NHL Penguins' top draft selection makes impression on coaches

Teen-ager Marc-Andre Fleury stood his ground during drills.
CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins' top draft pick, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, looked sharp as the team opened training camp Monday. And it appears Fleury and the team's other goaltenders will get more day-to-day coaching than they have in past seasons.
During the 90-minute session for rookies and others with little NHL experience, Fleury stood his ground in 2-on-1 and 3-on-1 drills, making save after save. "I was a little nervous when I first went on the ice with all the players," said Fleury, 18, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, said.
Tips of the trade
Assistant coach Lorne Molleken, a former coach for the Chicago Blackhawks and longtime minor league goalie, talked with Fleury between drills.
"I wouldn't say that it's my forte, but obviously part of my responsibility this year is to work with the goaltenders and to support the other coaches in every area," Molleken said. "I'm excited because, throughout our entire organization, we have young and talented goaltenders, so it's just a matter of concentrating on our approach and our work ethic and things will fall into place."
Pittsburgh has never had a full-time goaltenders coach. For the past few years, former Penguins netminder Gilles Meloche would school the goalies in emergency or spot situations, but now there will be one coach the goaltenders can go to every day.
"I think I'm going to be in the best shape of my life working with [Molleken]," goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin said. "I think I'm going to be much more focused and I'm going to have a lot of confidence because he's here and working with us, with me. Everything's positive and I can't wait to do all the drills and get to the top of my game."
Struggles
Aubin, 26, fell out of favor -- and the NHL -- last season after posting a 6-13-0 record with a 3.13 goals-against average in 21 games.
He was demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and may have been headed back there until Johan Hedberg was traded to Vancouver for a second-round draft pick. Now he appears to be fighting with Fleury for the backup slot behind Sebastien Caron, 23, who signed a four-year, $3.2 million deal just a few days before reporting to camp.
Caron was named to the NHL's all-rookie team last season after going 7-14-2 with a 2.64 goals-against in 24 appearances.
"When they traded Hedberg, it helped everybody on the depth chart to move up," Fleury said. "[Before the trade] my main goal was to come here, do my best and see what happens."
Fleury has yet to sign a contract and can be sent back to his junior team in Cape Breton up to 10 games into the regular season.
With three goaltenders fighting for two spots, the competition should be fierce.
"When you look at the elite goaltenders in the National Hockey League, they're very competitive in practice and they hate to get scored on and that's the type of attitude that we want," Molleken said.