PITTSBURGH (93.7 the Fan) After a pair of preseason games and puck drop on the 2021-22 season opener under two weeks away, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to trim their roster.
Saturday morning saw the Penguins strip their roster size down to 35 players.
Almost all of the moves were players being sent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Most notably, defensemen Cam Lee, Will Reilly, and goalie Filip Lindberg were sent to the minors.
Jordy Bellerive, who laid the smack down on Buffalo Sabres’ player Matej Pekar in the second preseason game, was also sent back to WBS.
Pittsburgh native Matt Bartkowski, who signed a PTO with the Penguins, was among the cuts, releasing him from his contract.
Froward Raivis Ansons will be returning to his junior squad, Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL.
Top prospects like Nathan Legare, Sam Poulin, PO Joseph, and Filip Hallander are still in the hunt to reach an NHL roster spot.
Shortly after the cuts were announced, the Penguins also released lineups for training camp.
Team one is notably full of guys that will make the NHL team, while team two looks like an AHL roster.
All the previously mentioned prospects are on team two.
Dom Simon and Anthony Angello have been moved from team one to team two, as well.
On team one, and still with fighting chances of making the NHL roster are Brian Boyle and Drew O’Connor.
Boyle is attending camp on a PTO and is lined up to fill out the center depth.
O’Connor, another top prospect, had a disappointing first stint in the NHL last year, but has looked vastly improved since then.
The regular season starts on Oct. 12 and the Penguins are likely to have one or two more rounds of cuts.
The next preseason game is Sunday at 12 noon at home against the Detroit Red Wings.