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Steven Shamanski didn’t face much of an adjustment this season when he turned pro after wrapping up his four-year career at Providence College.
When he joined the Elmira Jackals in the ECHL to start the season, Shamanski realized a lot had stayed the same from his college days. His assistant coach at Providence, Jamie Russell, also joined Elmira as its head coach, and he brought the same system that Shamanski had played for the last four years.
“The fact that the system was pretty similar really helped me adjust to the pro style,” Shamanski said. “It also helped that my coach was also my coach at Providence.”
Now, Shamanski, 25, is facing another adjustment as he begins his tenure with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The team signed the blueliner to a professional tryout agreement this week and he joined them for Tuesday’s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex.
It’s an adjustment that Shamanski is anxious to make.
“It’s exciting to jump a level,” he said. “At the pro level you’re always fighting for a job and when you get an opportunity you have to showcase yourself.”
Shamanski has opened some eyes this season by posting 14 goals and 38 points in 68 games with Elmira. He ranked third among all ECHL defensemen in goals, exceeding the 12 he scored through all four years at Providence.
“It’s been a while since I had points like this,” Shamanski said. “You have to make an impression to get the chance to move up a level.”
Head coach John Hynes said Shamanski will get an opportunity to make an impression with the Penguins. Adding another blueliner like Shamanski is more than just a move to add to the organization’s depth on defense, he said.
“He comes highly recommended,” Hynes said. “We wanted to get him here and see if it’s a situation where we have a guy that can possibly help us. He’s going to get an opportunity.”
An opportunity is what Shamanski was looking for considering he only had two more regular season games left with Elmira, who didn’t qualify for the ECHL playoffs.
To not only jump up a level, but to join a Penguins team jockeying for playoff positioning has put Shamanski in a unique situation.
“It’s nice to jump in here in the thick of things,” he said. “It’s good to play meaningful hockey this late in the year.”
NOTEBOOK
– Hynes was undecided if he would play top prospect Kasperi Kapanen in tonight’s game at Lehigh Valley. Still, he does have a plan on how to balance the high expectations that have been placed on Kapanen.
“He’s a young kid with a lot of talent and sometimes you can rush players,” Hynes said. “Our expectations with him are to give him a little piece of the pie and see what happens. It’s about making sure you’re putting him in a situation he can handle and succeed in.”
– Another high prospect, G Tristan Jarry, also participated in Tuesday’s practice. Pittsburgh’s 2013 second-round pick was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday after wrapping up his season with Edmonton in the Western Hockey League. Hynes said Jarry wouldn’t supersede goaltender Matt Murray and Jeff Zatkoff in the pecking order but it’s a chance for the young netminder to be around the team and see how things work.
– On the injury front, Conor Sheary and Carter Rowney practiced and are considered as possibilities to play tonight, while Barry Goers, Harrison Ruopp, Reid McNeill and Nick Drazenovic remain out.
– The team faces Lehigh Valley tonight for the fourth time since March 22. “It almost feels like one never-ending game,” forward Mati Marcantuoni said. “You know what to expect out of them. Even though they’re not in a playoff spot it doesn’t mean they aren’t going to come out hard.”