It’s not supposed to be this easy for a rookie in the National Hockey League.

Imagine this scenario. You get called up, and bang, score on your first shot on your first shift in your first NHL game. Twelve minutes later, you score again.

Then, play so well you get put on Sidney Crosby’s top line on the best offensive team in the league.

Now, dominate your first post-season by leading the league in goals.

For good measure, score the game winning goals in both games one and two of the Stanley Cup Final in front of your home crowd.

Seems like a dream, right?

Well, that’s the year Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is having and boy is he making it look easy.

The son of University of Minnesota Assistant Coach Mike Guentzel, Jake is the youngest of three boys. Ryan and Gabe are six and seven years older than Jake and served as the perfect big brothers throughout their childhood.

“There was a lot of competition in our house,” said Mike. “All three boys were great hockey players and that competition made them better.”

“Whether it was catching the biggest fish, hitting the longest drive or scoring the most goals, they loved to see who was best,” he finished.

Jake, now 5’11” and 170-lbs, has always taken flak for his size, but his father says playing with his older brothers helped to compensate.

“They welcomed him to the rink to play with their friends and it helped him overcome some of the size issues.”

Although all three boys eventually played collegiate hockey, Mike says he saw something extra special in Jake that wasn’t evident in the older sons.

“All three of my sons had hockey sense, but with Jake you could see a lot of the special qualities earlier than the other boys.”

By the time Jake hit his later teenage years, the training against the older guys started to pay off. His body caught up to his talent and colleges took notice.

Jake and the family eschewed offers from the likes of Denver, Minnesota and other big-time programs and chose the lesser-known University of Nebraska-Omaha.

“I worked with Coach Blais in the past and I knew his program was the best option for Jake,” Mike continued.

“They let Jake play, got him in really good shape and wanted him to be one of their top-flight players.”

Jake was a standout at UNO, scoring 40 goals in three seasons en route to a Frozen Four bid his sophomore year.

Mike Coached alongside Blais at UNO, and in fact, Jake was born in Omaha, so it was a bit of a homecoming although he mostly grew up in Minnesota.

[It was because of the] coaching there, Dean Blais, to get to play for him. He's put a lot of guys in the NHL. I loved it there, Guentzel told ESPN. "The fans there are great. It was the time of my life. A special time."

After being drafted by Penguins in the 2013 NHL Draft, Jake left college after his junior year and was sent to the AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, where he adapted quickly. At one point, Guentzel led the league in scoring with 21 goals this year and was considered the best rookie in the junior circuit.

But it was his initial call-up – when he scored on his NHL shot – that put him on the map and began giving him the confidence to play at the highest level.

“It's something you dream of,” Guentzel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette following that game.

“You have a little nerves at the start, try to get them out early. Obviously with the goal, I think it helped a little bit.”

Guentzel was called-up when veteran Chris Kunitz was place on injured reserve in November and the Penguins were running thin on wingers. He delivered two goals in his debut against the Rangers and added another against the Devils before being sent back down to Wilkes-Barre after five games.

“My hope was just that Jake would get his feet wet and get a taste for what it’s like to be a pro player,” Mike Guentzel said.

“I didn’t expect things to go so well.”

After spending December and some of January thriving back in Wilkes Barre, Guentzel got his second call-up on 16th January, and caught on with the club for good. That’s when he started playing with Sidney Crosby and put up real numbers.

“He’s had the right mentality coming in,” Crosby told local Pittsburgh media. “He wants to contribute. He’s not just happy to be here. He’s shown that he’s willing to go to those tough areas. He’s willing to do what it takes.”

For so long Crosby’s nickname has been “Sid The Kid”, but this year, it’s been all about “Sid and the Kids”. The “kids” in that phrase refers to the likes of Guentzel, Connor Sheary and any number of other young players that have had to fill in during an injury-plagued season.

Each of those players enjoyed a huge lift in production playing with Crosby.

For Guentzel, it’s not just about playing with Crosby on the ice – it’s the stuff away from the action where Sidney helped him most.

“Jake told me that the biggest moment of his career so far was when Sidney has done for him is to tell him to relax and play his game,” Mike Guentzel said.

“That helped him to find and keep his confidence throughout the year.”

