GDT: 2024-2025 Training Camp

[Randy Butternubs]

Luckily he's (Puustinen) having a very good camp so far and I hope it's enough to make sure he's on the roster, at this point it seems like even Ponomarev is continuously impressing and Glass really seems invisible, he wasn't good along the boards in one of the scrimmages and he really doesn't wow you in any way about anything - his skating, shot, etc. St Ivany looks great each bit I've seen of his camp, his skating and even his shot has been very noticeable.

Are there streams of camp? Or are you in Pittsburgh/Cranberry?

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Im with you 100%. This is the lineup id roll out, but will they?

Let's hope not.

Are there streams of camp? Or are you in Pittsburgh/Cranberry?

Just following the right people to see certain things.


Pono to me looks like more of an NHLer than Cody Glass does, like how smart he is.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Malkin and Rakell are the pairs mostly, Rakell has looked good like his shoulder is 100% and he's back to his old self. Him and Geno were buzzing together so I think if anything there's a chance for Hayes to be the LW on that line or they go with Bunting.

They were trying Beauvillier, Crosby, Rust at times, let's hope that's not a thing.

Puljujarvi looks like he's going to be one of the first few cuts at this stage, he's doing himself zero favours and is already getting called out by Sullivan in practices.


Ps - Binnington is a racist piece of shit.

In the end, Sid will want Rakell in the replacing Guentzel role. That's what camp and pre-season are for, trying out different scenarios.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

In the end, Sid will want Rakell in the replacing Guentzel role. That's what camp and pre-season are for, trying out different scenarios.

I could see that being a thing Sullivan defaults to because Sullivan is a dipshit. But I think with how many reps Beauvillier was getting with Sid & Rust, he's a more likely option to be tried there because he can skate and keep up with them and looked to be showing a little bit of chemistry with them in some of the scrimmages.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

O'Connor looked great on the first line down the stretch last season, in games that actually mattered. I don't see how Beauvillier, who has been a ghost since scoring a big playoff goal against us, gets a spot on this roster...let alone next to Crosby on Line 1!

Two of Beauvillier, Glass and Acciari should be waived at the end of camp.

Very encouraging about Puustinen, HOG. And the fact Ponomarev and Koivunen have been noticable can only help this organization moving forward.

St. Ivany is a very important piece for this team. His steadiness is more than necessary when compared to the other blueliners.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I could see that being a thing Sullivan defaults to because Sullivan is a dipshit. But I think with how many reps Beauvillier was getting with Sid & Rust, he's a more likely option to be tried there because he can skate and keep up with them and looked to be showing a little bit of chemistry with them in some of the scrimmages.

It really comes down to what Sid feels and wants. I doubt Sully supersedes that.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I see they're trying to build chemistry with Hayes and Geno and I am fine with that as it would likely mean Glass is going to be C and honestly that's what I prefer to see him as if he's going to get a chance to succeed and he's healthy, go with the position he did do well in in his "breakout" year. I'd be fine taking those ideas into account and going with this:

Bunting, Crosby, Rust
Hayes, Malkin, Rakell
O'Connor, Glass, Puustinen
Beauvillier, Eller, Puljujarvi
Lizotte - 13th forward.

Acciari, Nieto, Bemstrom should all be waived, if any of them get claimed, great, if not, they can go be heroes in WBS.

Poulin I feel is likely going to get waived during the mass waives and see if they can sneak him through, McGroarty would benefit with top line minutes in WBS to start the season, get top PP and PK minutes, etc, being there and assessing his play in the first dozen games is good for him, also I am starting to like the way Kirk MacDonald thinks with his coaching and I think that would be better for his development than being brainwashed by Sullivan and his gimp, Quinn.

Especially with this sort of thing...

"ENTHUSIASM" A HALLMARK OF NEW COACH MACDONALD | WBS Penguins

When Jason Spezza was conducting his search for the next coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Kirk MacDonald's passion stood out.

www.wbspenguins.com

You don't want to rush a prospect like Rutger and f*** him up and I really think dipshits like Sullivan and Quinn can and will do that.

I'm hesitant to list my preferred depth chart before even seeing the new guys in pre-season. Will post mine shortly before the opener.
But I would say BMR was a great line for us last year, and I have no desire to see it disbanded at this time.
DOC worked with Sid too. He provides elements 37 y/o Sid needs, like fervent backchecking, forechecking and retrievals.

Lizotte I'd like to see get a good look. Solid defensive player with a modicum of offensive upside. Highly motivated, young. Probably would be a good PK'er.

Poulin I'm close to giving up on. Bemstrom is trash and always has been. Acciari was a joke last year. Puljujarvi defends very well.
McGroarty I have way too little info on. But I would say he's a pretty mature 20 and I don't think he will need to stay in Wilkes a long time.

There's a vast disparity between what the peak and floor of what Hayes can provide, so I'm really not sure about him. It's a prove-it year. Leaning towards wanting him at 3C.
I have low expectations of Glass, but at least he's coming in with fire in the belly.

