Tuesday, November 11, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Tom Kostopoulos was among the Penguins' most productive forwards in training camp, earning lavish praise from coach Eddie Olczyk almost every day in September.

Still, he was demoted to the AHL.

In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he is one point off the league scoring lead with seven goals and six assists in 13 games, and his plus-11 rating is tops in the league. At the same time, the parent Penguins continue to keep a handful of minimally productive forwards on their roster.

Still, Kostopoulos is riding buses.

It is precisely the type of situation which can drag a minor-leaguer down, especially one with only 19 NHL games on his resume at age 24. But Kostopoulos is adamant that he is not discouraged.

"It was definitely disappointing to not make it out of camp, and I want to be there, for sure," he said by phone from Wilkes-Barre. "But I'm not about to give up. I'm just trying to play well here and, hopefully, get a chance with Pittsburgh. If not, then maybe I'll get a chance somewhere else in the NHL."

Asked if he was surprised he had not been summoned this season, he replied: "I guess I'm surprised they haven't called anyone up. We have some players here who can play in the NHL. They deserve a chance, and I know they can do very well in the NHL when they get there."

Kostopoulos, the Penguins' seventh-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, has been impressive on the top line with center Toby Petersen and left winger Tomas Surovy. His 40-goal pace is well above his previous best in the AHL, 27 in 2001-02, and his customary diligence and defensive work have not abated in the slightest.

He insisted he has not concentrated any more on producing offense.

"Actually, I feel like I'm not concentrating as much on anything, and that's made a big difference for me," he said. "In the past, sometimes, it felt like I never really relaxed. I used to analyze every little thing I was doing out there. Now, I'm just going out and letting my instincts do the work. Not thinking."

That does not mean he has lost his focus off the ice.

"Making it to the NHL is what we're all here for," he said. "We're working every day for that."

Minor matters

The Baby Penguins went 1-2 in playing three games in three nights Friday to Sunday. They split a homeand-home series with Syracuse, losing, 3-2, on the road and winning, 3-1, at home. They were shut out by Providence, 1-0, at home. They outshot their opponents by a combined 116-60. ... Their record of 7-5-1 is good for third in the AHL's East Division. ... Left winger Reid Simpson will miss three weeks because of a strained knee ligament from the game Friday. ... Center Michal Sivek (finger) and right winger Colby Armstrong (leg) are expected to resume skating. ... Left winger Guillaume Lefebvre, who had two goals and four assists in 12 NHL games with the Penguins last season, has yet to score in his first 12 AHL games this season. Lefebvre had been viewed by many as a favorite to make the NHL roster this season but was demoted early in training camp. He has two assists, a minus-2 rating and 19 shots. ... The team's tightening defense allowed only 36 total shots in the past two games. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin stopped all but two of them. ... Center Kris Beech's two-goal performance Saturday raised his season goal total to four. ... Ross Lupaschuk's plus-8 rating is best on the defense. He has a goal and five assists in 13 games. ... Surovy, tied with Kostopoulos for the team scoring lead with six goals and seven assists, had one assist in the three-game weekend. ... The Wheeling Nailers remain unbeaten at Wesbanco Arena at 4-0-1 after their 9-1 rout of Dayton on Sunday. The Nailers are 7-2-1 overall and second in the ECHL's Northern Division. Leading scorer on the team is center J.F. DuFour with five goals, five assists in 10 games.

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