GDT: 2024-2025 Training Camp

[Randy Butternubs]

Quinn gon work his magic, ya'll.

Dude is eminently qualified to fix a powerplay. He's well known for it. "David Quinn" is the watchword among league insiders when it comes to powerplay gurus.

This is most certainly why he got the job. Of course. Only serious hires here on an FSG team.

Quinn-Gon Jinn? That's not magic, that's the force, yo.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

lol at the typo in the caption

 

[Pancakes]

I don't really see the problem with trying Beauvillier with Crosby in training camp. They absolutely should try him there and see if there's any chemistry. They should try a bunch of new players there. They already know how DOC and Rust play with Crosby.

Try different players there now in case something looks better. If it doesn't you can always go back to the normal lines once games get under way. But maybe you stumble on something good by trying new combinations.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

Still no net front on the PP and taking weak shots

Sweet, already in midseason form.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

I think there is a very, very good chance that Sullivan saw the Hayes acquisition as utterly brilliant because he considers him a great player that they got paid to take.

Sully sees Hayes as the next JC.
Nuff said....

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

Mike Sullivan is too smart to change his "system."

The players are just too dumb.

 

[SEALBound]

Rust, Sheary, Wilson, Kuhnackl played bottom 6 minutes when called up in ‘15-16.

I don’t see the problem with playing prospects in the bottom 6, especially when we have 3-4 alright options for linemates in Hayes, Lizotte, Eller and potentially OC if he is not in top 6.

Puustinen is a very similar player and profile to Sheary, and more proven than Sheary was when he got the chance.

I just don’t understand why Sullivan has gotten so far away from what worked for him initially.

I think the 2015-16 roster had a lot more positions open. Looking at our depth, we are littered with NHL players in a way we weren't in 2015. Dupuis retired and Porter broke his leg. Then we HS'ed and later traded Plotnikov. Those negatives created the catalyst needed to get those young kids up.

If Rakell retired, Hayes broke his leg, and we traded Acciari - we'd still have Puljujarvi, Poulin, and Puustinen available before we had to dip into Pono, McG, Broz, etc.

An early season priority for Dubas should be "creating room". You jettison Eller, Nieto, Acciari - you now have room for these younger guys if an injury happens. More over, unless one of them is killing it, I'd like to see 2-3 young kids up on rotation and getting games here and there. Basically the "Anti-Harkins Doctrine" and back a little closer to when it was two of Rust, Sheary, Wilson, Kuhnhackl being brought up at a time and rotated.

 

[Pancakes]

I think the 2015-16 roster had a lot more positions open. Looking at our depth, we are littered with NHL players in a way we weren't in 2015. Dupuis retired and Porter broke his leg. Then we HS'ed and later traded Plotnikov. Those negatives created the catalyst needed to get those young kids up.

If Rakell retired, Hayes broke his leg, and we traded Acciari - we'd still have Puljujarvi, Poulin, and Puustinen available before we had to dip into Pono, McG, Broz, etc.

An early season priority for Dubas should be "creating room". You jettison Eller, Nieto, Acciari - you now have room for these younger guys if an injury happens. More over, unless one of them is killing it, I'd like to see 2-3 young kids up on rotation and getting games here and there. Basically the "Anti-Harkins Doctrine" and back a little closer to when it was two of Rust, Sheary, Wilson, Kuhnhackl being brought up at a time and rotated.

How many of those young kids actually made it out of training camp in 2015? As I recall Sheary, Kunhackl, Rust, and Wilson were all mid season call ups. I don't think a single one of them made the roster out of camp.

Which is all to say that I agree with you that creating room for prospects is important but it doesn't necessarily have to be done before game 1. They could take the 15-16 Pens approach and start creating that room later on in the season after seeing what they have in WBS.

Of course if there's guys who like they're ready now, then they should be on the roster now and they shouldn't wait.

 

[SEALBound]

How many of those young kids actually made it out of training camp in 2015? As I recall Sheary, Kunhackl, Rust, and Wilson were all mid season call ups. I don't think a single one of them made the roster out of camp.

Which is all to say that I agree with you that creating room for prospects is important but it doesn't necessarily have to be done before game 1. They could take the 15-16 Pens approach and start creating that room later on in the season after seeing what they have in WBS.

Of course if there's guys who like they're ready now, then they should be on the roster now and they shouldn't wait.

They didn't. They were largely unknowns. Sheary only had an AHL deal for the end of 2015. Rust got like 14 games the season before and was largely forgettable. Kuhnhackl had done very little leading up to that and Wilson I think had a couple games in 2015? Might have been right at the end of the year but did nothing. Point being, I don't think we really "knew" what we had in those kids until Sullivan became the HC and the slots opened up. We were tight against the cap so getting that cheap talent helped.

