Faceoff Factor

An Underdog Path to the NHL - Starring Ben Lovejoy

Kyle Dreibelbies | WBS "Baby" Penguins

Dec 9, 08:29 PM | Hype this story!

The Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have recently given us a “Rudy”-esque underdog story by the name of Ben Lovejoy. Lovejoy went from an undrafted college defenseman signed to an AHL deal to a fan favorite in Wilkes-Barre, a potential prospect in Pittsburgh, and now a defenseman in the NHL (at least temporarily). Let’s follow the timeline. Keep track at home kids. This could be your schedule for reaching the pros…

-On June 14, 2007, the Wilkes-Barre Penguins released this statement:

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed defenseman Ben Lovejoy to an American Hockey League contract, it was announced on Thursday.

Lovejoy, 23, led all Dartmouth College defensemen and ranked sixth on the Big Green with 23 points (7+16) during his senior season.

Following the completion of his college career, Lovejoy signed an Amateur Tryout Contract with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) on March 22. He appeared in five games with Norfolk, going scoreless with six penalty minutes.

In three years at Dartmouth, the 6-2, 214 pound native of Canaan, New Hampshire recorded 54 points (11+43) in 96 games. He began his collegiate career at Boston College in 2002-03, posting six assists in 22 contests.

At the time, he was very low even on the AHL depth chart. The 2007 Penguins had hoped to open the season with these players on defense: Mike Weaver, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Ryan Lannon, Mark Ardelan, Jonathan D’Aversa, Deryk Engelland, and Lovejoy, in that order. However, Weaver was claimed on waivers when he was sent to WBS to start the season. Lovejoy then outplayed D’Aversa to earn a spot in the top six.

- As the season progressed, Lovejoy had some early season growing pains. At the time, this web site had a different format for the WBS Penguins weekly reports. We would rank players as good, average or bad, based on that week’s performance. Here are some of the early quotes about Lovejoy from those articles:

From the 11/19/07 weekly report where Lovejoy made it into the average category:

Rookie D-Men – This list includes Ben Lovejoy, Jonathan D’Aversa and Alex Goligoski. They would be in the bad category, but they do get a break because some of their poor play may be the result of poor decision-making due to the speed of the pro game. Hopefully, they will improve on their passing and turnovers as they gain experience.

From the 11/28/07 weekly report where he was in the bad category:

D Ben Lovejoy – 0 points, 8 PIM

At some times, having 8 penalty minutes in two games is a good thing, especially when those calls are for things like roughing or were taken when protecting a teammate. This was not one of those times. The rookie defenseman has shown himself to be penalty-prone, especially to the lazy penalties (hooking, holding, tripping). He is a little overwhelmed at the moment, but the only available replacement on the WBS roster is another rookie defenseman who also makes his share of rookie mistakes, Jonathan D’Aversa.

From the 12/31/07 report where he gets picked on yet again:

D Ben Lovejoy – Recently, the Penguins have played quite a few rivalry games. Because of this, Coach Todd Richards felt the need to dress recent ECHL callup D Paul Bissonnette instead of Lovejoy. Bissonnette is the tougher of the two, while Lovejoy has taken some questionable penalties while on the ice. He needs to show something that proves he belongs out there on the ice.

- In January, Lovejoy started to turn the corner. Ardelan and Lannon, two veteran AHL d-men, took him under their wings and helped out quite a bit. This improved play earned him a spot on the second power play unit and a cult following in Wilkes-Barre.

- In February, Ben answered a few questions in an interview, where he described some of the growing pains of the first season. That interview can be found here

During the interview, one of the questions was “Since you have an AHL contract, have the Penguins been in touch with you about how to earn an NHL contract for next year?”

His response was a very safe answer that basically said Pittsburgh hasn’t said anything to him.

-July 7, 2008 saw this press release out of Pittsburgh:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Ben Lovejoy to a one-year entry-level contract, it was announced today by Assistant General Manager Chuck Fletcher.

Lovejoy played 72 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) last season recording 20 points (two goals, 18 assists) and 63 penalty minutes. He appeared in 23 playoff games for the Penguins posting ten points (two goals, eight assists).

-After outplaying much more experienced AHL defensemen Danny Richmond and T.J. Kemp, he and Deryk Engelland have become the top two defensemen on the Baby Pens.

-Finally, after a bruised shoulder to Hal Gill, this news comes out of Pittsburgh:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled defenseman Ben Lovejoy from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL), it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.

Lovejoy, 24, has posted 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) along with 36 penalty minutes in 24 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He currently leads all Penguins defensemen in scoring and is tied for 11th in the AHL. Lovejoy also leads the team and is tied for fourth in the AHL with a plus-14 rating this season.

- 12/8/08 gave us Lovejoy’s NHL debut, where he finished scoreless with a +1 rating and 1 shot on goal in 10:37 of ice time.

No doubt, he will be returned to Wilkes-Barre after Gill recovers or Whitney returns, but Lovejoy should have a bright future in the Pittsburgh organization.