WILLIAMS: From Covelli to Hobey

Appreciating things after they are gone is part of life. Adjusting to a loss is usually not easy. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Youngstown Phantoms — even though they are from different strata of ice hockey — understand.

For the Penguins, the problem is adapting to the loss due to injury of their highest-paid player (Evgeni Malkin). For the Phantoms, replacing the strongest class in team history has become as difficult as predicted.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.

At the beginning of February, the Phantoms were part of a five-team chase for the Eastern Conference’s four playoff berths. Not bad for a team that finished with the USHL’s top record (40-14-6) and needed to replace its top six forwards who moved on to college.

February began promisingly, with the Phantoms winning three of five games including one against first-place Cedar Rapids.

But then the young Phantoms hit a wall, starting with the 4-3 loss to the RoughRiders on Feb. 21 at the Covelli Centre. That defeat ignited a 2-6 skid that has Youngstown (24-19-4-5, 57 points) nine points behind the fourth-place Bloomington Thunder (31-17-3-1, 66 points). Four of those losses were to the Thunder (2-1, 10-1, 4-2, 4-0).

The news has been better for Phantoms alumni. Kyle Connor, last year’s top scorer in the USHL (34-46—80), who has taken his act successfully to the NCAA. Skating for the University of Michigan, Connor is the NCAA’s leading scorer.

In 34 games, he has 30 goals and 31 assists. Not only was Connor named the Big Ten’s Rookie of the year, he also was picked the conference’s Player of the Year.

Last June, Connor was selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the 17th overall pick in the NHL Draft. The current issue of The Hockey News lists Connor as the Jets’ top prospect.

Connor, who played three seasons with the Phantoms, has to be in the running for the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

From the Covelli Centre to the NCAA’s best — what a jump. It’s no wonder that replacing such a talent is a challenge.

Dan Renouf, a defenseman with the Phantoms in their first two playoff seasons (2011-12 and 2012-13), recently signed a two-year free agent contract with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.

Renouf played three seasons at the University of Maine. He wasn’t drafted in the 2013 NHL Draft and was eligible to sign with any club. The native of Pickerington, Ont., is finishing the American Hockey League season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Other former Phantoms in the AHL include Nathan Walker (Hershey Bears), Matt O’Connor (Binghamton Senators) and Scott Mayfield (Bridgeport Sound Tigers).

Malkin’s injury spotlights the foolishness of having four players (Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang) earning approximately 43 percent of Pittsburgh’s salary cap. Last Friday in Columbus, Malkin suffered an upper-body injury after a collision with Blue Jacket Dalton Prout. From the stands, the hit appeared harmless, but Malkin went straight to the locker room.

On Saturday, the Pens announced that their highest paid player would miss six weeks. The Pens will have to engineer a huge playoff upset for him to play again this spring.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.