GDT: 2024-2025 Training Camp

[Gurglesons]

How did McGroarty look?

He could be in the NHL.

Would be surprised if he is.

 

[Al Smith]

How did McGroarty look?

I thought for his first game against NHL talent he held his own, but I didn't see anything that screamed he should be on the roster on opening night. He'll be better served getting regular shifts in the A for awhile.

 

[WickedWrister]

45 definitely is not ready, but yeah he's oozing top 4 potential.

If Brunicke ends up being a top 4 D that makes the Guentzel trade a little more palatable.

 

[Jacob]

 

[canadianguy77]

I thought for his first game against NHL talent he held his own, but I didn't see anything that screamed he should be on the roster on opening night. He'll be better served getting regular shifts in the A for awhile.

The question is will he sour on this org too?

 

[Ryder71]

Sully is a f***ing moron. So it makes sense.


Don’t have a lot of hope for this team, but the East in general is awful this year.

Won't be awful enough, and that's a good thing for our long term future.

 

[Gurglesons]

Won't be awful enough, and that's a good thing for our long term future.

Must be cool to root against the team you root for.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I thought for his first game against NHL talent he held his own, but I didn't see anything that screamed he should be on the roster on opening night. He'll be better served getting regular shifts in the A for awhile.

I think this sums it up perfectly. He looks good but not "he needs to be playing in the NHL right now" good. He can absolutely play in the NHL as a bottom-6er right now, but he's not forcing the team to play him there right now.

I had this thought when watching him in the prospect tournament (where he was also very good), but I think he's better off getting a half season in the AHL and then coming up straight to the top-6. He can play in the NHL right now on the Penguins 3rd line, but I'd rather him spend half a year in the AHL and then go directly to Crosby's line just like Guentzel did.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Well. Sullivan has his excuse now to send half these young players down.

What makes you think he ever needed an excuse or even a reason? He pencilled in his line-up the moment he got the veterans he needed Dubas to get him, the rest is just for show.

Must be cool to root against the team you root for.

Must be cool to call out blokes that aren't happy the team continues to keep a dipshit coach and parade him around like he's still the saviour of this franchise for some reason and the only way they contend again. I don't fault any Penguins fan for being mad and rooting against them for the purpose of hoping it provokes drastic changes where it's needed most - Coaching.

It doesn't make anyone less of a fan, they are still a fan, just not willing to be hopeful when the past few years shows there's not much this team is actually willing to do to make you want to cheer for them like they care from an ownership, upper management, and coaching standpoint. The players deserve better.

 

[Gurglesons]

Must be cool to call out blokes that aren't happy the team continues to keep a dipshit coach and parade him around like he's still the saviour of this franchise for some reason and the only way they contend again. I don't fault any Penguins fan for being mad and rooting against them for the purpose of hoping it provokes drastic changes where it's needed most - Coaching.

Pretty sure Ryder thinks Sully and Dubas are great.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Agreed. Puju isn't gonna get any traction with his play if he doesn't get to play regularly and preferably more than like 6 minutes a night.

If they're just looking at him as a 13th forward I think there's better options. But I could see putting him into the top 12 if he earns the opportunity.

Yeah it's still wild to me that the coach kept parading out Harkins and when we saw Puljujarvi play, he was also doing the hard work along the boards and could actually score. Meanwhile Harkins didn't PK or really drive offense at all and he ended up getting 40+ games because of some bizarre rationale by this coach. He did the same with Ruhwedel for years, while we saw prospects like POJ who needed minutes, just stagnate and barely develop because they should have been in the AHL either getting a ton of games or being played while up, not be treated like the next 7th-8th defenseman that Sullivan did with them.

So all the blokes that want Pulju to succeed, it's a shame because he deserves to get the games for how hard he's worked to get back to being able to play and then get used worse than literally a player that didn't do anything including score a goal has got to be shitty.

Pretty sure Ryder thinks Sully and Dubas are great.

Oh you were replying to him, yeah he's on ignore, I once forgot to log in and accidentally read the shit he had to say and was reminded why this board is better with him on ignore.

I was very surprised he wasn't taken off the ice after getting smooshed like that up high.

I am very curious about what happens with him after this, for any update for his injury. Because to have concussion spotters miss an obvious one like that is beyond pathetic.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Still defending the clown, eh?

When the bottom six is…

DOC - Eller - Glass
Lizotte - Hayes - Acciari

You gonna be saying “that’s the best we could do”?

I mean, I'm ready for an infusion of youth, too, but I'm not just going to hand it to a guy because he's 23 or something.

Seize the opportunity. Force some hands. Ponomarev stunk tonight, for example. Got rocked 3-4 times. Largely invisible. It's one game, and he'll have more chances, but there isn't a single guy who has shown he should be in the lineup over a more established player.

The one guy who has shown a pulse so far is Poolparty, and he's in the same age range as DOC and Glass.

 

[Ulf5]

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

Weird.

Front office role?

Best shape of his life.
Angling for a NMC.

 

[Ryder71]

Must be cool to root against the team you root for.

It's fantastic. If Sid and the core can't take the hint then go down with the ship they will! The worse this team is now, the better it'll be in 4-6 years. We haven't been relevant for years now! Going on 7 years of not winning a playoff series. Not sure how much more evidence you need, but you'll get plenty over the next few years.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

*Googles the box score of our 1st preseason game*

A loss where we got shitkicked by the f***ing Sabres.

