Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft (#46 overall) Dutch-born right wing Daniel Sprong(11) has already been on an incredible journey, yet he’s only considered a rookie in 2017/2018 despite having already played 18 games in the big league.
The decently sized 6′ 195 lbs. forward made the parent club’s opening night roster in what would have been his 3rd year of QMJHL skating 18 games scoring his first pair of NHL goals before it was decided to return him to Charlottetown Islanders, where he popped the score sheet yet again.
He returned to the pro ranks with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their Calder Cup Playoff run.
In 10 AHL games, he grabbed 5 goals and 2 assists with a +1 rating before the team bowed out.
His next move had him joining the Pens as a practice player, which would give him more experience but unfortunately he suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him for many months.
Upon healing, he once again was returned to his junior club for a fourth and final year.
He started his first official season in the minors and continued his point-per-game production (30-31-61 in 62 games) before being recalled for 8 games grabbing another two goals and an assist with a +2 before being returned.
The still super-young 21-year old is set to become a restricted free agent after the current campaign and should be extended decently to stay in the system and will likely find him competing for a full-time spot in the show.