Following the medical episode that happened to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ben Kindel, many wondered if he would ever return. Luckily, the organization handled the situation with promptness and class. The good news is Kindel will return, and it appears that could happen any day now. His return to the lineup will be vital for Pittsburgh's success this season, especially after recent developments.
Get ready because the Penguins seem eager to give Ben Kindel a shot as the second line center on this team.
It's a massive test for the 19-year-old immediately after his medical scare in Utah. He will center a line with two Russians, Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov. That will be an interesting trio to see how they work together. For the team's sake, hopefully it helps elevate this team to new heights.
Thus far, Kindel has only been a third line center for the Penguins. He has done an excellent job in that role. This will be a quick turnaround for the young skater, but it shouldn't be too big of an opportunity for him to handle. Having two scoring wingers in Geno and Chinakhov should only help Kindel's game. Failure to witness immediate results with this lineup could witness Kindel getting a demotion.
Pittsburgh Penguins having ben Kindel emerge as a second line center would be huge
After reshuffling the lines since Kindel has been out, the Penguins are trying to see what works for them. Their normal second line center, Tommy Novak has now become a winger on Sidney Crosby's top line. That opened a giant vacancy for the team to fill. Luckily Kindel is ready to go and should be able to handle that role.
Let's just hope that they don't give up on it too quickly.
Without immediate success with different lineups this season, Pittsburgh has quickly changed things. If something doesn't work immediately, then they have been eager to change things up in the middle of a game this year. Having Kindel as the second line center long-term appears to be the plan moving forward. Giving up on him in short order this season in that job would be a poor decision.
Having two skilled wingers with him should only help make this promotion a success for the young player. Malkin and Chinakhov will hopefully take some pressure off of Kindel and help formulate a deadly second line. The youngster can easily dish the puck to Malkin and Chinakhov to help them snipe the puck into the back of the net.
This will hopefully become a catalyst that launches the Penguins back into winning ways this season.
The coaching staff has to be careful of pulling the plug too quickly on their Ben Kindel experiment. Their goal should be having the teenager emerge as their second line center. If this works out and Kindel excels in this new role, then it could become a massive factor when it comes to the future of the Penguins. If this flops in a hurry, this franchise could wonder if he can handle it or not.
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