The Penguins had two representatives yesterday at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Rutger McGroarty and Vasily Ponomarev were out in DC repping the black and gold, among the 35 players invited.
The Showcase, as it was described last year, is mostly a promotional venture by a trading card company:
For Upper Deck, the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL, the primary purpose of the event is to obtain photo and video of the players in their respective NHL team jerseys to be used for their first official rookie hockey cards, as well as additional promotional materials throughout the season and beyond.