Blake Lizotte doesn’t stand out.

At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, how could he?

But against the context of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster, he sticks out.

Or should.

A blend of hustle, tenacity and contact, Lizotte is the type of player the Penguins don’t have a surplus of and that’s what led management to sign him July 1, agreeing to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.85 million.

The 26-year-old Lizotte appears to have a firm grasp of his assignment.

“I just bring a little bit more youth and some energy to kind of give … a heartbeat or some life to games,” Lizotte said during a conference call Thursday. “What I do well is maybe when we don’t have our A game is I tend to bring players into the game, whether it be with tenacity or speed or forechecking, whatever that might be. I have a tendency to kind of drag players that maybe don’t have it into the game. For me, bringing it to Pittsburgh, that will be key, specifically on the nights where maybe the team, as a group, doesn’t have (its) A game.”

The Penguins have had players with Lizotte’s attributes in recent years. Typically called “energy guys,” the likes of Brandon Tanev, Brock McGinn and Josh Archibald have all brought a level of rambunctiousness to the Penguins with varying degrees of success.

If Lizotte enjoys any success with the Penguins, it remains to be seen where that will unfold within the confines of the lineup. Predominantly a center throughout his first six NHL seasons — all with the Los Angeles Kings — he is joining a team that is stocked at center, including a few future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

With incumbents Lars Eller and Noel Accari and fellow newcomer Kevin Hayes all in place (to say nothing of prospects such as Sam Poulin and Vasily Ponomarev), the left-handed Lizotte understands he may have to mingle as a winger. That is nothing new for him.

“I actually, the first couple of years in the league, didn’t play a single game at center,” Lizotte said. “And over the last two seasons, (Los Angeles) signed a few (centers) so I slid over to the wing for maybe 20 games each season. So, I am comfortable there. Going from center to wing is definitely an easier step — a lateral step — than it is from wing to center, just with defensive responsibilities and playing down low more. Playing the wing is something I’m comfortable with. It actually excites me to potentially have a chance to be on the wing. You’re able to focus a little more on the offensive zone which I think is exciting.”

Lizotte can sprinkle in the occasional offense. In 62 games last season, he posted 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). During the previous two seasons, he reached double-digit figures in goals on each occasion, including a career-best 11 during the 2022-23 campaign.

But he knows the rough-and-tumble side of the game is what brought him to the NHL.

After going undrafted in 2017 after a productive final junior season with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League, Lizotte spent two seasons at the NCAA level with St. Cloud State in his native Minnesota before becoming a coveted collegiate free agent.

Following his sophomore season, he signed with the Kings late in the 2018-19 season.

“I was always this underdog, undersized-type workhorse player that obviously wasn’t drafted,” Lizotte said. “(NHL) teams didn’t really see me as a viable option at a younger age. I was a little bit more of a late bloomer. After my time at Fargo, I realized I had a chance to do something post-college. I really dedicated my time in junior and especially at St. Cloud (State), I kind of poured everything into becoming a pro-ready and a pro-level player, whether that meant staying at St. Cloud (State) for one year or four years. The timing for me just happened to be two. (Los Angeles) was willing to give me a shot. I was able to take advantage of every opportunity they gave me.”

Since then, he has played in 321 professional games. All but one of them have been at the NHL level.

He has done that by sticki

ing with a style of play that has allowed him to stand out.

“It’s always been part of my game, is to play with intensity and play rough and give everything you have to win a battle and eventually, hopefully, win the game,” Lizotte said. “It came naturally to play that way. If you look across the board in the NHL, very few players can get away with just being a skilled guy. … I can probably count on one hand the smaller guys in the league that can just get away with just skill. It would be (Detroit Red Wings) forward Patrick Kane or something like that. The percentage is very low.

“As a young player, you’re looking at the league going, ‘OK, my odds of being that skilled player are a zillion to one. I have to bring something to the table that other people maybe aren’t willing to do, especially as an undersized guy.”