St. Cloud State University Professional Athletes

Blake Lizotte couldn't buy a clean week — but he did manage to be part of one of the most lopsided season openers in recent memory.

The St. Cloud State product and Pittsburgh Penguins center was placed on injured reserve ahead of the team's season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 30, part of a flurry of roster moves that also sent Justin Brazeau, Ben Kindel, and Ryan Graves to the IR. Then, in a turn that briefly looked like a feel-good story, Lizotte was cleared to come off IR in time to play opening night.

What followed was a dominant performance — from the Penguins, at least. Pittsburgh blew out Philadelphia 7-0 in a wire-to-wire beatdown, with the Flyers failing to generate consistent offense from the jump. Lizotte was back in the lineup and part of a team that controlled the game from the first period onward.

The good feeling lasted roughly 24 hours.

Lizotte missed practice the following day, Thursday, Oct. 1, while being evaluated for a new lower-body injury — a separate issue from whatever landed him on IR in the first place. The Penguins offered no timetable, leaving his status for the games ahead uncertain. It was the kind of 48-hour whiplash that makes a fan's head spin: IR to blowout win to injury concern, all in the span of three days.

For a player who has carved out an NHL role through tenacity and defensive reliability rather than highlight-reel flash, the health picture heading into 2026-27 is a legitimate concern.

Elsewhere in the Huskies' NHL family

Lizotte wasn't the only SCSU alum active during the week. In Washington, goaltender Charlie Lindgren turned in a sharp performance in a preseason tune-up against Philadelphia, stopping 32 of 33 shots in a 5-1 Capitals win. Lindgren, who backed up — and at times started — for Washington last season, looked composed and controlled against a Flyers squad that couldn't find answers against him either in the preseason or, as it turned out, the regular season opener.

The rest of the Huskies' NHL contingent — a group that includes defensemen Jack Ahcan (Predators), William Borgen (Rangers), Dennis Cholowski (Rangers), Nick Jensen (Ducks), Jack Peart (Wild), Nicklaus Perbix (Predators), and Ethan Prow (Sabres), along with forwards Jonny Brodzinski (Capitals), Nic Dowd (Golden Knights), Mikey Eyssimont (Bruins), and Ryan Poehling (Ducks) — were not subjects of notable news events during the period covered.

St. Cloud State's NHL footprint remains one of the most impressive of any program outside the traditional hockey powerhouses. But this week belonged to Lizotte, for better and worse. If he can get healthy and stay that way, he's a useful piece for a Penguins team that clearly has some offensive pop. If the injury news worsens, it's a rough way to start what should be an important season for him.

St. Cloud State Alumni Report | NHL Training Camp | Sept. 20–26, 2026

It's been a turbulent camp week for St. Cloud State's NHL contingent, with two Huskies alumni making news for the wrong reasons before a single regular-season puck has dropped.

Lizotte's Injury Clouds Penguins' Camp

Blake Lizotte, the gritty Pittsburgh center who has carved out a role as one of the NHL's more reliable fourth-line contributors, is now on the shelf with an upper-body injury carrying a week-to-week timeline. The Penguins announced the news early in training camp, where Lizotte was one of two forwards sidelined on the same day — Oliver Okuliar (lower-body) being the other.

The timing stings. Lizotte was already operating within a crowded Pittsburgh forward group fighting for roster spots, and missing significant camp time makes his path back to opening-night relevance considerably harder. Per a Yahoo Sports lineup breakdown, the Penguins' roster picture has shifted fast in a matter of 48 hours — Lizotte's injury compounding a series of setbacks that include Ville Koivunen and Ben Kindel also landing on the injury report.

For a Penguins team that can ill afford early disruption, losing Lizotte — even temporarily — removes one of the dependable pieces management could count on to plug into the bottom six without drama. His absence opens opportunities for others but also puts front-office depth planning under an early stress test.

Peart Headed Back to the AHL

Across the league, Jack Peart's training camp stint with the Minnesota Wild came to a quiet close this week. The defenseman was among three players the Wild assigned to the AHL, along with Stevie Leskovar and Chase Wutzke. Minnesota also released a pair of PTOs from camp.

Peart, a former NCHC standout at St. Cloud State, continues to develop at the pro level but hasn't yet secured a full-time NHL foothold. The assignment isn't a surprise at this stage of camp, but it confirms he'll need a strong AHL showing to re-enter the Wild's plans.

The Bigger Picture

Lizotte and Peart represent different stages of the NHL climb — one established and fighting to return, the other still knocking on the door. For Huskies fans tracking St. Cloud's growing professional pipeline, the week is a reminder of how thin the margins are at training camp, where one injury or one roster decision can reshape a player's entire season before it starts.

The rest of St. Cloud's active NHL alumni — including William Borgen with the Rangers, Charlie Lindgren in Washington, and Nic Dowd in Vegas — were quiet in the news cycle this week. Eyes will be on Lizotte's recovery timeline as Pittsburgh's preseason schedule continues.