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Penguins' Brett Kulak breaks his silence ahead of matchup against former Oilers team
Penguins' Brett Kulak met with the media for the first time since arriving from Edmonton, and he spoke about facing his former Oilers team tonight.
Tuesday morning marked the first practice on ice for goalie Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak as they prepared for their debut matches against the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They were involved in a Friday trade that sent goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin to Edmonton in exchange for Skinner, Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick.
What Oilers GM Stan Bowman did for both players prior to making the trade official
Oilers' GM Stan Bowman called both players to give them notice of a trade before contacting Penguins' President of Hockey Operations and GM, Kyle Dubas.
"Alberta time, I think it was like 7:15 (AM) I got a call," Kulak said. "I was still sleeping at the time because we played the night before. I saw my phone at like 7:30 or something and saw I had a missed call. When the GM is calling at that time in the morning, I figured it was pretty important."
- Brett Kulak
- Brett Kulak
Both Skinner and Kulak, who've played their entire careers in Canada, had to get immigration clearance before they could get on ice. These additional days allowed them to acclimate.
Skinner, 27, was a 78th-overall pick in the 2017 draft, going to Edmonton. He has had 197 NHL appearances and 50 games in the playoffs.
Skinner ended his tenure with the Oilers very nicely, having three wins, a save percentage of .937, and a GAA of 1.61 in the last five appearances. Skinner sees Pittsburgh as an opportunity for a restart of his career and to develop it.
Why Brett Kulak comes with a lot of experience
Kulak comes with experience on the blue line, having laced up for a total of 611 games in the NHL, spread across Edmonton, Montreal, and Calgary. His 295-game ironman streak is still intact and ranked ninth in the league as of last night.
"You're going to expect the same effort and the same quality of play every night," Kulak said.
"Anytime you can get experience like that, I've found it huge," Kulak said. "And my game has been able to get better because of that. You get put in big, high-pressure moments. There's some highs and lows and you just gain some experience throughout the whole thing. It created a lot of memories throughout a lot of runs there."
"I'm really excited for the new opportunity to come into this room," Kulak said. "Obviously, there's guys who have won here before and there's a lot of guys who are hungry to win for the first time. I think I kind of fit in that. I'm still hungry to win. I want to accomplish a lot in my career. Hopefully, add a good element to the team."
- Brett Kulak
"Anytime you can get experience like that, I've found it huge," Kulak said. "And my game has been able to get better because of that. You get put in big, high-pressure moments. There's some highs and lows and you just gain some experience throughout the whole thing. It created a lot of memories throughout a lot of runs there."
"I'm really excited for the new opportunity to come into this room," Kulak said. "Obviously, there's guys who have won here before and there's a lot of guys who are hungry to win for the first time. I think I kind of fit in that. I'm still hungry to win. I want to accomplish a lot in my career. Hopefully, add a good element to the team."
- Brett Kulak
In the last campaign, he put up 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists) in 47 games and faced challenging assignments during Edmonton's appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Head coach Dan Muse said that Skinner will start in goal, while Kulak will be partnered with Jack St. Ivany on defense. It appears that the goal is to facilitate a smooth transition into this Penguins season for both of these players.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 16 | 198 ANSWERS Penguins' Brett Kulak breaks his silence ahead of matchup against former Oilers team Will Brett Kulak have more success with the Penguins than he had with Edmonton? | ||
| Yes | 114 | 57.6 % |
| No | 84 | 42.4 % |
| List of polls | ||