The first drop of the puck in the NHL preseason is just a day away, and Pittsburgh Penguin hockey is so close, I can feel it.

There’s no shortage of storylines to go around on this year’s team, from the remold of the defense, to the question marks surrounding the net, to the recurring theme of this being one of the core’s final chances at Lord Stanley.

I am by far not the first person to put out a list of players to keep an eye on, but I wanted to take a different approach when it came to this.

Many of these lists include the big names, like an Erik Karlsson and a Tristan Jarry, for example. And yes, for so many reasons, those players should and will have a ton of eyes on them as the season kicks off, but I wanted to look at some other players instead.

Players who are going more under the radar, and don’t get talked about as much as maybe they should be. That being said, here’s my guys.

Vinnie Hinostroza

An early free agent signing by the Penguins in July, Hinostroza is a very interesting addition for me. I wrote about him earlier in the summer, and I believe he could be a lot better than some people realize. He has all the tools.

Probably best known for his time in Arizona, where he put up his career best 39 point season back in 2018-19, Hinostroza has bounced around the league a lot for a 29 year old.

Two years ago with the Buffalo Sabres (his fifth NHL team), Hinostroza put up 25 points in 62 games, tying the second best mark in his career. This past season, he missed some time with injury, but he did contribute 11 points in 26 games.

He also had 9 points in 11 AHL contests with Buffalo’s affiliate in Rochester.

He has an underrated shot and is quite nifty with the puck, something that could really help out the Penguins’ bottom/middle six forward groups.

Hinostroza is on a one year, one way deal worth $775K. He’s a low risk, high reward player, but that one way part of his contract shows he’s in serious running for a spot in the Pens lineup.

Alex Nedeljkovic

A lot of eyes are going to be on Tristan Jarry, after the starter signed a five year deal paying him north of $5 million even after a subpar, injury riddled 2022-23 campaign. But there’s a new backup in town in Nedeljkovic.

The real question with Nedeljkovic is what version of him Pittsburgh is going to get. Kyle Dubas certainly hopes it’s the Nedeljkovic that went 23 games as a rookie in 2020-21 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.90 goals against average. That Nedeljkovic also put up equally impressive playoff results as well in 9 contests for the Carolina Hurricanes.

But his doubters worry that the Penguins are getting who Nedeljkovic has been since: a severely subpar goaltender for Detrooit who spent a majority of last season in AHL Grand Rapids, despite counting for $3 million against the cap.

Nedeljkovic could never top a .901 save percentage with the Red Wings, nor cold he produce lower than a 3.31 goals against average.

Now on a reduced cap hit (by half, to be exact) Nedeljkovic has a lot to prove. Can he really be that good of a goalie he was for Carolina? Were his horrid numbers just a result of him playing behind a rebuilding Red Wings team?

Now is the time to answer.

Jeff Carter

Much maligned for several intense stretches of poor play last season, the 38 year old Carter is entering the final year of his two year extension that former GM Ron “I make terrible decisions” Hextall signed him to last offseason.

Carter’s performance on the ice was…bad. I don’t think anyone can argue otherwise. He suffered a 16 point drop in production from two years ago to last season, recording 29 points in 79 games in 2022-23.

Any speed the veteran once had seemed to evaporated, and even the subtle things he did that don’t show up on the scoresheet also fell off hard.

His only real saving grace was his strong ability to win faceoffs. Last season he won 59.4% of his draws, an incredibly high number and the highest of his NHL career.

Unfortunately, that talent was (rightfully) overshadowed by all the things he wasn’t doing on the ice. Now the question becomes, is there any hope for Carter?

It’s hard to imagine he experiences that much of a bounce back at his age, but the Penguins are stuck with him nonetheless. Had Hextall not given Carter a full no move clause, he would have been a prime target for salary maneuvering, but Carter would have had the final say in any attempt.

With several younger forwards competing for jobs this season, how safe is Carter’s spot? The Penguins are stuck with his contract, but it doesn’t mean that they have to play him every night.

Carter is going to show a lot more this year than he did last season, and rather fast. Is he capable of that?

Rem Pitlick

Overlooked because of the trade he was involved in (the one that brought Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh), Pitlick is another guy I wrote about over the summer.

At just 26 years old, he’s a big part of the reason the Penguins comedically got younger as a result of the Karlsson deal. Pitlick has shown flashes in multiple different years, he’s just never been able to fully cobble it all together.

Last season, Pitlick split time between NHL Montreal and AHL Laval. Up with the Canadiens, he tallied 15 points in 46 games, while down with Laval he had 22 points in 18 games.

The season prior, Pitlick showed more of what he was capable of. He split the year between Montreal and the Minnesota Wild, but in total put up 37 points in 66 games.

It’s not quite certain where Pitlick fits into this lineup, but you have to think the Penguins take a serious look at him in a few different spots.

He seems like one of those young forwards that could thrive playing alongside Sidney Crosby (who wouldn’t though), and with Jake Guentzel set to miss the first few games of the year, maybe the Pens try Pitlick out there.

Pittsburgh is Pitlick’s fourth NHL city in his 5 season NHL career, so here’s to hoping he can make things work with the Penguins.

Sam Poulin

Poulin is a really interesting player at this stage of his career. At 22 years old, he’s at a bit of a crossroads in his professional career. He’s one of the very few legit “prospects” the Penguins still have, and before the arrivals of Owen Pickering and Brayden Yager, Poulin headlined the Pens prospect pool.

The 2019 first rounder made his NHL debut last season, playing 3 games and registering an assist. He hasn’t lit the AHL on fire since turning pro, recording 37 points in 72 AHL contests in 2021-22, but he also hasn’t had a ton of time there.

The 2021-22 season was Poulin’s first pro year, and this past season he played in only 15 games in the AHL, stepping away from the game to take better care of his mental health. In those 15 games, he scored 4 goals.

Now in a better place, Poulin is hoping to make a push for an NHL-level spot. He’s been very active in the offseason; Poulin was present for the Penguins’ prospect camp in July, and also very recently during the prospects challenge Pittsburgh participated in up in Buffalo.

There’s always next year, but this kind of feels like a make or break for Poulin.

(Featured photo of Vinnie Hinostroza, left, by John E. Sokolowski/USA Today Sports)