from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,

The Penguins didn't come to West Point for a three-day perspective-gaining session with a couple of practices at Tate Rink mixed in. It's a byproduct of closing out their training camp at the academy, and it's part of what general manager Ray Shero and coach Dan Bylsma want the players to get out of their Army experience.

The Penguins are here to get three in good practices and bond as a team before turning their focus to the regular season, which for them begins Thursday at Consol Energy Center against the New Jersey Devils. However, Shero and Bylsma also brought the team to West Point so the players could experience the history on this campus, what it means and what it stands for.

They're being hosted by the Army hockey team, a group of 27 cadets who may soon find themselves in real battles, not the kind they get into on the ice during a hockey game.

"They leave here and they get deployed," Shero said. "With them, it's 'Where is your teammate?' 'Oh, he's in Afghanistan.' 'Oh, he's in Iraq.'

"It's not about our team, it's about us as individuals and getting the perspective on life," he continued. "To understand what is going on in the world and the sacrifices being talked about, I think it's important when you talk about our Armed Forces to get that realization of what it's about."

read on and watch a video of the Penguins first day at West Point below...