How fittingly embarassing.

It’s gonna be a looooooonnnnnng year.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

*Googles the box score of our 1st preseason game*

A loss where we got shitkicked by the f***ing Sabres.

How fittingly embarassing.

It’s gonna be a looooooonnnnnng year.

To be fair the Sabres faced a team that didn't want to make any adjustments and dressed most of their D team while they dressed a lot of experienced players.

 

[Ryder71]

Pretty sure Ryder thinks Sully and Dubas are great.

You're dealing in fables again! So, let me spell it out for you. Sullivan is an inept coach at this point. He refuses to, refine, adapt or adjust his methodology because he thinks he's the shit! He's here because the Core wants him here! So, it's on all of them.

Dubas just has to make the best of the Dinosaurs and the inept coach leading this team to the bottom of the NHL standings. It's up to Kyle to select our cornerstone pieces through the draft as we slip in the standings.

Keeping the Dinosaurs and a piss poor coaching staff helps achieve that objective.

Don't like Sullivan, but I like Dubas.

*Googles the box score of our 1st preseason game*

A loss where we got shitkicked by the f***ing Sabres.

How fittingly embarassing.

It’s gonna be a looooooonnnnnng year.

Yes it will. The only days that'll be fun round here for a while will be the TDL, the draft and possibly free agency.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I think this sums it up perfectly. He looks good but not "he needs to be playing in the NHL right now" good. He can absolutely play in the NHL as a bottom-6er right now, but he's not forcing the team to play him there right now.

I had this thought when watching him in the prospect tournament (where he was also very good), but I think he's better off getting a half season in the AHL and then coming up straight to the top-6. He can play in the NHL right now on the Penguins 3rd line, but I'd rather him spend half a year in the AHL and then go directly to Crosby's line just like Guentzel did.

That's a bit disappointing to read given the hype about him and his acquisition costing us Yager. Figured a big selling point in that trade was he was NHL-ready while Yager was still a couple of years away.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

*Googles the box score of our 1st preseason game*

A loss where we got shitkicked by the f***ing Sabres.

How fittingly embarassing.

It’s gonna be a looooooonnnnnng year.

We barely had a line up.

DOC would have been our best forward playing

Graves would be our best defensemen playing unless you want to say another defensemen name.

Buffalo played Power, Byram, Tage Thompson, Tuch etc.

This game was like the Sharks last year playing an AHL team.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

It's funny that our goalies ended up with a (slightly) better save percentage than theirs did.

*Googles the box score of our 1st preseason game*

A loss where we got shitkicked by the f***ing Sabres.

How fittingly embarassing.

It’s gonna be a looooooonnnnnng year.

Now google the rosters for each team.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Yeah, Ponomarev really stood out as a disappointment. Had a couple of offensive chances and really crapped the bed on both. On the other hand, I thought Broz looked pretty good. Nice little play, which led to A. Hayes' pass to Puljujarvi.

By the way, A. Hayes impressed at last year's camp too. I don't really understand how a player like this can only get an AHL deal. He has some offensive ability and he has some jam. Goes to the net. I like him.

McGroarty is on this team. There is no excuse. Could he be served with some AHL time? Sure. Does he NEED it? No. Matthew Knies did not need it. Juraj Slafkovsky did not need it. Players who are physically mature and have NHL talent quite often do not need AHL time. Now, THIS team over-marinates prospects like a meatball sub but McGroarty is a high-profile acquisition that cost us a GREAT prospect. If they send No. 2 down, they should have to answer to people because that would be stupid.

Brunicke really does have huge potential. We are going to love him.

People need to realize that we are not bottoming out, and we are not going to have a new head coach for some time to come. As long as FSG owns this team, Sullivan will be here. Once he is done coaching, he will likely become President a la Brendan Shanahan or something.

Therefore, they have to find a way to bottle that late-season Penguins team from 2023-24 and hope for the best.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Avery Hayes was the only player who was not a minus yesterday.

 

[Andy99]

That's a bit disappointing to read given the hype about him and his acquisition costing us Yager. Figured a big selling point in that trade was he was NHL-ready while Yager was still a couple of years away.

The irony is that Yager may actually make the Jets team lol…after reviewing the film of last night’s game, I don’t get the positives from people who thought McG stood out in any way…to the contrary, I saw a guy with good offensive hockey IQ but his execution at the level needed for nhl game, both with and without the puck, isn’t there yet…I thought Broz honestly looked better and he has no shot of making the team

 

[AuroraBorealis]

The irony is that Yager may actually make the Jets team lol…after reviewing the film of last night’s game, I don’t get the positives from people who thought McG stood out in any way…to the contrary, I saw a guy with good offensive hockey IQ but his execution at the level needed for nhl game, both with and without the puck, isn’t there yet…I thought Broz honestly looked better and he has no shot of making the team

Problem is that in a game like that, the Pens barely have the puck. Hard to make an assessment on skilled Forwards when they're just chasing the opposition the whole time.

 

[Empoleon8771]

That's a bit disappointing to read given the hype about him and his acquisition costing us Yager. Figured a big selling point in that trade was he was NHL-ready while Yager was still a couple of years away.

But McGroarty is NHL ready, though. I just think he’s better off getting half a year in the AHL and then going directly to the Penguins top-6 than starting the year on the 3rd line.