During the back half of the season Guentzel played at almost a point-per-game clip, adding 13 goals and 16 assists in 35 games. He ended the season by scoring a goal in each of the final five games the Penguins played.

“We’re really excited about him as a player,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm and that becomes infectious.”

Ultimately, Guentzel’s 33 total points were good enough for 14th in rookie scoring, but he played half as many games as his rookie competition. When you look at his points-per-game average (0.83) it’s astonishing – he ranked third amongst all NHL freshmen.

Mike Guentzel was drafted by the Rangers, but never saw NHL action in his playing career and says he’s living a bit through Jake.

“Before I had kids I wanted all of this for myself,” Mike said.

“And since it didn’t happen for me, I just wanted it to happen for my kids.”

The 22-year-old showed so much during the regular season, but many wondered how long the act could last.

Well, the answer came early in the playoffs against Columbus. Guentzel scored five goals against the Blue Jackets, including a hat trick in game three to help buoy a red-hot Penguins offense.

Guentzel would add four goals in the second round against Washington – turning doubters into believers.

To put Guentzel’s post-season performance into perspective, the only other players to score eight goals in their first nine playoffs games before this year were Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

With a total of 12 goals and 19 points, Guentzel has long-since broken the Penguins rookie playoff scoring record. That’s heavy stuff considering Pittsburgh has housed the likes of the aforementioned Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby.

“He’s smart,” Crosby added. “There’s not a lot of space out there, but he sees the ice well.”

“He knows where to go, and he’s got a good shot. He’s got all the tools.”

Yet, no good story is without some conflict and the same is true for Guentzel. After scoring his ninth goal in Game 6 of the Washington series, it took nine games to score his next.

“Was it fatigue? Was it all a fluke?

Sullivan offers perspective, saying, “He's a first-year player coming out of college. So first and foremost, he's not used to playing the amount of games that we're playing.”

“That's an adjustment in and of itself. He's played a lot of really good hockey for us. He was playing heavy minutes,” Sullivan finished.

Guentzel was aware this was the longest goal-scoring drought of his career, but kept his head up during the dryspell.

“Sometimes you go through this as a player and you have to realize it happens,” Jake Guentzel said. “Everyone goes through it. Just got to stick with it.”

Then, in game one of the Stanley Cup finals, after the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead, Guentzel took the opportunity to end his scoreless streak at a crucial point.

With just over three minutes remaining in game one against the Predators, Guentzel came streaking down the right wing and adeptly used the defenceman Ryan Ellis as a screen to send a wrist shot through the seven hole of Pekka Rinne.

“I was just trying to get the defenceman out of the screen,” Guentzel said. “I hadn't taken a shot in a while, so just trying to get on net and see what happened from there.”

His dad said he could feel Jake about to break out of his slump from his seat.

“I knew he had ‘jam’ when carried the puck through the neutral zone,” Mike Guentzel exclaimed. “When the puck went in, I told my wife that was a freaking snipe.”

Sullivan was also impressed with the manner in which Guentzel scored: “He got a great goal for us tonight. I think that's an indication of the type of player that he is and his capability.”

Just when the dream scenario seemed like it must end, Guentzel struck again with the game-tying and game-winning goals in game two. Jake’s twelfth goal of the playoffs gave the Pens a 2-0 lead in the series and placed him in the record books for good.

He is now the only rookie in history with five game-winning goals in the playoffs and the all-time leader in goals amongst American-born rookies. Guentzel now sits just two goals behind Dino Ciccarelli (14) for the all-time rookie playoff goal mark.

All Guentzel could say after the game was: “Yeah, it's crazy. You can't even put into words what it feels like.”

A proud Coach Sullivan chimed in on the record performance, adding: “When the plays are there, his instincts will take over.”

“He's a real talented kid.”

Through the success and the bout of failure, Mike Guentzel is most impressed with how Jake has remained humble.

“I tell him that every year there are another 230 kids drafted who want your job,” Mike Guentzel began. “I’m proud of how well Jake has handled all of this attention. Your ego can change and he’s stayed grounded through all of this.”

Though it might stoke Guentzel’s ego, it must be noted that no rookie forward has ever won the Conn Smythe trophy – given to the most valuable player in the playoffs.

Guentzel is well on his way to earn that honour and put the perfect cap on an improbable rookie season.

Game three takes place in Nashville on Saturday.

RYAN O’LEARY