By MATT VENSEL

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(TNS) —When the Penguins embarked on their rebuild one year ago, team president Kyle Dubas cited Mike Sullivan’s ability to connect with and develop young players as one reason why the organization believed Sullivan was still a keeper behind the bench.

Right or wrong, the remark was met with eye rolls from some fans and local media who point to Pittsburgh’s preference to roster established vets in recent seasons.

The acquisition of Philip Tomasino has been a test case for Sullivan, who over the years has disputed the notion he does not show patience nor trust with youngsters.

More time will be needed to know for sure whether the Stanley Cup-winning coach has handled Tomasino properly over the last four months. But both the player and the coach say they believe the 23-year-old winger is trending in the right direction.

“I think there’s always stuff to continue to work on,” Tomasino said. “But overall, I feel like I’ve kind of taken my game to another level these last few weeks, for sure.”

Sullivan agreed — on both counts — after Tomasino scored again on Saturday.

“He’s a young player, he’s trying to find his way here and we’re trying to challenge him in different aspects of his overall game to try to help him to become more of a complete player,” the coach remarked.

“But there’s no doubt he’s a talented guy.”

Dubas thinks so. That is why Pittsburgh’s president of hockey operations traded a fourthround pick to the Nashville Predators to acquire the former first-rounder.

The winger has now played 40 games in black and gold.

Only four of his Penguins teammates have potted more goals than Tomasino since that November swap. And with 10 goals and 19 points, he ranks ninth on the team in points over that span.

Tomasino tallied two points in Saturday’s 7-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

One was an assist off the rush — the area of his game where he’s most productive. He faked a shot then flipped a pass over a defender’s stick to set up Danton Heinen.

“He has the ability to finish.

He’s got a deceptive shot. And he’s a dangerous player off the rush,” Sullivan noted. “An example on that was the 2-on-1 goal we scored.”

But the goal he scored? Sullivan and his coaching staff want to see more of that.

Tomasino charged in as the first forechecker as the Devils attempted to break out. He kept his feet moving after Brenden Dillon passed the puck to his partner behind the New Jersey net, then he won a battle when Johnathan Kovacevic misplayed the puck. Tomasino was stiff on the puck as the Devils defenseman whacked his stick.

From there, Tomasino’s skill took over. He spun and scored on Jacob Markstrom.

That gave him his first multi-point game since Dec. 29. And the goal ended up being the game-winner as the Penguins fought off a late push to win their fourth straight.

Afterwards, Tomasino said one emphasis for him has been winning more battles.

“[Our line has] been getting pucks back. And we have been creating offense [off of it],” he said. “I think that’s something that — over the last couple of weeks especially — has really improved in my game. And I think it’s led to me having the puck more and our line having the puck more. So, overall, it’s been pretty good.”

Sullivan reunited Tomasino and Evgeni Malkin last Sunday in Minnesota, the day the Penguins’ sudden surge began. This season, Tomasino has arguably been at his best while on Malkin’s right wing, with the team generating a higher rate of shots, scoring chances and goals compared to when he has played with another center.

However, they have a subpar percentage of expected goals in those minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. That speaks to Sullivan’s desire to see him round out his game.

Of course, he has harped on the need for Tomasino to display more attention to detail on the defensive side — typical things such as positioning and stopping on pucks.

That played into Sullivan making him a healthy scratch for a game in late January and at times has led to Tomasino getting his minutes trimmed a bit some nights.

But Sullivan is also encouraging Tomasino to develop a “grind game” offensively.

Sullivan said Saturday that many of the NHL’s top teams limit scoring chances off the rush, especially this time of year. The best players, including Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, are able to create offense off the cycle game or the forecheck, too.

Sullivan wants Tomasino to establish a “down-low game” below the hash marks.

“Hanging onto pucks, protecting pucks, getting underneath defensemen at the net front, getting to the blue paint and being willing to go to those hard areas,” he said. “Usually, there’s a cost to pay when you go there. You’re going to take a face wash, a cross-check. But that’s how you establish a grind game and score different ways.”

Tomasino has tantalized and also remains a work in progress as his first season in Pittsburgh winds down. But while there are not really many alternatives on an NHL roster in transition, Sullivan has allowed Tomasino to play through his struggles.

There’s been mutual frustration at times. But they believe his arrow is pointing up.

“I feel like my game has kind of gone to the next stage, personally,” Tomasino said.