When Mike Sullivan has talked about heart-and-soul players like Patric Hornqvist, Jason Zucker, and most recently, Michael Bunting, the Penguins head coach likes to say those players drag the team into the fight.

It sounds like new Penguins forward Blake Lizotte possesses that same ability.

“I think for me, I just bring a little more youth and some energy to kind of give a heartbeat or some life to games,” said the 26-year-old, who signed a two-year deal at the start of free agency.

“I think that’s what I do well, is when we maybe don’t have our A-game, is I tend to bring players into the game – whether it be with tenacity, speed, forechecking, or whatever that might be.”

Lizotte began honing that style of play almost out of necessity, as the Minnesota native was more of a late bloomer.

“I was always kind of this underdog, undersized workhorse-type player that obviously wasn’t drafted,” said Lizotte, who’s now listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds. “So, teams didn’t really see me as a viable option at a younger age.”

But after two years of junior hockey with the USHL’s Fargo Force, where Lizotte collected 31 goals and 111 points in 110 games, “I realized internally, I had a chance to do something post-college,” he said. “I really dedicated my time in junior and especially at St. Cloud, I kind of poured everything into becoming a pro-ready and pro-level player, whether that meant staying at St. Cloud for one year or four years.”

The timing for Lizotte happened to be two years, picking up 22 goals, 47 assists and 69 points in 76 career NCAA games over that span. He got on the radar of the Los Angeles Kings, who were willing to give him a shot. From there, Lizotte took advantage of every opportunity he got with energy and intensity.

“I think if you look across the board in the NHL, very few players in the league can get away with just being a skill guy,” Lizotte said. “So, I think as a young player, you’re looking at the league going, okay, my odds of being that skilled player are a zillion to one. I have to bring something to the table that other people maybe aren’t willing to do, especially as an undersized guy.

“So, I think for me, it just kind of came naturally in my game to start with. As I realized that’s what was probably going to be my path to NHL, I really worked to kind of craft that way of play and that playing style.”

Lizotte comes to Pittsburgh having spent the first five-plus years of his career out West, picking up over 100 points in over 300 NHL contests. Blake and his wife Abby – who’s also from Minnesota – are looking forward to a slower pace of life that has more of a Midwest feel. “And believe it or not, we’re excited to have snow again in our day-to-day,” he said with a laugh.

Lizotte said everyone around the league knows how good of a team the Penguins can be, saying they’re better than the standings have shown the last couple of years. That potential was a big reason Lizotte signed here, and he’s ready to get started in this next chapter.

“I’ve only known one spot, and it was great, but I think it’s a great fresh start and clean slate with new people that I’m not familiar with, the way the organization works… it’ll be all new, which I think is exciting and fun and kind of re-energizes my love for the game,” he said. “So, I think it’ll be a good thing, and I’m excited to get going when we get to Pittsburgh.”