I don't think it matters when you make the room. As I pointed out, we have like 2-3 guys that can step in before we get to the prospects.

Beau-Sid-Rust
Bunt-Geno-Raks
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Hayes-Lizotte-Acciari
Poulin-Puljujarvi-Glass

You have Poulin, PoolParty, and Glass available before you get to Pono, McGroarty, Broz, etc. But if you can trade out Eller and Acciari NOW, then perhaps come Dec/Jan, you might be digging into the depth in WBS. Or they may force a chance via merit.

2024 Cup Winning Team that is 2016-esque:

McGroarty-Sid-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Broz
DOC-Ponomarov-Puustinen
Puljujarvi-Eller-Rakell

Murashov in net

 

[McGroarty2]

Probably gonna lose one of Poulin, Puustinen, Puljujarvi to waiver claim.

 

[SEALBound]

Probably gonna lose one of Poulin, Puustinen, Puljujarvi to waiver claim.

Bye Poulin. We hardly knew thee.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I think the 2015-16 roster had a lot more positions open. Looking at our depth, we are littered with NHL players in a way we weren't in 2015. Dupuis retired and Porter broke his leg. Then we HS'ed and later traded Plotnikov. Those negatives created the catalyst needed to get those young kids up.

If Rakell retired, Hayes broke his leg, and we traded Acciari - we'd still have Puljujarvi, Poulin, and Puustinen available before we had to dip into Pono, McG, Broz, etc.

An early season priority for Dubas should be "creating room". You jettison Eller, Nieto, Acciari - you now have room for these younger guys if an injury happens. More over, unless one of them is killing it, I'd like to see 2-3 young kids up on rotation and getting games here and there. Basically the "Anti-Harkins Doctrine" and back a little closer to when it was two of Rust, Sheary, Wilson, Kuhnhackl being brought up at a time and rotated.

Take advantage of season ending injury to bottom 6 players
I do hope Dubas can be active.

Probably gonna lose one of Poulin, Puustinen, Puljujarvi to waiver claim.

Good bye to one of them.
Though lots go through waivers since they all send players down at the start of the year same time.

Still can't believe we kept Harkins up all year.

 

[Empoleon8771]

A couple of guesses with the depth on the roster:

1. I think the 13th and 14th forwards will end up being Puustinen and Poulin. Makes a lot of sense with Poulin's position flexibility as a sub for anywhere on the 4th line and Puustinen being a top-9 replacement in case of an injury. Based on how the lines are set up from that, I don't really see anyone who makes more sense as a 13th and 14th forward. The other guys challenging for that spot are on very logical WBS top-6 lines while Puustinen and Poulin aren't.
2. McGroarty-Ponomarev-Puljujarvi and Gruden-Broz-Bemstrom is probably WBS's top-6 to start the year. I especially think that Ponomarev line sticks together.
3. Aho's definitely the #7 defenseman based on him sliding to RD to play with Pettersson with Karlsson hurt.

My guess for the NHL roster has already been posted, but my AHL roster guess is:

McGroarty-Ponomarev-Puljujarvi
Gruden-Broz-Bemstrom
Koivunen-Huntington-Andovsky
Hayes-Koppanen-Imama/Johnstone

Shea-Ludvig
Kral-Hollowell
Pickering-Clurman
Belliveau

This definitely won't be the lines 100% because there are AHL guys that I haven't accounted for (guys like Houde), plus I'm pretty sure this is over the AHL veteran limit anyway, but I think this is a pretty good guess on what it will end up looking like.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Tomorrow, if not already posted:

Below is the Penguins' lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins' official flagship radio station, 105.9 'The X'.

GOALIES

30 – Joel Blomqvist

39 – Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

25 – Sebastian Aho

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

9 – Marc Johnstone

13 – Kevin Hayes

14 – Boko Imama

15 – Joona Koppanen

19 – Cody Glass

22 – Sam Poulin

44 – Jonathan Gruden

46 – Blake Lizotte

55 – Noel Acciari

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

74 – Tanner Howe

85 – Avery Hayes

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

lol Dubas didn't make that decision... his boss did.

Or maybe he did, I dunno. He seems like kind of a goof so it would track.

I mean, we've seen the same script play out for years now. I don't know why anyone thinks the collection of our bottom six is Dubas' design. Three different GMs, one coach. Same thing has been the case for years. It's not rocket science, folks.

I suppose the argument is Dubas should take some toys away. But why? Sullivan will just want more toys brought in anyways, so why do a bunch of maneuvering when you know your "boss" is just going to want more vets to fill spots because he doesn't want kids in those spots.

 

[SEALBound]

Tomorrow, if not already posted:

Below is the Penguins' lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins' official flagship radio station, 105.9 'The X'.

