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Penguins prospect Conor Sheary has taken an unusual path to unrestricted free agency.

In the spring of 2014, Sheary was wrapping up his career at UMass-Amherst. He was undrafted, undersized at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds and not exactly playing at a college hockey powerhouse.

NHL teams were not knocking down his door. When the Penguins offered a one-year AHL contract to play in Wilkes-Barre, Sheary was thrilled.

“For someone to give me an opportunity to actually have a contract and not just an amateur tryout like some other teams had offered, it felt good,” Sheary said. “I had a place to play the following year, not just a place to try out. It helped ease my mind.”

With his mind eased, Sheary led the Baby Pens in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs. Now 23, he’s become a top-six forward prospect, something the Penguins don’t have many of.

And because he was playing on an AHL deal, he is unfettered by NHL free-agency rules. He can sign with whomever he pleases starting at noon Wednesday.

Chances are, though, he’ll sign with the Penguins.

“Them signing me to begin with, you save a soft spot, I guess, for them,” Sheary said.

No hard feelings

Christian Ehrhoff will hit the open market Wednesday — but not carrying any sort of grudge against the Penguins for his mysterious medical woes this past season.

Ehrhoff sustained his first concussion Jan. 28 at Washington, then returned in D.C. on Feb. 25. He played just that one game before symptoms returned and didn’t play again until March 14.

A hit along the boards in a March 24 game against St. Louis put Ehrhoff out for good.

“They were actually extremely cautious to ensure that even if he wanted to play — which he did during that timeframe — he not play unless he was 100 percent,” Ehrhoff’s agent, Rick Curran, said on Tuesday. “He wanted to play. That’s why he came (to Pittsburgh). They were extremely cautious, as you would hope.”

Defensive depth

The Penguins aren’t expected to make a big splash on the blue line when free agency opens, but they’ll have to add depth at some point.

They have nine defensemen in the fold who could reasonably be considered NHL players. Last year, they used 13 defensemen.

Regional free agents

Mt. Lebanon’s Matt Bartkowski, a steady contributor on Boston’s blue line for the past two seasons, couldn’t work out a deal to return to the Bruins, according to reports. The 27-year-old will hit free agency Wednesday.

Upper St. Clair defenseman Dylan Reese and Wexford goalie Michael Houser also are free agents. Reese, 30, had 10 goals for Arizona’s AHL affiliate in Portland last season and was called up to the Coyotes for one game. Houser, 22, went 19-9-4 for Florida’s AHL club in San Antonio.

Staff writer Jason Mackey contributed. Jonathan Bombulie is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at jbombulie@tribweb.com or on Twitter at @BombulieTrib.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review NHL/Penguins reporter. You can contact Jonathan via Twitter .