 

[Andy99]

Pens are really playing Broz consistently at center…he really is a center but I’d love it if the could check him out on wing with Sid or G…he’s legit good and if he can get his wicked shot off against NHL players, he could play in the top six this year where we desperately need shooting talent…

lol…DK on his podcast this am says Dubas legit loves Sullivan and believes in him

 

[Andy99]

lol….Tristan “first shot” Jarry is back people…and yep, McG will be starting in the A…or maybe not…late-season Jarry is back lol…maybe Murashov needs more work than we thought too

From Taylor

Team 1 (black)

Anthony Beauvillier - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty - Sam Poulin - Drew O'Connor
Boko Imama/Tanner Howe - Joona Koppanen - Jesse Puljujarvi

Marcus Pettersson - Sebastian Aho
John Ludvig - Filip Kral
Dan Renouf - Harrison Brunicke

Alex Nedeljkovic
Charlie Schenkel

Team 3 (gold)

Michael Bunting - Lars Eller - Cody Glass
Kevin Hayes - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
Avery Hayes/Raivis Ansons - Tristan Broz - Jonathan Gruden

Ryan Graves - Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Shea - Scooter Brickey
Owen Pickering - Isaac Belliveau

Tristan Jarry
Sergei Murashov

• Ludvig opens the scoring with a shot from the slot to make it 1-0 Team 1.

• The lines definitely started out the way they're listed above but McGroarty has taken the last couple shifts on the Koppanen/Puljujarvi line, and Howe is getting time with Poulin and O'Connor.

• McGroarty -- out there with his original line again -- makes it a 2-0 game. Jarry stopped the initial shot from O'Connor, the puck popped right out to McGroarty and he buried it.


• End of the first half. Murashov is coming in for Jarry. Schenkel is coming in for Nedeljkovic, who posted a shutout.

• Team 1 takes a 3-0 lead. Puljujarvi beats Murashov.

• Now Rust makes it 4-0 for Team 1. Referee giving the goal signal nearly closthelined Crosby but Crosby evaded it.

• Howe crashes the net and puts Team 1 up 5-0 now.

 

[Gurglesons]

lol….Tristan “first shot” Jarry is back people…and yep, McG will be starting in the A…or maybe not…late-season Jarry is back lol…maybe Murashov needs more work than we thought too

From Taylor

Team 1 (black)

Anthony Beauvillier - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty - Sam Poulin - Drew O'Connor
Boko Imama/Tanner Howe - Joona Koppanen - Jesse Puljujarvi

Marcus Pettersson - Sebastian Aho
John Ludvig - Filip Kral
Dan Renouf - Harrison Brunicke

Alex Nedeljkovic
Charlie Schenkel

Team 3 (gold)

Michael Bunting - Lars Eller - Cody Glass
Kevin Hayes - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
Avery Hayes/Raivis Ansons - Tristan Broz - Jonathan Gruden

Ryan Graves - Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Shea - Scooter Brickey
Owen Pickering - Isaac Belliveau

Tristan Jarry
Sergei Murashov

• Ludvig opens the scoring with a shot from the slot to make it 1-0 Team 1.

• The lines definitely started out the way they're listed above but McGroarty has taken the last couple shifts on the Koppanen/Puljujarvi line, and Howe is getting time with Poulin and O'Connor.

• McGroarty -- out there with his original line again -- makes it a 2-0 game. Jarry stopped the initial shot from O'Connor, the puck popped right out to McGroarty and he buried it.


• End of the first half. Murashov is coming in for Jarry. Schenkel is coming in for Nedeljkovic, who posted a shutout.

• Team 1 takes a 3-0 lead. Puljujarvi beats Murashov.

• Now Rust makes it 4-0 for Team 1. Referee giving the goal signal nearly closthelined Crosby but Crosby evaded it.

• Howe crashes the net and puts Team 1 up 5-0 now.

Our defensive lines that Sullivan will run into dust getting lit up.

 

[Goodleaf]

We got a blowout folks. Sids team is up 5-0 on Ellers team. Pulju, Howe, and I think Rust (was typing) scored right in front of me. As im typing i think shea or bunting made it 5-1 to have a little dignity.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Would be nice if the Pens website uploaded highlights from these scrimmages like in prior years.

 

[Gurglesons]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837138015052833026

Weird.

 

[Andy99]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837138015052833026

Weird.

Front office role?

 

[Empoleon8771]

Never understood why people are in a rush to get rid of players who are doing well.
What, so we can play Acciari?
There isn't even an NHL sample size of Puusty sucking yet. But already waivers?

There are literally zero people on this website who are advocating to get rid of anyone good to play Acciari.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837138015052833026

Weird.

Faceoff coach?

 

[SomeDude]

Front office role?

He never played for the SOO Greyhounds, so no.

