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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; All it took was one announcement from Pittsburgh to drastically change the makeup of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s training camp.</p><p>Minutes after practice wrapped up at the Toyota Sportsplex on Monday, word came out of Pittsburgh that 17 players were coming to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The list includes two goaltenders, eight forwards and seven defensemen - six of whom must clear waivers by Tuesday at noon.</p><p>All of a sudden, opportunities and jobs became fewer and head coach Clark Donatelli&#8217;s decisions became much harder.</p><p>But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s opening day roster is far from settled.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s still opportunities,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;The guys here are competing for jobs. The guys coming down from Pittsburgh are competing for ice time and positional play.</p><p>&#8220;It will all work itself out and we&#8217;ll be back to business as usual.&#8221;</p><p>One situation that has to work itself out is goaltending. Adam Morrison and Doug Carr will be joined by Casey DeSmith and veteran Leland Irving. Donatelli will have to pick two, but on Monday he said all four were still in the running.</p><p>DeSmith was a late season call-up and emerged as a playoff hero for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Irving is a former first-round draft pick and has 13 NHL games under his belt.</p><p>&#8220;As far as I&#8217;m concerned we have four goaltenders and we&#8217;re going to see who&#8217;s playing the best. Guys are going to be battling for those spots,&#8221; Donatelli said.</p><p>On defense, Tim Erixon, Ethan Prow, Stuart Percy, Cameron Gaunce, Reid McNeill, Steve Oleksy and Chad Ruhwedel were all assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and all but Prow need to clear waivers.</p><p>If everyone clears, the group coming from Pittsburgh will likely be Donatelli&#8217;s defense corps to start the season, along with Barry Goers who is already in camp.</p><p>The forward group heading to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton includes youngsters such as Oskar Sundqvist, Adam Krause, Ryan Haggerty and familiar faces like Sahir Gill, Josh Archibald, Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea. Garrett Wilson, who also has to clear waivers, is the veteran of the group.</p><p>While Donatelli will have the bulk of his opening day roster in place before Thursday&#8217;s start of the exhibition season, he said he&#8217;s glad the players stayed in Pittsburgh as long as they did.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m pleased they stayed up there and got in some games and practices. That helps us in many ways,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;They got a feel for how Pittsburgh plays and what they want.&#8221;</p><p>As far as any cuts from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s camp, Donatelli said that won&#8217;t happen until after Tuesday.</p><p>&#8220;We still have to make decisions on some players. We&#8217;re still going to need a few days,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>Rowney staying in Pittsburgh for now</strong></p><p>Carter Rowney, who signed his first NHL contract at the end of last season, was among the handful of players not heading to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton just yet. Rowney has had an impressive training camp and scored a breakaway goal in Pittsburgh&#8217;s preseason game on Sunday. Others staying with the big club include Tom Sestito, Jake Guentzel and goaltender Tristan Jarry, who is expected to backup Marc-Andre Fleury while Matt Murray sits out with an injury.</p><p><strong>Not giving up</strong></p><p>Despite the influx of players set to arrive, those already in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s camp know that opportunities still exist. Injuries to Teddy Blueger and Thomas Di Pauli have created openings at the forward position. Derek Army, who appeared in 13 games with the AHL Penguins last season and also suited up for three other AHL teams, would appear to be a front-runner for a job.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what you come to camp for. My goal is to stay here,&#8221; Army said. &#8220;Last year I showed I was ready and showed I could play.&#8221;</p><p>Jarrett Burton played in 23 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season and is already signed to an AHL deal. His strength as a penalty killer and defensive specialist could earn him a job as well.</p><p>&#8220;You hate to see guys get injured, but when an opportunity arises you have to make the most of it and work your tail off to make sure you&#8217;re ready to jump right into the lineup,&#8221; Burton said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Pens goalie Doug Carr blocks a shot during practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. When Casey DeSmith and Leland Irving arrive form Pittsburgh, Carr will be one of four goaltenders in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s training camp. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100316pens1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pens goalie Doug Carr blocks a shot during practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. When Casey DeSmith and Leland Irving arrive form Pittsburgh, Carr will be one of four goaltenders in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s training camp. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </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>

Competition gets stiffer at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins camp