Tom Kostopoulos was one of the first professional linemates Jake Guentzel had when Guentzel arrived in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the end of the 2015-16 season. Guentzel, like many of his former American Hockey League teammates, often credits Kostopoulos as a major influence early in his development.

But Guentzel may have done Kostopoulos a favor, too.

“I think he put two years on my career,” Kostopoulos joked at last week’s Penguins development camp in Cranberry. “I was ready to hang ‘em up and he and Carter Rowney got me thinking, ‘Maybe I can still play.’ He’s one-of-a-kind. He’s probably the best hockey player I’ve played with in the American Hockey League. You could tell very quickly that he was too good for that league. We joked every day that it was his last AHL game.”

Kostopoulos, 39, recently began his new full-time job of helping the Penguins find and develop the next wave of Jake Guentzels. After retiring at the end of this past AHL season, Kostopoulos joined the Penguins’ staff as a player development coach. He was on the ice last week in Cranberry, doing his best to teach the organization’s young talent and get up to speed with his new job as well.

“It’s really exciting,” Kostopoulos said. “It’s amazing to be out there with these young kids flying around. They’re so fast and skilled. It’s fun for me too. I’m learning at the same time. I think I have a different perspective just coming out of the game so fresh, so it’s a lot of fun for me to be here and work with them.”

To be fair, this role isn’t entirely new for Kostopoulos. He spent basically the last five years in Wilkes-Barre as a pseudo assistant coach who just happened to be in the lineup every night. Just about every NHL player who came through the Penguins’ AHL system — and there were plenty — credited Kostopoulos with playing a big role in their formative professional years.

“As a player, you can kind of show them as well as tell them what it takes to get to the next level,” Kostopoulos said. “So it’s a little more they can follow your lead. Here, right now, I’m just trying to watch and learn and see similarities to the guys that I’ve worked with in Wilkes-Barre. I’ll try and help them that way and talk with the other staff, see what kind of message we want to send and help these kids out any way we can.”

Even if he’s not going to be on the ice with the Penguins’ young talent on a daily basis anymore, Kostopoulos still has plenty of first-hand experience to draw on when imparting his wisdom. He spent 19 years as a professional hockey player and is one of just four players to have played at least 600 games in both the NHL and AHL.

“I think I can relate to almost anything a player’s going to go through in his career — whether he’s being scratched or bumped up a line or traded or wherever he is on the depth chart — I think at one time in my career or another, I’ve been there and I can relate with them,” Kostopoulos said. “I think part of the role is talking to kids that are out of the lineup, working their way back in, someone who’s lost their confidence. I’ve been through that and I’ve had coaches that have walked me through it. I’m hoping I can help these guys through it.”

Kostopoulos isn’t the only former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin joining the development staff this summer. Andy Chiodo also started last week as the organization’s goaltending development coach. Chiodo will work in Wilkes-Barre with goalies already in the Penguins’ system and assist the scouting department in searching out new talent.

Chiodo was in the Penguins’ organization from 2003-06 and played eight NHL games in 2004. He retired last year and spent some time bouncing around various jobs in hockey before settling with the Penguins.

“Where I truly want to be is right where I am, right now,” Chiodo said. “I’m excited to be here, and everyone’s been very supportive. Right away you can see how the staff operates, how the whole entire organization communicates. Everyone’s on the same page and pushing in one direction. There’s nothing like that.”