GOALIES

30 – Joel Blomqvist

39 – Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

25 – Sebastian Aho

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

9 – Marc Johnstone

13 – Kevin Hayes

14 – Boko Imama

15 – Joona Koppanen

19 – Cody Glass

22 – Sam Poulin

44 – Jonathan Gruden

46 – Blake Lizotte

55 – Noel Acciari

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

74 – Tanner Howe

85 – Avery Hayes

Time for Noel Acciari to prove he's capable of being the #1 center.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Tomorrow, if not already posted:

Below is the Penguins' lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins' official flagship radio station, 105.9 'The X'.

GOALIES

30 – Joel Blomqvist

39 – Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

25 – Sebastian Aho

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

9 – Marc Johnstone

13 – Kevin Hayes

14 – Boko Imama

15 – Joona Koppanen

19 – Cody Glass

22 – Sam Poulin

44 – Jonathan Gruden

46 – Blake Lizotte

55 – Noel Acciari

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

74 – Tanner Howe

85 – Avery Hayes

I'm guessing we may see Hayes at center.

Beauviller - K. Hayes - Glass
McGroarty - Poulin - A. Hayes
Gruden - Lizotte - Acciari
Johnstone - Koppanen - Imama

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Probably gonna lose one of Poulin, Puustinen, Puljujarvi to waiver claim.

Another wasted 1st round pick. Obviously not all on him since he had those physical/mental stuff to deal with, but man. We can't seem to a hit a homerun with our picks.

 

[Ryder71]

Bye Poulin. We hardly knew thee.

What an awful pick by JR's regime!

Another wasted 1st round pick. Obviously not all on him since he had those physical/mental stuff to deal with, but man. We can't seem to a hit a homerun with our picks.

That was a different brain trust though, so there's hope.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Time for Noel Acciari to prove he's capable of being the #1 center

They didn't. They were largely unknowns. Sheary only had an AHL deal for the end of 2015. Rust got like 14 games the season before and was largely forgettable. Kuhnhackl had done very little leading up to that and Wilson I think had a couple games in 2015? Might have been right at the end of the year but did nothing. Point being, I don't think we really "knew" what we had in those kids until Sullivan became the HC and the slots opened up. We were tight against the cap so getting that cheap talent helped.

I don't think it matters when you make the room. As I pointed out, we have like 2-3 guys that can step in before we get to the prospects.

Beau-Sid-Rust
Bunt-Geno-Raks
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Hayes-Lizotte-Acciari
Poulin-Puljujarvi-Glass

You have Poulin, PoolParty, and Glass available before you get to Pono, McGroarty, Broz, etc. But if you can trade out Eller and Acciari NOW, then perhaps come Dec/Jan, you might be digging into the depth in WBS. Or they may force a chance via merit.

2024 Cup Winning Team that is 2016-esque:

McGroarty-Sid-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Broz
DOC-Ponomarov-Puustinen
Puljujarvi-Eller-Rakell

Murashov in net

I wish they'd just go with something like Lizotte-Eller-Acciari as the defensive 4th line and build a more offensive 3rd line with what's left (DOC-Hayes-Puus/Glass).

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Tomorrow, if not already posted:

Below is the Penguins' lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins' official flagship radio station, 105.9 'The X'.

GOALIES

30 – Joel Blomqvist

39 – Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

25 – Sebastian Aho

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

9 – Marc Johnstone

13 – Kevin Hayes

14 – Boko Imama

15 – Joona Koppanen

19 – Cody Glass

22 – Sam Poulin

44 – Jonathan Gruden

46 – Blake Lizotte

55 – Noel Acciari

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

74 – Tanner Howe

85 – Avery Hayes

I see we are to be treated to back to back powerhouse lineups.

 

[Jacob]

I agree with everyone about Acciari. At center he handles the puck too much and is never the first guy in on the forecheck.

He can still take some faceoffs because he’s good at them, but maybe just on the PK or as an extra center on the ice in case someone else gets thrown out.

That is if he’s even on the team.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Quinn gon work his magic, ya'll.

Dude is eminently qualified to fix a powerplay. He's well known for it. "David Quinn" is the watchword among league insiders when it comes to powerplay gurus.

This is most certainly why he got the job. Of course. Only serious hires here on an FSG team.

Sorry I had to go throw up.

I agree with everyone about Acciari. At center he handles the puck too much and is never the first guy in on the forecheck.

He can still take some faceoffs because he’s good at them, but maybe just on the PK or as an extra center on the ice in case someone else gets thrown out.

That is if he’s even on the team.

