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As camp opens, Penguins keep keen eye on defensemen

It’s not that the Penguins are having trouble finding defensemen to bring to training camp.

Heck, there could be 20 or so on hand when the team begins drills Friday at its new practice rink in Cranberry.

The challenge for coach Mike Johnston and his staff will be identifying the six or seven most qualified to be on the major league roster for the regular-season opener Oct. 8 in Dallas.

Guys such as Kris Letang and Olli Maatta are locks to be in the lineup against the Stars — assuming, of course, they have no health issues at the time — but the farther one goes down the depth chart, the more murky the situation becomes.