When Josh Maniscalco was a little kid growing up in Perkiomenville, Pa., his elementary school teacher asked that famous question: what do you want to be when you grow up?
"I would say, I want to be a pro hockey player," he said. "Now I actually get to say that. It's honestly surreal."
The college free agent out of Arizona State University signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins on Friday.
"On top of the fact that the organization is run so well and they have had so much success, their main goal is to continue to have success," Maniscalco said. "They're looking to the near future, which is just really exciting for me. I like to win.
"And I live in Pennsylvania, so it's nice to be able to be back close to family. I'm a native, so it's just the right fit. It feels right."
While Perkiomenville is about an hour outside of Philadelphia, that doesn't mean that Maniscalco grew up a Flyers fan.
"I actually have a funny story - right when Evgeni Malkin was drafted, I was at the Hockey Hall of Fame," he said. "And at the shop, I bought a little pennant with him on it. When I was younger, I was actually always a Penguins fan."
And for his family members that were actually Flyers fans, they quickly transferred their loyalties to the other side of the state.
"They're like, sorry everybody, but now we're Penguins fans," Maniscalco said with a laugh. "It's funny, I have one uncle who's just a die-hard Philadelphia fan and he's more excited than anybody. It's an easy transition for them when it's their nephew who is on the team or potentially on the team. We're just excited."
And the Penguins are absolutely thrilled to have him. The 21-year-old is coming off his sophomore season with the Sun Devils, where he piled up 11 goals and 32 points - which tied for sixth in the NCAA among defenseman - in 36 games played.
Additionally, only Boston University's David Farrance scored more goals than Maniscalco's 11 among all NCAA blueliners. Maniscalco feels the key to his individual success this past year was just feeling more comfortable in his environment.
"I knew what my coaches needed from me and I played with the same D partner, so we just knew what we had to do in order to have success," Maniscalco said.
Arizona State had team success this past season as well, finishing the year ranked No. 12 in the nation with a 22-11-3 record. They were set to make their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance before all winter and spring championships got canceled.
With everything up in the air for next season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Maniscalco said that uncertainty played a role in accelerating his decision. But ultimately, he would have felt ready to turn professional regardless of the situation.
"For me, confidence is key, and you've got to mentally be ready to make that next step," said Maniscalco, whose 52 career points ranks sixth-most in team history. "I think the time for me is now, so I'm just excited."
He received incredible support for his decision from everyone at Arizona State, including Austin Lemieux, who was Maniscolo's teammate each of the last two seasons.
"He tried to stay out of it as much as possible, but he sent me a text and was like 'Hey, we'd obviously love to have you in Pittsburgh, but do what's best for you,'" Maniscalco said. "I made my decision, and Pittsburgh is the best situation and organization for me."
In addition to feeling like the organization is well-run, Maniscalco also likes how they work with players out of college, most recently John Marino - who made the opening-night roster out of training camp following his junior season at Harvard and went on to become one of the league's best rookie defensemen.
"The first conversation I had with Pittsburgh after they started to show interest, (Marino) was actually just starting to play games last year," Maniscalco said. "I was watching him and it was just awesome to see. That's exactly what you want as a college player, develop in college and hopefully get to step right into the NHL."
Like Marino, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman is big, strong and mobile.
"I'm a big believer that being a good skater is the way of the game anymore, so I like to rely on my legs big-time," Maniscalco said. "I like to jump in the play, that's for sure. I love the rush of just being up in the play, beating the other team's forwards up ice and providing that extra offense. I've learned the hard way that you've got to be able to play defense, too (laughs). So I like call myself a two-way defenseman."
And that style of play will be a tremendous fit.
"Josh is a solid puck-moving, offensive defenseman," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He jumps into the rush and plays a style that is complementary to our group. We think highly of his character and are happy to add Josh to the organization."
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