Post-Game Talk: Pens Ducks Halloween horror show

[canadianguy77]

Even if he’s productive at the AHL level, it’s a slower game there, and you generally can’t go through the training you need to improve speed until the offseason.

He’s 20. At that age, you’re about as fast as you’re going to get as far as top-speed goes. The emphasis on his skating in regards to training should’ve happened many years ago. There isn’t much that can be done about that now. I don’t think his skating was that big of a deal. He’s at least NHL average in that regard.

He reads plays well enough so the intelligence is there. His biggest focus should be on getting stronger without losing anything with his skating. He was getting outmuscled along the walls enough where you could tell he didn't yet have the strength for this league.

 

[Gurglesons]

It wouldn’t be if he isn’t NHL ready, which he didn’t appear to be.

This is the mindset that has resulted in us producing one NHL player from our drafts recently.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

This is the mindset that has resulted in us producing one NHL player from our drafts recently.

Not having enough quality picks to develop the pipeline is what has led to us not producing any recent prospects. You can’t develop a pipeline if you aren’t building one.

He’s 20. At that age, you’re about as fast as you’re going to get as far as top-speed goes. The emphasis on his skating in regards to training should’ve happened many years ago. There isn’t much that can be done about that now. I don’t think his skating was that big of a deal. He’s at least NHL average in that regard.

He reads plays well enough so the intelligence is there. His biggest focus should be on getting stronger without losing anything with his skating. He was getting outmuscled along the walls enough where you could tell he didn't yet have the strength for this league.

He can actually improve his skating. Plenty of players have at his age.

 

[Gurglesons]

Not having enough quality picks to develop the pipeline is what has led to us not producing any recent prospects. You can’t develop a pipeline if you aren’t building one.

You play players in the NHL when you have a core group as good as ours in terms of providing experience.

Keeping McG in the AHL for two years makes absolutely no sense. He’s a top prospect in the league. You leverage the fact he can be with a HHOF center like Malkin or Sid for a few weeks. That will be exponentially more beneficial to his development then traveling on Greyhounds in the A with Emil Bemstrom.

He’s also going to be 21 in March. That basically gives him two years to prove he’s the level of prospect we think he is before bust talk starts entering the talk.

I’d honestly argue dropping McG to the A was more detrimental to his development then keeping him up in 10-12 minutes at the NHL would have been. This isn’t a Yager situation. This is a situation where he left a great situation in the NCAA to prove he was NHL ready. He did it in the pre-season and then our moronic coach cut him in three games where he looked “okay”.

 

[Zbynek]

You play players in the NHL when you have a core group as good as ours in terms of providing experience.

Keeping McG in the AHL for two years makes absolutely no sense. He’s a top prospect in the league. You leverage the fact he can be with a HHOF center like Malkin or Sid for a few weeks. That will be exponentially more beneficial to his development then traveling on Greyhounds in the A with Emil Bemstrom.

He’s also going to be 21 in March. That basically gives him two years to prove he’s the level of prospect we think he is before bust talk starts entering the talk.

I’d honestly argue dropping McG to the A was more detrimental to his development then keeping him up in 10-12 minutes at the NHL would have been. This isn’t a Yager situation. This is a situation where he left a great situation in the NCAA to prove he was NHL ready. He did it in the pre-season and then our moronic coach cut him in three games where he looked “okay”.

It's actually hilarious Dubas made the 1:1 Yager/McG trade for the sole purpose of gaining a few years closer to NHL status, only for Sully to play Rutger 3 games then send him to the AHL.

I have no further analysis to provide here, I just think that's funny.

Let's check back on this post in 4 years when Yager is a 70pt+ center. Then it gets even funnier!

 

[HandshakeLine]

Beginning to think this Sullivan character doesn't know how to develop players.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

He can actually improve his skating. Plenty of players have at his age.

According to @Michael Farkas , McGroarty's skating is wonky because he probably lacks core strength. He could certainly work to improve his core strength, which should help his skating.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

According to @Michael Farkas , McGroarty's skating is wonky because he probably lacks core strength. He could certainly work to improve his core strength, which should help his skating.

Makes sense, because building core helps everything. These are the kinds of things that are most effectively done in the offseason, given how difficult it is to build strength/do weight training during the season.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

You play players in the NHL when you have a core group as good as ours in terms of providing experience.

Keeping McG in the AHL for two years makes absolutely no sense. He’s a top prospect in the league. You leverage the fact he can be with a HHOF center like Malkin or Sid for a few weeks. That will be exponentially more beneficial to his development then traveling on Greyhounds in the A with Emil Bemstrom.

He’s also going to be 21 in March. That basically gives him two years to prove he’s the level of prospect we think he is before bust talk starts entering the talk.

I’d honestly argue dropping McG to the A was more detrimental to his development then keeping him up in 10-12 minutes at the NHL would have been. This isn’t a Yager situation. This is a situation where he left a great situation in the NCAA to prove he was NHL ready. He did it in the pre-season and then our moronic coach cut him in three games where he looked “okay”.

We haven’t had any prospects available from the minors in years. How many players have not been given a chance here, then gone on to succeed elsewhere?

You play young players and promote them when they are capable of growing into a full time role in the NHL. The Pens haven’t had that because they were trading away futures to try to win at the tail end of our stars’ careers. Now we have to build the pipeline up again, and as players become more prepared to make the step to the NHL, they will play. This isn’t a mindset issue, it’s a skillset issue.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

Beginning to think this Sullivan character doesn't know how to develop players.

This is an interesting one. Sullivan obviously spent time in the AHL, coaching Rust, Sheary, Kuhnhackl, and I think Dumoulin. Then Sullivan got the NHL gig and those players flourished under him. He’s also been involved in the US development program. So he’s capable of developing players, particularly in the unique situation when he also coached them in the A.

But he hasn’t had a viable pipeline of young players to work with for a long time. So there really isn’t a ton of evidence to say whether or not he’s willing to develop and trust younger players that he hasn’t touched until they hit the NHL And he’s now had Puustinen and St Ivany and a couple others that he’s playing on either a regular or semi-regular basis. These guys aren’t world beaters, and he is playing them.

For this reason and skating issues, I’m not going to so hastily judge McG being sent down to the A. It’s not a big deal to let the guy have a year there before playing in the NHL. Guentzel also spent a little time in the AHL before being called up, and it doesn’t seem like that was such a huge drag on his development.