Penguins hopeful new practice facility will open door for future NHL Draft Combine

The Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled their new practice facility Friday, but the team is hoping it will serve for much more than just another pad of ice.

The new, versatile UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex will not only provide the space for the Penguins to practice, but it will also house a sports medicine clinic, a physical therapy center, and will be open to the public for skating.

"I think it gives us the opportunity to potentially host the NHL Draft Combine, because we'd be the only facility where you wouldn't have to bring in the medical testing; we already have it here," Penguins vice president of communications Tom McMillan told NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "We've already talked to the NHL about that. We're certainly going to be in the bidding for the World Cup of Hockey training camps. We think those kind of events that we wouldn't have been able to access before, this gives us an opportunity to do those things.

"Those are snippets. But it's just nice to know you have that kind of facility."

The complex is stocked with two NHL-sized rinks, one specifically for the Penguins, a sports medicine clinic with 24 private patient rooms, a physical therapy gym, MRI and X-ray imaging, a training space, and 14 locker rooms.

The Penguins currently hold their practices at the Consol Energy Center. The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex will officially open its door to the public Monday.