TAMPA, Fla. -- This is not alien territory for Ryan Stone.

He has been here -- poised to claim a spot on the Penguins' regular-season roster -- at least once before.

The circumstances, however, are different this year. Stone isn't just competing for a job in the NHL; he might well be fighting for his future in the organization.

Stone, 23, a left winger, will be assigned to the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre if he doesn't convince management that he deserves to be one of the 24 players who will travel to Sweden for two season-opening games against Ottawa.

Stone has been sent to the Baby Penguins before, of course, but this time, he might never make it across the Commonwealth because he would have to clear waivers before playing in the AHL.

"It's a big camp for him, there's no doubt," general manager Ray Shero said. "I don't want to say, 'make-or-break,' but it's the first time we have to expose him to waivers if we don't keep him on the team."

Stone, a candidate to play on the fourth line, had a limited opportunity to impress management Saturday night, when he logged 7 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time in a 5-4 shootout loss to Tampa Bay in the exhibition opener at Mellon Arena.

He'll get another chance when the teams meet again at 7:38 tonight in Tampa, and his performance in preseason games this week likely will determine where he's working in a couple of weeks.

"The [preseason] games are going to be critical," assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "It's a whole different evaluation tool, once you get into a real game playing against players wearing a different-colored jersey.

"It's going to be important for Ryan to have good games, to show his skills set on a consistent basis."

Stone skated on a line with Jeff Taffe and Eric Godard Saturday, and those are the kind of linemates he can expect to have if he sticks in the NHL. Although he had 99 points for Brandon in his final year of junior hockey, Stone failed to accumulate as many as 40 in any of his first three seasons as a pro and his lackluster skating is a conspicuous liability.

He does, however, have good size -- he's 6 feet 2, 207 pounds -- and can play a rugged, abrasive game. That could be important for a team that lost considerable grit with the departure of wingers Jarkko Ruutu, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts.

"He's got to prove he's one of the top 13 or 14 forwards," Fletcher said.

"For Ryan, that's playing to his strengths -- using his size, he has some skill and he has the ability to finish checks and play a physical game. He just needs to bring all the elements to the table every day in training camp."

Saturday, he fought Tampa Bay's Zenon Konopka and had one early game shift in which he hit Janne Niskala and Vladimir Mihalik in the span of a few seconds.

"Ryan played a physical game," Fletcher said. "He certainly stepped up and did a good job with Konopka. ... He showed some of the things he can bring to the table."

Stone has a handful of NHL games on his resume, having appeared in six between Jan. 10 and March 12 last season. He never played more than 7:45, however, and acknowledged that he never settled in enough to show all he was capable of contributing.

"You're not as comfortable," he said. "You're not playing relaxed. It's kind of choppy play when you get called up here and there. When you're on the team and you know who's around you, you get more comfortable, feel better playing the game that you can."

That Stone can be a valuable member of an AHL club is clear. Although he had just 11 goals and 28 assists in 65 games with the Baby Penguins last season, Fletcher credited him with being a key element in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's surge to the Calder Cup final.

"He was a key guy on our team," Fletcher said. "He didn't have a huge year, offensively, but he did play a physical role, he played the power play, he played penalty-killing. He was a player who was relied on by the coaching staff in every situation. He played a pretty mature game and was used in every situation."

Stone isn't ready for such a diversified role in the NHL -- and might never be -- but he's intent on never finding out whether he would be able to slip through waivers.

"I'm going to make it as hard of a [decision] as I can for them," Stone said. "If they send me down, it's going to be my own fault."

NOTES -- Although Penguins officials seem resigned to Sergei Gonchar's left-shoulder injury forcing him from the lineup for an extended period -- one measured in weeks, not days -- there still is no official word on its precise nature or severity. Gonchar is expected to have an MRI today or tomorrow. ... Evgeni Malkin earned positive reviews for his poised performance on the left point of the power play Saturday, and team executives said he expressed no reservations about being used there.