Prospect Oskar Sundqvist Looking To Make Pens' Roster
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Penguins prospect Oskar Sundqvist was one of the last cuts from the team in training camp last year. He joined Chris Mueller to talk about his chances of making the roster this year as training camp approaches.
The 6-foot-3 forward was drafted in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has spent his last two-and-a-half seasons playing in the Swedish Hockey League. He is known for his length and versatility, and the 21-year-old said he knows what he has to prove to Penguins head coach Mike Johnston in order to receive a complementary plane ticket to Dallas in the days leading up to Oct. 8, when the Penguins take on the Stars in both teams' season openers.
"What I've been focusing on the last year in Sweden has been to have the guts to hold the puck a little bit longer and to make the opponents come to me," Sundqvist said. "Of course, to be a good offensive guy you have to be good with the puck."
Sundqvist, who said he models his game off Blackhawks' center Marcus Kruger, is a prime candidate for one of the Penguins' final slots coming out of training camp. If he makes the team, it will likely be on the fourth line, a situation he is not opposed to.
"I think that the fourth line should have guys with solid defense who know what to do in the defensive zone," he said, noting that he fits the pedigree he described. "I think that one of my strengths is always trying to be physical and trying to be nasty. Of course, it's all about getting under the skin of opponents. That's just the way I play."
The Swedish-born Sundqvist recently sustained a hamstring injury, and he expects to remain sidelined throughout the remainder of Penguins' prospect development camp.
He told Mueller that the issue, "should be no problem for training camp."
The entire interview can be accessed below.
