Prospect Info: Pittsburgh Penguins Prospects Thread: 2023-2024 Edition

[PenguinSuitedUp]

Nah the issue is Mark Stone isn’t in Seattle.

Stephenson’s played pretty well while Mark Stone sits on the bench collecting LTIR room for the Knights.

 

[The Old Master]

I wasn't invited.

must have been lost in the mail.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Stephenson’s played pretty well while Mark Stone sits on the bench collecting LTIR room for the Knights.

Not at all

57% GF with, 42% GF w/o

^Last 3 seasons

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Anyone going to dev camp tomorrow?

I'm thinking about going on Wednesday for the scrimmages. But that's at noon and I'm supposed to be working. But I guess I can "work" from the ice arena.

 

[Andy99]

I'm thinking about going on Wednesday for the scrimmages. But that's at noon and I'm supposed to be working. But I guess I can "work" from the ice arena.

If you go, would love a posted description of our top prospects’ performances…same for anyone attending the camp

 

[Ulf5]

If you go, would love a posted description of our top prospects’ performances…same for anyone attending the camp

Paging @netwolf. Does he lurk here?

 

[Randy Butternubs]

If you go, would love a posted description of our top prospects’ performances…same for anyone attending the camp

Will do.

One thing I've finally learned after all of these years: take everything with a major grain of salt with the performances in these camps. Don't get too hyped unless a player absolutely blows everyone else out of the water at all aspects of the camp.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Will do.

One thing I've finally learned after all of these years: take everything with a major grain of salt with the performances in these camps. Don't get too hyped unless a player absolutely blows everyone else out of the water at all aspects of the camp.

Anyone that dominated and you came out of there feeling like they were a diamond in the rough then turned out to be a dud?

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Anyone that dominated and you came out of there feeling like they were a diamond in the rough then turned out to be a dud?

Right off the top of my head: Tiffels

 

[Sike Mullivan]

The last 2 dev camps I went were I think 2010 and 2013/14. In 2010 Tangradi was unstoppable and Mattias Modig was a brick wall. And the other Matt Murray gave up every shot he faced while Sean Maguire looked like a Vezina candidate.

 

[Sike Mullivan]

Right off the top of my head: Tiffels

Thats back to back reigning DEL champion Freddy Tiffels to you. Show some respect.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

The last 2 dev camps I went were I think 2010 and 2013/14. In 2010 Tangradi was unstoppable and Mattias Modig was a brick wall. And the other Matt Murray gave up every shot he faced while Sean Maguire looked like a Vezina candidate.

Yep. It goes both ways for the "hypes" and "disappointments".

To add, I think people were excited for Ty Glover after one of his camps.

 

[Al Smith]

Right off the top of my head: Tiffels

Still playing in Germany apparently and lighting it up with Zach Boychuk for the league champs.

 

[Sike Mullivan]

Yep. It goes both ways for the "hypes" and "disappointments".

To add, I think people were excited for Ty Glover after one of his camps.

The Pens find Mark Letestu and all of a sudden they think every player from WMU was going to be an NHL'er.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

The Pens find Mark Letestu and all of a sudden they think every player from WMU was going to be an NHL'er.

I'd love to give Ean Somoza a shot.

 

[steelcityassault]

The last 2 dev camps I went were I think 2010 and 2013/14. In 2010 Tangradi was unstoppable and Mattias Modig was a brick wall. And the other Matt Murray gave up every shot he faced while Sean Maguire looked like a Vezina candidate.

One year, AHL-lifer Jon D'Aversa outperformed every single person including 1st rounders. Just double checked, never got to play an NHL game. No call-ups either.

Unrelated, I remember hearing story of Ryan Lannon where his only NHL call-up he ended up pissing Therrien off for being drunk after curfew, got healthy scratched and immediately sent down and never made his debut

 

[Jacob]

I used to go to these until I realized they were completely useless as far as evaluations.

The worst players will come out flying because they have to to be noticed and the decent prospects will be taking it easy because it's meaningless.

 

[SomeDude]

I used to go to these until I realized they were completely useless as far as evaluations.

The worst players will come out flying because they have to to be noticed and the decent prospects will be taking it easy because it's meaningless.

