Caggiula's First AHL Stint A Short One As Penguins Forward Depth Tested

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - When Drake Caggiula was placed on, and cleared, waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the start of the 2022-23 season, it marked the first time in his pro career that he had found himself in the American Hockey League (AHL).

"Yeah, I think there's two ways that you can look at something like this," Caggiula began to explain to InsideAHLHockey.com earlier this month. "You can get upset and pout about it. But you know, for me, I'm using this as an opportunity to enhance my game, get better, play a bigger role, be a leader with some of the young guys here."

So, after six years in the NHL as an undrafted former NCAA standout at the University of North Dakota, Caggiula unofficially skated in his first AHL action in a preseason contest on October 7th.

Six seasons spent in the best league in the world - including 278 games played for the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres - didn't seem to get to Caggiula's head in what ended up being a short stay in the AHL. Caggiula ended up spending a mere three weeks in the AHL after being called up to Pittsburgh Sunday in advance of Monday night's game in Edmonton - a former team of his.

"At the end of the day, I'm just happy to be playing hockey again," Caggiula said, adding, "I didn't know what was going to happen with my surgery."

Last season while with the Sabres, a debilitating and painful herniating disc injury in his neck he sustained last November wouldn't heal on its own and subsequently required surgery in February to repair - forcing him to miss most of the 2021-22 season just as it was starting to ramp up in the opening weeks of the campaign.

"And you know, I left everything I had on the table. I worked my ass off in camp up there, and obviously I'm gonna continue doing that [in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton]," Caggiula affirmed. "I'm not going to, you know, pout about it or anything like that. Just use that as an opportunity to keep getting better."

Caggiula made the most of his lone AHL preseason appearance, recording primary assists on both Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goals in a 2-1 win over rival Lehigh Valley. He also told InsideAHLHockey.com he was impressed with the way he competed in both Pittsburgh's NHL training camp as well as in AHL camp.

Caggiula was a top-line forward for the AHL Penguins in all four games he appeared in, recording one assist and playing a steady, reliable two-way game while winning puck battles and helping his linemates spend more time in the offensive zone.

"Up until [recently], I hadn't played since November," Caggiula said of getting back into 'game shape'. "So I definitely think over the last little while I've been getting better and more consistent and getting used to, you know, the bodies and all that stuff around me. But I've worked really hard this summer to make sure I'd be ready for this."