHL first-round pick Stuart Percy gets new start with Penguins