During the season, a dry-erase board in the lounge area of the Penguins' home locker room is used to track NHL standings.

This week, it is a snapshot of who is excelling during the Penguins' prospect development camp. The players work out at the soon-to-be-shuttered Civic/Mellon Arena in the morning but skate at Southpointe later in the day.

As of Friday morning, Brian Strait sat at the top of the board, with nine points, accumulated in various ways.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman and second-year pro got two points for scoring the best overall in fitness testing Tuesday. He picked up points for being on the winning team during a three-on-three scrimmage, a shootout drill and, off the ice, paintball and pingpong games.

The staff overseeing the camp also can hand out points for things such as being the first to report for morning workouts and the last to leave, or a nice play on the ice.

When camp concludes after practice today, the points winners likely will receive a gift, probably something practical.

"A little memento for all your hard work," Strait said.

If you happened to be near the fountain at PPG Place Thursday evening and wondered if the city was being overrun with wacky young men, it was just the Penguins' prospects.

They had to go to the water feature and sing and perform the moves to "I'm a Little Teacup" as one stop during a scavenger hunt that had them running around the Golden Triangle.

Instead of their usual practice, the group participated in off-ice team-building exercises that day, including the scavenger hunt and a paintball tournament.

The prospects also got a tour of the new Consol Energy Center.

Sidney Crosby is not the only one in the Penguins' organization who has put extra emphasis on his shot over the past year or so.

Simon Despres, the club's first-round draft pick in 2009, has been honing his shot. His goal production increased from two in 2008-09 to nine last season with St. John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"I've been working on my shot a little bit, shooting on goalies," Despres said. "It got better. As a defenseman, I shoot a lot from the blue line, but give me a chance in the slot and I'll bury it."

There is always a range of personalities in a locker room, but it is easy to identify the most enthusiastic player of this group.

"Everything is great, perfect: the team, the organization, the guys, the rink, the new rink," said German winger Tom Kuehn­hackl, the Penguins' fourth-round draft pick this year.

"The best thing is that I'm a member now of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I got to be in their camp. I've tried my best. I work my [rear] off. Every day's a hard day, on the ice or off the ice. It's great to have experience like that.

"I was not on the ice for about four months, and with new equipment, new skates, it takes one or two or three practices [to feel comfortable], but I'm feeling pretty good."

Asked what he liked after getting to see some of the city during activities Thursday, he smiled.

"The girls," he said. "In America and Canada, they have awesome girls."

General manager Ray Shero said defenseman Brooks Orpik, who had sports hernia surgery June 11, and winger Chris Kunitz, who played in the playoffs despite a torn groin muscle but did not need surgery, are doing well and on schedule to be healthy for training camp. ... The Penguins, continuing to add depth to their organization, signed defenseman Corey Potter to a one-year, two-way contract worth $500,000 at the NHL level. Potter, 26, a former Michigan State player, has played in eight NHL games with the New York Rangers, with a goal and an assist. ... The prospects had on-ice testing for the first 30 minutes of their Friday session but were hampered somewhat by thick fog hanging over the ice at Southpointe.

Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.