Ian Cole, by nature, is one of the most accommodating players in the Penguins’ dressing room. Five different reporters with five different questions at five different times? No problem. Team signing or charity event? Gladly. You could probably ask Cole to rappel down from the top of Consol Energy Center, and he’d oblige.
Which is why it’s been so strange to see Cole so irritated since reclaiming a spot in the Penguins’ lineup exactly a month ago.
Being one person on the ice — or whatever playing surface you pick — versus a completely different one off of it is an idea that has always intrigued me, and I brought that up to Cole recently. In the most polite way possible, too, asking why he’s turned into such a jerk. He laughed. “Well, when you put it that way ... "
“When I first came here, I was playing 20 minutes a night,” Cole explained, turning serious again. “It just depends what role you’re in, right? Right now (Justin Schultz) and I aren’t playing 20 minutes a night. You’re mixing it up. You’re getting under guys’ skin. You’re making sure you’re extremely tough to play against. Guys end up getting mad and getting frustrated. If that’s the case, you’re doing your job.”
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