You can still gather information. For instance, I remember going to the 2003 rookie camp and realized the Pens just drafted a 2nd rounder in Johannes Salmonsson that couldn’t skate backwards.

 

[Jacob]

One year, AHL-lifer Jon D'Aversa outperformed every single person including 1st rounders. Just double checked, never got to play an NHL game. No call-ups either.

Unrelated, I remember hearing story of Ryan Lannon where his only NHL call-up he ended up pissing Therrien off for being drunk after curfew, got healthy scratched and immediately sent down and never made his debut

Do any Oldheads remember the camp Dwight LaBrosse dominated?

 

[Sike Mullivan]

One year, AHL-lifer Jon D'Aversa outperformed every single person including 1st rounders. Just double checked, never got to play an NHL game. No call-ups either.

Unrelated, I remember hearing story of Ryan Lannon where his only NHL call-up he ended up pissing Therrien off for being drunk after curfew, got healthy scratched and immediately sent down and never made his debut

That checks out for Lannon. He used to trade "favors" to an older woman and she would write his Harvard papers for him.

Do any Oldheads remember the camp Dwight LaBrosse dominated?

He was the year before I got my drivers license so I missed him. I just remember he was on the long list of swings and misses for Penguin goalie picks. He is from Pittsburgh, so I am just gonna assume he posts here.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Do any Oldheads remember the camp Dwight LaBrosse dominated?

https://archive.triblive.com/news/labrosse-gets-shot-with-hometown-penguins/

 

[Turin]

Just because you don't pick in the top five does not mean you cannot develop a top-five equivalent talent.

To say the players we have let go have not done anything elsewhere is proving my point that we do not develop young players well. Excluding goaltenders, a player is what he is when he is 26. We seem allergic to trying to develop players at the NHL level before that age. Which is crazy, because historically our championships have been won with youth, and of course the right veterans mixed in.

We had an opportunity this off-season to REALLY give some young forwards some hope that they were coming to camp with a legit shot at making the team. It was thought that Eller could be traded, and that Acciari might either be packaged in a deal or move to the wing, freeing up the center positions to see what our top prospects can do.

So what did we do? Knowing full well that our coach is named Mike Sullivan, and that he LOVES low-talent worker bees, we sign Lizotte (who will probably play WAY too much for his talent level), Beauvillier (an absolutely nothing player for years) and trade for a guy who is not even a Sullivan type (save for his birth certificate) in Hayes.

So now, yeah we might trade Eller as we had hoped. But that is because Hayes and Lizotte have to play instead of Ponomarev, Poulin and especially Yager.

Sorry, but this is not how you develop your prospects. If all you want is a bag full of prospects to use as assets, then fantastic. That is what we seem to be doing.

But good teams need ELCs to win. If not, you are hoping that veteran players will come cheaply to your team. Is Pittsburgh an attractive destination for veterans right now?

July 1 and since tells us no.

Or, get this, the Pens haven’t drafted anybody capable of being a good NHLer in 8 years. Stat probability shows that is entirely possible with where they have picked since 2017.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Significant development -- Sergei Murashov is coming to the development camp.

 

[Freeptop]

Wish I could go to the scrimmage this year, but it won't work out this time.

I found it interesting to watch the scrimmage to sort of see playing styles, but I agree it's not a great place to evaluate prospects.

On a side note - one thing with the camp having so many ATOs is that I hope they end up signing at least one or two. One of the few sources of young talent the Pens have had during the Crosby years has been from undrafted free agents - Lovejoy, Letestu, Sheary, Aston-Reese, O'Connor, etc. They might not be the best players, but they can end up filling slots in the roster while still on ELCs, when they work out. Last year, the Pens didn't sign any at all. Hopefully, that was just a matter of being in transition with a new GM. I'm hoping they can get back to adding to the prospect pool through that avenue again.

 

[Gurglesons]

Or, get this, the Pens haven’t drafted anybody capable of being a good NHLer in 8 years. Stat probability shows that is entirely possible with where they have picked since 2017.

When you only play your draft picks outside of Puustinen 9 NHL games since 2017, that's probably part of the issue.