from Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Two years ago, he was pumped to sign with the Red Wings in his adopted home of Michigan, where he played junior hockey with the Plymouth Whalers.

He would get to play with one of his good friends, Dylan Larkin, and some of the other Detroit players with whom he trained in previous offseasons. And fresh off a season in Carolina in which he was a Calder Trophy finalist, he was getting a chance to be a No. 1 netminder for the first time in the NHL.

But after a promising start, things went off the rails. He got lit up several times that first season. Then Detroit demoted Nedeljkovic to the minor leagues in 2022-23. He spent three months in Grand Rapids, waiting for a call back to the NHL. It came in March. He played better. But it was too little, too late.

Looking back on his time with Detroit and where things went wrong, Nedeljkovic admitted this week that he put too much pressure on himself to perform.

“And when things weren’t going well, it just kind of snowballed,” he said. “Mentally, I wasn’t able to get out of my own way. So I really just tried to take a step back this summer, enjoy every day and look at every day as a new day and a new challenge to be better on the ice, in the gym and mentally, as well.”

Nedeljkovic has gotten a fresh start with the Penguins, who signed him to a one-year deal. So far Nedeljkovic has clicked with goalie coach Andy Chiodo, who preaches the mental side of the position perhaps even more than technique.

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