WILKES-BARRE -- Ryan Stone is 21 years old, is only about seven months into his pro hockey career and is playing out of position.

All of which is beyond his control.

None of which, however, has prevented him from being the best player for the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre through the first eight games of the Calder Cup playoffs.

"I would definitely [name] him MVP of the first series," said center Maxime Talbot, Stone's linemate.

Stone will enter Game 2 of the Baby Penguins' second-round series against Hershey at 7 p.m. today at Wachovia Arena with four goals and six assists, tying him with Jonathan Filewich for the team scoring lead.

Those statistics hardly begin to reflect the full scope of his contribution. Stone is an accomplished penalty-killer -- he scored a rare 3-on-5 short-handed goal against the Bears in Game 1 Thursday -- plays a physical game befitting his size (6 foot 2, 199 pounds) and is as reliable in the defensive zone as he has been productive in the offensive end.

Stone, the Penguins' second-round draft choice in 2003, has joined with Filewich and Talbot to form Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's most effective line in the playoffs, even though coach Joe Mullen is deploying him at left wing instead of center.

"I probably like him better at center," Mullen said, but added that the switch was necessary because the Penguins have a surplus of people who can play in the middle.

"I had to move some guys to the wing, and he was the kind of guy I knew could adapt," Mullen said.

Stone didn't just accept the new assignment; he embraced it. Despite playing center most of his life, he believes he might have a future on the left side.

"I'm doing pretty well on the wing, and kind of growing to like it," he said. "If you can play any position, I think you're doing all right."

Such versatility can only work in Stone's favor. It's universally agreed that Stone has to upgrade his skating to become a sure bet for success at the next level, but he offers an intriguing package of size and skill.

"He's going to be a great player," Talbot said. "If he can put a little more speed in his game, move his feet a little better, that's the only thing [that's an impediment] for him right now."

Stone takes a six-game scoring streak into Game 2 against Hershey and had three points in the Baby Penguins' 5-4 loss in the series opener. The most spectacular, by far, was his goal while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was down two men because of penalties.

He pulled in an outlet pass from defenseman Ryan Whitney and carried the puck down the left side into the Hershey end. He made it past Bears defenseman Lawrence Nycholat by putting the puck into Nycholat's skates, then digging it loose and headed toward the net when he got to the goal line.

Before he reached the crease, though, Stone threw a shot that caromed off the leg pad of goalie Frederic Cassivi -- "I think he was expecting me to cut across the front of the net," Stone said -- and went inside the near post.

Stone acknowledged that he could have been penalized for the way he pried the puck out of Nycholat's skates, saying that it "was kind of a 50-50 call," but added that he figured referee Steve Kozari might be reluctant to call another penalty on the Penguins when they already had two men in the penalty box.

"It was a high-risk, high-reward type of thing," he said.

Using Stone, despite his youth and relative lack of experience, in a prominent role obviously hasn't been much of a risk for Mullen. And the reward has been greater than he had any reason to expect.

Stone said he needed about half-a-season to adapt to pro hockey, that "I kind of underestimated" the speed and strength of players at this level. Now that he has adapted, Stone doesn't just fit in. He's a force.

"It's fun to play with him," Talbot said. "Players like that, you want to play with. He's going to be a great player."

NOTES -- Penguins forward Konstantin Koltsov, who was scheduled to play for Belarus in the world championships, opted to skip the tournament and have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. ... Dany Sabourin is expected to be in goal for the Baby Penguins tonight. Marc-Andre Fleury played the past three games. ... Filewich has a four-game goal-scoring streak.