I disagree, I think the best utilization for Noel Acciari is making sure all of the Biosteel and Gatorade bottles are full on the bench and making sure Crosby's PB&J sammies are made between periods with the diagonal cut and no crusts.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Tomorrow, if not already posted:

Below is the Penguins' lineup for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET and the game will be available to watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune in on the Penguins' official flagship radio station, 105.9 'The X'.

GOALIES

30 – Joel Blomqvist

39 – Alex Nedeljkovic

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

25 – Sebastian Aho

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

82 – Filip Kral

FORWARDS

2 – Rutger McGroarty

9 – Marc Johnstone

13 – Kevin Hayes

14 – Boko Imama

15 – Joona Koppanen

19 – Cody Glass

22 – Sam Poulin

44 – Jonathan Gruden

46 – Blake Lizotte

55 – Noel Acciari

72 – Anthony Beauvillier

74 – Tanner Howe

85 – Avery Hayes

I can't remember if there's another buyout window, I'm guessing probably not and I was just dreaming there was another one, because this Graves experiment needs to end.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

They didn't. They were largely unknowns. Sheary only had an AHL deal for the end of 2015. Rust got like 14 games the season before and was largely forgettable. Kuhnhackl had done very little leading up to that and Wilson I think had a couple games in 2015? Might have been right at the end of the year but did nothing. Point being, I don't think we really "knew" what we had in those kids until Sullivan became the HC and the slots opened up. We were tight against the cap so getting that cheap talent helped.

I don't think it matters when you make the room. As I pointed out, we have like 2-3 guys that can step in before we get to the prospects.

Beau-Sid-Rust
Bunt-Geno-Raks
DOC-Eller-Puustinen
Hayes-Lizotte-Acciari
Poulin-Puljujarvi-Glass

You have Poulin, PoolParty, and Glass available before you get to Pono, McGroarty, Broz, etc. But if you can trade out Eller and Acciari NOW, then perhaps come Dec/Jan, you might be digging into the depth in WBS. Or they may force a chance via merit.

2024 Cup Winning Team that is 2016-esque:

McGroarty-Sid-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Broz
DOC-Ponomarov-Puustinen
Puljujarvi-Eller-Rakell

Murashov in net

Just that line-up bolded part...

I'm not sure what their plan is with Hayes actually, for a bit in camp they had him with Malkin trying to build chemistry and then it was Geno back with Rakell as the pairs, Bunting was on a separate unit altogether and really hasn't been around them as much as I would have hoped, I'm sure I'm just forgetting what the reason was at the moment. But I don't know if I see Eller as the 3c this season. I would wager Hayes would be in that slot over Eller.

Something closer to this:

Beauvillier/O'Connor, Crosby, Rust
Bunting, Malkin, Rakell
Beauvillier/O'Connor, Hayes, Puustinen - Could be one of the only good things we can be excited about, if Sully-Quinn don't f*** it up.
Lizotte/Acciari/Poulin, Eller, Puljujarvi/Glass/Acciari

One thing I would like Vellucci to do is utilize Hayes on the PK again, he was on the PK for parts of 4 seasons (3 of them where he was a very big part of it with his usage on it) on the Rangers after his first year there and then he was sort of just taken off of it in Philly and Blues.

I like the idea of Hayes with DOC & Puustinen personally, maybe more so just Puustinen as I think Doc and Beau are going to do the line shuffle all season, because Hayes isn't really a goal scorer, he's been more of a playmaker and Puustinen always seems to take on that role in his time up, so it'd be nice to see both start shooting more as they both can score, but are pass first - especially Puustinen who is a shooter that needs to go back to that. Also because one of Hayes' best seasons where with 2 quick wingers - Grabner & Fast (and at times, Nash). I think any trio of Beau/DOC/Puus would be a pretty good 3rd line. Even Sully-proof with deployment. 2017-18 is a good example of what his usage should be imo - Be a 3rd line C that can play around 2mins per game on the PK and have a solid unit of quick wingers with him to keep pushing him to produce and yes it is the year he scored 25, but realistically I think he could hit 15-20 with Puustinen and Doc/Beau.

Outside of the other reasons - the deployment Vigneault had for Hayes that year is likely to be what a dipshit like Sully & Quinn will have for Hayes, which he can thrive in either way, his zone starts, etc, he'll be ready to make it work vs it being a shock for other players not expecting to be used that way. His two best years, he was used in more of a 3c role with more dzone deployment where he was more engaged in his play, also to me his best 2 seasons, his year in Philly was Torts converting him back to wing and using him like a scoring winger and not to his strengths as a player overall, his numbers look great that season, got him an Allstar Nod, but his play wasn't better than those 2 seasons I outlined.

That might be the only line I might be sort of excited about, which I mean, even that's a dig deep inside to find a positive moment for me with this team right now.