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Letter to the Editor: Exercise your right to vote on Nov. 8; it’s a critical election

LIU#18 and Pediatric Associates offer a new Mom’s Social Club

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Coming into training camp as a 20-year-old with no pro experience, Reid Gardiner didn&#8217;t really expect to make Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s roster to open the season.</p><p>But that didn&#8217;t stop him from working toward the goal.</p><p>&#8220;I was thinking about that last night in my hotel room, how I came into the rookie tournament a month ago, then went to main camp in Pittsburgh and now here,&#8221; Gardiner said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been a long road, but I&#8217;m excited.&#8221;</p><p>Gardiner, who signed a one-year AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday, has a lot to build on after a successful junior career that saw him post 43 goals and 92 points in 71 games with Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League. The season capped off a four-year junior career that saw Gardiner increase his point production each season while also drastically improving his plus-minus to a plus-26 last year.</p><p>Now, the undrafted winger is hoping to build off that success and highlight the fact that he can be a versatile player as well.</p><p>But Gardiner is taking a cautious approach.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to set too high of goals for myself, but it is nice to be recognized,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Last year in juniors I tried to play to my strength, which is putting the puck in the net. That helped my cause now.&#8221;</p><p>It also helps that Gardiner does more than score. During the intra-squad scrimmages at Pittsburgh&#8217;s training camp, he displayed a bit of grit around the puck, using his body to knock off opponents and absorb hits.</p><p>That helped Gardiner&#8217;s cause as well.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s hard on pucks and he wins a lot of his one-on-one battles,&#8221; head coach Clark Donatelli said. &#8220;From the rookie tournament until now he&#8217;s made some big leaps.&#8221;</p><p>Those improvements are important for Gardiner as he works to carve out a niche as a pro hockey player. While scoring goals is a strength, he knows there needs to be more to his game.</p><p>&#8220;There are so many goal-scorers today, and if you&#8217;re not doing that you have to do different things away from the puck to contribute,&#8221; Gardiner said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to be a one-dimensional guy.&#8221;</p><p>For now, Gardiner will take the lessons he learned at Pittsburgh&#8217;s camp - consistency is important, he said, and apply them to make his own game multi-faceted.</p><p>The effort has already been noticed.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a young kid with some upside,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;We want to spend some time with him. He&#8217;s going to be a good prospect.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Archibald on the ice</strong></p><p>After suffering an injury during last Saturday&#8217;s preseason game, Josh Archibald returned to practice for the first time on Thursday and was a full participant. Donatelli said Archibald still hasn&#8217;t been cleared to play in Saturday&#8217;s season opener, but there&#8217;s a chance that will happen.</p><style>
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<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>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins rookie Reid Gardiner looks to build off successful junior career