SIDNEY CROSBY | PHOTO COURTESY PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The Penguins opened training camp on Wednesday with plenty of new faces sprinkled in alongside the usual suspects among the 69 players scheduled to be skating at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The difference this season, in Sidney Crosby’s estimation, is a few of those new faces may have been summoned to do more than merely take up spaces on the practice ice in Cranberry.

“This year it’s really unique because there’s a ton of competition for jobs,” Crosby maintains. “Typically, there might be a little less; there’s one or two spots” on the roster that aren’t already resolved. “This year is probably the most competitive, looking back at other years, that I’ve seen.

“Hopefully, that’s something that pushes us as a group. I think it’s a good thing, and to have that right from the start, I think, will set the tone.”

Head coach Mike Sullivan, entering his 11th season behind the Penguins’ bench, concurs with the captain.

“This, from a sheer numbers standpoint, might be one of the more competitive camps we’ve had here in Pittsburgh in my tenure,” Sullivan assesses. “There are more opportunities where there are positions on this team that can be earned.

“I think it’ll be a competitive camp.”

The Penguins can only hope.

The need to get younger, stronger, faster and more competitive/combative has been apparent as the Pens have failed to make the playoffs for the last two seasons. The only way that can be addressed is by getting younger, stronger, faster and more competitive/combative players.

The Ghosts of Stanley Cups Past are getting older, not younger. Evgeni Malkin is 38, Kris Letang is 37, Erik Karlsson (who hasn’t won Cups but has taken 15 trips around the NHL block) is 34. Their skills are diminishing and they aren’t about to learn new tricks.

Those guys aren’t going anywhere, but they’re also not about to take the Penguins anywhere.

Even Crosby, at 37, can only turn the clock back so far. He finished tied for 12th in the NHL in scoring last season but failed to make either the league’s first or second All-Star teams and didn’t win a trophy. It was a magical season for a 36-year-old, but it didn’t mean he could solve the Penguins’ fatal flaws on the power play or in overtime.

He might be the best teammate in the NHL. He might be the most unselfish player in professional sports. But Crosby’s days of putting the Pens on his back and carrying them are over.

The next generation may be emerging, which, for this season at least, is probably the best the Penguins can hope for.

Forwards Rutger McGroarty (20) and Tristan Broz (21) may be among those poised to pick up where the Ghosts of Stanley Cups Past are leaving off.

Both played in the NCAA last season. Both played in the NCAA Frozen Four last season. Both have decorated resumes and experience playing in big games with NHL-bound players.

McGroarty captained the U.S. Junior National Team to a gold medal in the World Junior Championship.

Broz won a college title with Denver and scored a couple of OT goals in the NCAA Tournament along the way.

And on defense, 2022 first-round draft pick Owen Pickering (20) impressed assistant general manager Jason Spezza as recently as development camp in July as a player who “wants to come in and bang the door down and make the Penguins.”

Hopefully, they’ll get their chance. And hopefully, there are more where they came from.

Re-tread additions to the roster with NHL experience bring name recognition but also more of the same. The Penguins need to not only identify the next wave but also take the next step by actually riding the wave for a change.

“We’re looking for guys to make an impact,” Sullivan says. “What we’re looking for is competitive spirit. We’re looking for execution. We’re looking for hockey IQ. Those are the things that I think add up to making a positive impact.

“Guys are gonna get an opportunity to show what they can do. If they can make an impact in a positive way with the group, then certainly they’ll be in the conversation to make the roster.”

The Penguins need to find a few that end up on the ice after making their way into the conversation.

In addition to becoming old, tired and ineffective, the Pens have become stale.

They need a breath of fresh air, an injection of energy and a new direction.

You don’t get younger, stronger, faster and more competitive/combative by running it back with the Ghosts of Stanley Cups Past.

Mike Prisuta is the sports anchor/reporter for Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show. He’s also the host of the Steelers Radio Network Pregame Show and the color analyst for Robert Morris University men’s hockey broadcasts.