In order to find sustained success in the National Hockey League these days, it takes a combination of numerous things. You need superstar talent at some level. You need great goaltending. You need depth role players. You need good coaching. You need young players who can step into your lineup and succeed while they’re affordable in a league with a hard salary cap. It can be a fine line to tiptoe with these young players. They need to be ready to produce before they are due for big contracts, but they also need to be seasoned enough from their amateur years to not require years and years of development.
The Penguins are finding success by tapping into the NCAA hockey market more than any other team
