web1_TTL092119Railriders4.cmyk_.jpg

RailRiders unveil details of 2020 Triple-A All-Star game festivities

web1_Letter-to-the-editor2.jpg

Your view: Help protect endangered wildlife

<p>It won&#8217;t be long now. The Pittsburgh Penguins made their first cuts of training camp on Friday, meaning Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s own camp is on the horizon.</p><p>Pittsburgh has assigned nine players to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the first wave of moves of the preseason.</p><p>Forwards Jordy Bellerive, Chase Berger, Jan Drozg and Ben Sexton are joined by defensemen Matt Abt, Michael Kim and Jon Lizotte as well as goalies Alex D&#8217;Orio and Dustin Tokarski.</p><p>Pittsburgh also returned defenseman Calen Addison to his junior team in Lethbridge.</p><p>Bellerive is also a Lethbridge alum headed into his first full pro season. Undrafted, Bellerive drew the attention of multiple teams when he broke out for the Hurricanes to become one of the WHL&#8217;s top scorers. Pittsburgh signed him to an NHL deal.</p><p>Berger is a former captain at Penn State who is on an AHL contract this season after making a cameo for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late last season.</p><p>Drozg is a fifth-round pick of the Penguins from 2017 out of Slovenia who spent most of the last two seasons playing junior hockey in Canada.</p><p>Sexton is a veteran acquired last year in a trade with Belleville who opted to re-sign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the summer.</p><p>On the blue line, Abt was a pleasant surprise from last year&#8217;s training camp who earned an AHL deal and ended up being a regular for the Penguins. Kim (Boston College) and Lizotte (St. Cloud State) both joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on tryout deals after their college careers ended last spring and are back for their first pro seasons.</p><p>In goal, D&#8217;Orio signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent and Tokarski, 30, enters his 11th pro season having helped the Charlotte Checkers and new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Mike Vellucci win the Calder Cup last season.</p><p>Fellow goalies Tristan Jarry and Emil Larmi remain in camp with Pittsburgh, with Larmi expected to battle for a spot on the AHL roster. Jarry is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s returning starter, but this year he must pass through waivers before rejoining the team, so there&#8217;s no guarantee he will back at Mohegan Sun Arena.</p><p>D&#8217;Orio was the only player sent down who dressed in Pittsburgh&#8217;s preseason win over Columbus on Thursday night, though he did not play.</p><p>Four projected Wilkes-Barre/Scranton players scored in the preseason opener Monday against Buffalo at Penn State, with newcomer Andrew Agozzino finding the back of the net along with Sam Lafferty, Adam Johnson and Ryan Haggerty.</p><p><strong>Pittsburgh signs Legare</strong></p><p>It&#8217;s been a memorable 24 hours for Penguins rookie Nathan Legare. The 18-year-old winger scored twice in a span of 23 seconds against the Blue Jackets on Thursday night and was rewarded by signing his entry level contract on Friday afternoon.</p><p>Legare posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford after signing on Instagram.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m honoured to sign my first NHL contract with the Penguins,&#8221; Legare wrote. &#8220;A dream coming true that wouldn&#8217;t (have) been possible without the help of my family, my friends, my coaches and all my teammates!! Thank you.&#8221;</p><p>The three-year contract won&#8217;t start until his junior career is over. Because of his age, he can&#8217;t play in the AHL for another two years, so he will almost certainly return to Baie-Comeau of the QMJHL to play this season.</p><p>But he has already shown flashes of why Pittsburgh traded up to select him in the second round of June&#8217;s draft. A 45-goal scorer for his junior team last season, he has three points in two preseason games.</p><p>Legare also scored three points in three games while playing for Vellucci in the Prospects Challenge tournament in Buffalo.</p><p>&#8220;Nathan has had a really strong training camp thus far,&#8221; Rutherford said through the team. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been impressed with his offensive instincts and his overall approach to the game. We&#8217;re thrilled to get him signed.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_1200px-Wilkes-Barre_Scranton_Penguins_logo-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_1200px-Wilkes-Barre_Scranton_Penguins_logo-1.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Penguins make first training camp cuts, send nine to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton