PITTSBURGH — Kris Letang in the second half of his NHL career has happily served as a mentor, every year giving young Penguins defensemen pointers at training camp.

This fall has been a little different. During the first week of camp, Letang has taken a 30-year-old with 445 career games of NHL experience under his wing.

"It's been great. He's such a great player. Has been for a very long time. Still is," Matt Grzelcyk gushed after Friday's training camp practices in Cranberry, Pa. "I'm just trying to be a sponge around him. He has a ton of knowledge to give."

Grzelcyk called Letang a "great guy" and an "unbelievable player." But Letang may not be doing this simply out of the goodness of his heart. There's a high likelihood Grzelcyk will be his defensive partner when the season opens Oct. 9.

Just a few months ago, Grzelcyk was a healthy scratch for the Boston Bruins in the playoffs. But prior to that, he was a mainstay on their blue line for seven seasons, helping them bridge the gap from Zdeno Chara to Charlie McAvoy.

Mike Sullivan is McAvoy's father-in-law. So he watches the Bruins quite a bit.

"Matt had a number of pretty solid seasons playing in Boston — with Charlie as his partner — and was a big part of the success the Bruins had," the coach said.

What stood out most to Sullivan watching Grzelcyk during his NHL career is that he is an efficient puck mover in the breakout game and also a "fierce competitor" in the defensive zone despite being just 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds.

Hockey operations agreed that Grzelcyk would be a good fit in Pittsburgh. So the Penguins targeted him as soon as free agency opened on July 1. The lefty signed a one-year prove-it deal here. He will make $2.75 million this season.

Assuming the Penguins try to get Ryan Graves back on track with a third-pair role to start the season, they would trust Grzelcyk to hold up in their top four.

The Penguins will likely give Grzelcyk a long look next to Letang during camp and the preseason to see if those two click. It's early. But so far, so good.

Grzelcyk said he does see some similarities between McAvoy and Letang, which probably can't hurt as those two try to develop chemistry this preseason.

"There's a lot there. I'd say Kris is someone that Charlie definitely looks up to over the years and wants to model his game after," Grzelcyk said. "Obviously, they are both offensively gifted. But they take a lot of pride defensively, as well."

Jarry puts in the work

Tristan Jarry lost the starting goalie job to Alex Nedeljkovic down the stretch last season and now must show the Penguins that he deserves to get it back.

Sullivan said consistency over the grind of a long season remains the biggest key for Jarry. But Sullivan likes what he has seen from the two-time All-Star.

"He came to camp in the best shape that he's ever come in, and that's a credit to him and how hard he's worked in the offseason. Now he's got to take that work and put it into action on the ice," Sullivan said. "We all believe in Tristan. He's a quality NHL goaltender. We think there's another level to his game."

Glass half full?

Cody Glass, a forward acquired this summer from Nashville, has been a bit of a disappointment since he was drafted sixth overall in 2017. The 25-year-old has tallied just 171 points as an NHL player and Pittsburgh is his third team.

But the Penguins believe there is untapped potential with Glass — on both sides of the puck — and Sullivan's staff is tasked with helping him tap into it.

"He has good size. He can really skate. He has some offensive instincts," the coach said. "I think he has some versatility to his game, in the sense that we could move him around the lineup depending on what type of a role he could potentially carve out. Is he capable of playing in the top six? I think time will tell."

Around the boards

Former All-Star forward Joe Pavelski watched the morning practice alongside Kyle Dubas and other hockey operations staffers. His son, Nate, was in town playing in the USHL Fall Classic. ... Erik Karlsson missed his third straight practice. ... Sidney Crosby's squad won the round-robin tournament in camp.

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