WILKES-BARRE — It was the dead of winter when Daniel Sprong first arrived in Wilkes-Barre in 2012. With him came his mother, father and the weight that accompanies lofty expectations.

Today, he struggles to remember specifics.

What 14-year-old really takes in his surroundings, anyway? He had moved from Amsterdam to Montreal, only to eventually wind up playing a half-season of hockey in Pennsylvania.

Back then, almost no one in Wilkes-Barre knew who Sprong was, or could have predicted that in four years, he'd be a key part of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as they make their 2016 Calder Cup playoff run.

That is, almost no one, except Marcus Joseph.

The Mountain Top native and young defenseman on the Wilkes-Barre Knights U14 hockey team at the time was one of the few locals that got a first-hand look at Sprong.

On days when their team wasn't playing games, Joseph — whose CCHL team just won its league championship last week — would head to the Revolution Ice Centre in Pittston and defend the talented forward in practice.

"I'm not surprised Sprong's been successful," Joseph said of his former teammate, who went on to become the 46th overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2015 NHL draft. "Back then, he'd take over a hockey game and win it for us almost by himself. He was that good."

Joseph recalled that each day after practice, Sprong would stay late with his father, Hannie, who was a professional hockey player in the Netherlands during the early 1990s, and work on his game.

"He worked his (butt) off," Joseph said. "He was always trying to get better. When he came in, we all knew he was this superstar. I just remember him being so focused."

That team, which also featured NHL draft picks Ivan Provorov and Nikita Pavlychev, went on to win the 2012 USA Hockey U14 National Championship.

While many of the minor details have blurred, winning that title is a memory Sprong still holds dear.

"Winning that will always be pretty special," he said. "I don't remember all that much. I was only here for a short time, but I enjoyed my half-year here and I'm really happy to be back."

A first impression

After a strong performance this preseason allowed Sprong, who was 18 years old at the time, to break camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he quickly found himself buried at the end of the team's bench.

As the Penguins struggled out of the gate, it became clear that Sprong would be better off continuing his development with a team that could provide him with playing time.

However, that's where a long-standing agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey League likely cost the Penguins rookie a chance to continue improving his game.

Because of the arrangement, which prohibits players younger than 20 (by Dec. 21 of that season) from playing in the AHL, or ECHL, Sprong's only option was to head back to his Junior team, the Charlottetown Islanders, for a third season.

"I think it's a rule that should get changed," Sprong said. "I remember when I was 16 and Jonathan Drouin got sent back from Tampa Bay and he just destroyed the league. There wasn't much competition for him, and the same thing for Nikolaj Ehlers when he got sent down the year after from Winnipeg.

"It's just no fun for those guys and I kind of went through that this year. You've done your job in the league and you've been playing well, but if you want to keep developing, you need to play against older guys. But, it is a rule that you have to deal with and if you go back you've just got to keep working on your weaknesses."

Sprong helped the Islanders turn their season around and make it to the second-round of the QMJHL playoffs, before eventually falling in seven games. Along the way, he racked up 20 goals and 41 assists in 45 games.

Junior season complete, Sprong was then free to return to Wilkes-Barre, where his first four periods left a bit to be desired.

After spending the majority of his first game with the team on the fourth line, Penguins coach Clark Donatelli expanded the now 19-year-old's duties early in Game 2 of the Atlantic Division semifinals.

So when he stepped onto the ice two minutes and 38 seconds into the first period with the Penguins on a power play, Sprong was plenty motivated to make an impact.

After the Penguins gained the zone, they cycled the puck his way, just inside the blue line. As this happened, Providence's Noel Acciari skated over, taking away his passing lanes with each stride.

Then, Sprong's worst nightmare played out in front of his eyes.

His attempted cross-ice pass rattled off the legs of Acciari and before he knew it, the P-Bruins center had skated the length of the ice and buried a short-handed breakaway goal to put the Penguins behind, 1-0.

"It's a mistake that I usually don't make," Sprong said. "I misread the defense and misread the forward and just made a bad play."

What happened next, had a lot to do with why the Penguins went on to eventually win that game and sweep the best-of-five series.

Rather than sit the 6-foot, 180-pound forward, Donatelli showed Sprong something he hadn't seen in his 18 games with Pittsburgh earlier this season: trust.

When the two teams lined up for the ensuing puck drop, Sprong, and his special teams unit, were told to remain on the ice.

"The coaching staff really showed confidence in putting me back out there and I think that helped me to not think about it and just go out there and play my game," said Sprong, who went on to score his first two AHL goals in the game, the second of which being the game winner 5:13 into overtime.

"Hopefully, I did a good job scoring those two goals, but those were great plays by my teammates and line mates," Sprong said. "Honestly, I was more happy that they gave me a chance to prove that I should continue to play after that mistake."

Sprong went on to join the Penguins' top line in Game 3, eventually netting his third goal of the series in the 5-4 double-overtime win.

"It's a process," Donatelli said. "You look at the giveaway in Game 2 and that's a hockey play, it happens. He probably makes that play 49 out of 50 times. That one time he didn't do it.

"If he knows that I have confidence in him, it's easier for him to go out there and do his job. He's a good player and he's got a fine future ahead of him."

SUB

From his first trip to Wilkes-Barre in 2012 to his return in 2016, it's been a long road for Sprong.

This season alone, he's played in three different leagues and two separate postseasons.

However, each stop, he said, has helped with his development in its own way.

"In Pittsburgh, I learned how to be a professional both on and off the ice every day," Sprong said. "I think I learned the most when I wasn't playing and I was just watching from above.

"To be able to see how the game is played and the little things that would make huge differences, I tried to bring that to my game. It showed me where I still need to continue to develop."

Sprong took that knowledge with him to Charlottetown, where he also learned to play a leadership role with the Islanders.

Now, he's back in Wilkes-Barre, where he got his first real taste of success on a national level.

"I always believed in myself and wanted to see if I could make the NHL," he said. "I believed (when I was in Wilkes-Barre) that I could do it and I set my mind to it.

"I'm very fortunate that my parents gave me the opportunity to see if my dream could come true; and so far it's going the right way, but there's still a lot of steps and development left."