Penguins make surprising cuts in training camp.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced a major round of cuts to their training camp roster over the weekend, but they will have to wait until later today to know which of those players will have cleared the waiver process and which ones will have been claimed by opposing teams.

In all the Penguins would cut a whopping 17 players from their training camp roster on Sunday, sending several of them to the waiver wire with the intention of sending them down to their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton should they clear. While most of the players sent down came into training camp with an expectation that they would begin the season in the AHL, there were also a few NHL veterans on the list that may have caught some by surprise.

Among the names that were a surprise was that of 26 year old forward Radim Zohorna, who spent 17 games at the NHL level with the Penguins last season, scoring 2 goals and adding 4 assists for a total of 6 points on the season and a plus minus rating of +12. It seems that the Penguins are confident that Zohorna will be able to clear waivers, although we won't know for sure until the official announcement later this afternoon, given that they have him pencilled in for today's preseason game in Detroit against the Red Wings.

Another interesting name in the round of cuts from the Penguins was that of veteran centerman Drake Caggiula, who the Penguins signed to a two way deal in the opening days of free agency. Caggiula spent the last few seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, with his most recent campaign seeing him score 2 goals and add 3 assists for a total of 5 points over 18 games in the regular season.

Other NHL veterans like goaltender Dustin Tokarski, defenseman Xavier Ouellet and forward Alex Nylander were also among the cuts, and all of them will have to clear waivers before they can be assigned to the American Hockey League. The announcement regarding what players have cleared should come no later than 2:00 pm this afternoon.