Pre-season has come and gone in the EHEC and the Pittsburgh Penguins are a little over a week from opening night (EHEC play kicks off October 4th, while the Penguins will play host to the Nashville Predators in their season opener on October 6th).

After three straight years out of the playoff race, the Penguins are hoping for a different fate this season, GM Trevor Cook's second at the helm.

The Penguins revamped their defense this summer and made some up-front additions that they hope will also make them more difficult to play against. "Getting more physical was definitely a goal this summer, as well as improving our depth on the back end and building a group that's really solid defensively," the GM says.

New guy Erik Gudbranson will be key to that effort - 6'3, 215 pound physical force roaming the back end. He's eclipsed the 300-hit mark twice in his EHEC career and in the years he doesn't, he still usually threatens it. Offense may not be his thing, but he is feared when he's on the ice. He will be counted on to mentor Moritz Seider, last year's #10 overall pick who plays the game quite similarly. "Moritz isn't quite as mean, but he's still very physical. Probably has a little more offensive upside. Erik is a great guy for him to learn from, for sure."
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