For some guys, this is as close as they'll ever get to working in the NHL.

For others, it is just another step on the road that almost certainly will lead them there. Eventually, anyway.

So, sure, all 24 players -- 14 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goaltenders -- who will report to the Penguins' prospects camp today can have legitimate hope about what they'll be able to show management in coming days. Only a few, however, have guarantees.

It would, for example, take a felony charge -- no, a felony conviction -- to prevent defensemen Alex Goligoski from getting an opportunity to contend for a spot on the major league roster later this month, no matter how he performs during the next week.

Goligoski is very much the exception, though. Even players who seem to have a place in the franchise's long-range plans face the possibility of being back with their junior team a week from now.

The challenge is even greater for the likes of forwards Corey Cowick, Joey Haddad and Cedric Lalone-McNichol. They are on amateur tryouts and have six days to prove to general manager Ray Shero and his staff that they deserve a chance to be part of the team's future.

Or, at the very least, to participate in the regular training camp, which opens Tuesday.

Precedent suggests that most, if not all, will fail.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Dan Bylsma and his assistant, Todd Reirden, will oversee practices today, tomorrow and Friday at Southpointe.

After the workout Friday, the group will bus to Kitchener, Ontario, for a tournament against young players from the Toronto, Ottawa and Florida organizations. The Penguins won that event last year.

Last September, center Dustin Jeffrey was the only player to earn an invitation to the Penguins' regular training camp with his play in the tournament -- 13 others, most of whom owned pro contracts, already had been penciled in to take part in both -- and it's uncertain how many, if any, will be around Tuesday.

"It's a good gauge to see them against their age group," Shero said. "Not all these players will be coming to our main camp, so this is a good starting point for us."

Of course, that's not necessarily the only reason the Penguins decided to stage the camp -- and participate in the tournament -- again.

"It's a real good excuse to get started early," Shero said, chuckling softly. "You're itching to get back at it. From a hockey standpoint, our coaches and scouts are eager to get up [to Kitchener] and see the kids play. It will be good. It was last year, anyway."

The only prospect who will miss the camp because of injury is defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, a third-round draft choice in 2007. He is recovering from shoulder surgery and will be out four to six months.

"It's disappointing for him," Shero said. "We still like him as a prospect."

Even with Bortuzzo out of the mix, there are several intriguing prospects for the scouts and front office to assess during the next week. They include a handful of 2007 draftees:

• Center Keven Veilleux, a second-round draft choice. He's big (6 feet 5, 200 pounds) and has good skills, putting up 17 goals and 47 assists in 61 games while splitting last season between Victoriaville and Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He missed the prospects camp and tournament last fall because of surgery to repair a sports hernia.

• Left winger Luca Caputi, a fourth-rounder. He is coming off a breakthrough season (51 goals and 60 assists in 66 games) with Niagara in the Ontario Hockey League and performed well in a 19-game audition with Wilkes-Barre during the Calder Cup playoffs.

• Left winger Casey Pierro-Zabotel, a third-round selection. He can be a force around the net and abandoned his plans to play college hockey to join Vancouver of the Western Hockey League.

• Defenseman Alex Grant, another fourth-rounder. He still needs polish, but has the physical tools to contend for a place in the NHL in coming seasons.

NOTES -- The Penguins will be allowed to carry 24 players, one more than usual, on their roster for their season-opening, two-game series against Ottawa in Sweden Oct. 4-5. Shero said he expects the extra spot to go to a third goaltender, with John Curry the likely choice at this point.