 

[Gurglesons]

Faceoff coach?

Did we finish 1st in the league last year?

 

[Empoleon8771]

On the Puustinen talk, I think it's pretty accurate to say his release is slow despite his shot being very good. I think that Puustinen goal vs Detroit that was posted on the last page shows that perfectly, he absolutely snipes the Red Wings goalie but he takes a noticeable amount of time to actually shoot the puck.

The difference in shooting time between Puustinen taking that shot and Kessel's lethal release in this video:



Is extremely noticeable. Now that's comparing Puustinen to the gold standard, I legitimately think Kessel had one of the quickest releases in the NHL, but it's still super noticeable.

 

[lokomotiv15]

We got a blowout folks. Sids team is up 5-0 on Ellers team. Pulju, Howe, and I think Rust (was typing) scored right in front of me. As im typing i think shea or bunting made it 5-1 to have a little dignity.

I know we all talk about everyone else and it's almost a given, but how does Sid look out there?

Pace-wise, jump, speed, etc... I know the shot is the shot, the vision and passing are what they are and the skating technique is the technique, but how do the things that erode look so far this year compared to usual?

You ever had bacon wrapped water chestnuts??

 

[lokomotiv15]

On the Puustinen talk, I think it's pretty accurate to say his release is slow despite his shot being very good. I think that Puustinen goal vs Detroit that was posted on the last page shows that perfectly, he absolutely snipes the Red Wings goalie but he takes a noticeable amount of time to actually shoot the puck.

The difference in shooting time between Puustinen taking that shot and Kessel's lethal release in this video:



Is extremely noticeable. Now that's comparing Puustinen to the gold standard, I legitimately think Kessel had one of the quickest releases in the NHL, but it's still super noticeable.

Always loved the video angle they got of him sniping another time on Lundqvist in this HBK line video at around 0:40 seconds in.



That release was always so good, made him a great distributor, too. Just froze guys and Phil could pass on top of it all.

I feel the whole world also sleeps on Sid's release while were on the subject. People mention it and recognize it, but I think its still so underrated. I'm confident in him maintaining a good level of goal scoring as he ages since he's put so much work into getting that release lightning quick compared to his first 5 seasons in the league.



Those goal line snappers he puts in once every year or so like the one at 7:00

 

[Empoleon8771]

To add one more comment to the Puustinen talk on the positive side, the more I re-watch clips of his 2023-2024 season, the less I understand why they aren't comfortable with him as a regular. I'm absolutely supportive of them giving Glass a shot on L3, because I think there could be something useful there if he sticks, but I'd be pretty quick to pull the plug on it to give Puustinen that L3 spot if it's not working.

Speaking of Glass, I haven't watched him much but I feel like reading his write-up makes me confused for why they're trying him as a winger instead of a center. I actually think O'Connor-Glass-Puustinen as a 3rd line is what I'd be shooting for, I really like that mix if Glass can bounce back to 2022-2023 levels. I know they have Eller now so they don't have a center spot for him, but when Eller gets moved I hope they plan on moving Glass back to center.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I know we all talk about everyone else and it's almost a given, but how does Sid look out there?

Pace-wise, jump, speed, etc... I know the shot is the shot, the vision and passing are what they are and the skating technique is the technique, but how do the things that erode look so far this year compared to usual?

You ever had bacon wrapped water chestnuts??

Too early to tell. The scrimmages and practices aren't broadcasted. Only people who've seen him properly are those attending.
I think his first pre-season game will be the 29th.

I'm looking at linemate quality and shot percentage regression from last year, when projecting why he'll have worse stats.
O'Connor is no Guentzel and Rust will be very hard pressed to be that good again. Letang was also tremendous at ES scoring and plays a lot with Sid...another performance that's hard to replicate.

If Sid does fall off physically at all this year, I don't expect it to be any more than like 10%.

 

[Goodleaf]

I know we all talk about everyone else and it's almost a given, but how does Sid look out there?

Pace-wise, jump, speed, etc... I know the shot is the shot, the vision and passing are what they are and the skating technique is the technique, but how do the things that erode look so far this year compared to usual?

You ever had bacon wrapped water chestnuts??

Sid-Rust-Beau dominated pretty much every shift. Sid looked like Sid, all I can say. Still did his patened move where he gets the puck on the right side and glides behind the net and makes a play on the backhand.

Rutger-DOC-Poulin looked good. They definitely pushed the play towards the net and crashed. Rutger whiffed a couple chances in front for some garbage goals, but always seemed to anticipate where the puck would end up for rebounds/scrums.

A little note for us older guys who played during the 90s, Koiv and Pono both wear skates where the heels are white...shades of Fedorov/Gretzky. Both guys are flying.

Watching team 2 (Geno/Tang)practice now. Geno is coasting and looks so disinterested lol.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Would be nice if the Pens website uploaded highlights from these scrimmages like in prior years.

They probably don't want to publicize just how bad this team will be