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

[Big Friggin Dummy]

31 other teams said no thanks too.

True, which is why I think he probably just sucks shit at hockey. But we've got guys we already know suck shit at hockey, so might as well make sure Smith sucks too.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Our 3rd through 7th defenseman outside of Letang and Karlsson have accumulated a total of one goal.

You about to hit me with the you can’t win. Cup with six Letang’s quote?

Also Ludvig is literally bottom 10 amongst relevant D in both 5v5 GF% and 5v5 GA / per 60.

So you could potentially get a player that sucks as much defensively as Chad or Ludvig do with offensive talent.

You might be able to win with six Letangs, but Smith isn't Letang. Letang, for all his brainfarts, actually plays defense. He ties guys up, boxes out, finishes checks, clears the puck, etc. He's played major PK minutes on a unit that's been pretty effective all season. Yes, forwards like Acciari make a difference, but so does the back end on that unit.

The fact that Ludvig, Shea, Ruhwedel are underwhelming as bottom pairing defensemen is an argument that they suck. It has zero bearing on the concept that you need variety and balance to win.

You need skill and offense, but you also need guys who are willing to eat shit minutes and prioritize defense. Finding that balance is tricky, and it looks like the Pens went too far in the wrong direction, but it's absolutely how you win.

No team has won the Cup recently with a blue line of Letangs or a forward group of Guentzels.

 

[Gurglesons]

You might be able to win with six Letangs, but Smith isn't Letang. Letang, for all his brainfarts, actually plays defense. He ties guys up, boxes out, finishes checks, clears the puck, etc. He's played major PK minutes on a unit that's been pretty effective all season. Yes, forwards like Acciari make a difference, but so does the back end on that unit.

The fact that Ludvig, Shea, Ruhwedel are underwhelming as bottom pairing defensemen is an argument that they suck. It has zero bearing on the concept that you need variety and balance to win.

You need skill and offense, but you also need guys who are willing to eat shit minutes and prioritize defense. Finding that balance is tricky, and it looks like the Pens went too far in the wrong direction, but it's absolutely how you win.

No team has won the Cup recently with a blue line of Letangs or a forward group of Guentzels.

Justin Schultz's name is on here isn't it?

What's the difference between him and Ty Smith?

 

[DesertedPenguin]

View attachment 790621

Justin Schultz's name is on here isn't it?

What's the difference between him and Ty Smith?

The Pens had Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, Maatta and even Daley to be the defensive conscious of the team. Letang was the only real offense first defenseman (Dumoulin and Lovejoy were the only other defensemen to have multiple goals that postseason).

The following year Schultz was the only pure offensive defenseman with Letang out.

This current team has Letang and Karlsson already. It doesn't need a Schultz/Smith. It doesn't even need a Daley. Puck movement is fine from the top four. It needs a different element like Cole.

Same up front. The reason they suck at finishing is they don't go to the net. They don't need another Guentzel. They need a Kunitz.

 

[Gurglesons]

The Pens had Dumoulin, Cole, Lovejoy, Maatta and even Daley to be the defensive conscious of the team. Letang was the only real offense first defenseman (Dumoulin and Lovejoy were the only other defensemen to have multiple goals that postseason).

The following year Schultz was the only pure offensive defenseman with Letang out.

This current team has Letang and Karlsson already. It doesn't need a Schultz/Smith. It doesn't even need a Daley. Puck movement is fine from the top four. It needs a different element like Cole.

Same up front. The reason they suck at finishing is they don't go to the net. They don't need another Guentzel. They need a Kunitz.

Every day I get closer to understanding why you still think Mike Sullivan is an answer.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Every day I get closer to understanding why you still think Mike Sullivan is an answer.

Vegas had a balanced defensive group. So did Tampa. So did Colorado.

None of them were perimeter teams, either.

 

[Gurglesons]

Vegas had a balanced defensive group. So did Tampa. So did Colorado.

None of them were perimeter teams, either.

Tampa and Colorado had Kevin Shattenkirk and Jack Johnson playing regular minutes.

Further more, Ty Smith can play a role on this team. Just like Justin Schultz, Kevin Shattenkirk and Vince Dunn did.

Not to mention nobody is asking us to win a cup with Ty Smith playing regular minutes. Just play him over Chad Ruhwedel in game 32 of the regular season…

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Ludvig is younger than Ty Smith

I actually don’t give one iota of a f*** about the terrible reign of Mike Sullivan on the prospects page. The same lazy topic hijacks every thread on this board. Would love to know if anyone watched Canada-Finland which featured 3 Pens picks from the last draft.

 

[Jacob]

I didn't catch any of it except the clip of Celebrini's goal. I won't be able to watch any until this weekend since they're at garbage times and no streaming on-demand option I can find.

Yager scored today against Latvia. Nice rush by Celebrini and a bit of a drop pass to Yager and he finished from above the circles.

Forget if this was pointed out but all 3 of our prospects at this tournament are eligible next year too.

 

[Andy99]

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Celebrini looks real good, but it's Latvia.

Nice to see Yager getting in on some action.

 

[Alkamfell]

Ilyin's latest highlights.

Primary assist against Torpedo


Secondary assist against Lokomotiv

 

[Sorry]

Yager has a ton of velocity on his wrist shot.

 

[SomeDude]

Celebrini and Yager seem to make a good duo.

Someone call Uncle Gary. He'll know what to do.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

My updated rankings should be posted by the 3rd.

 

[The Old Master]

Yager has a ton of velocity on his wrist shot.

just think what it will look like if/when he gets stronger.

 

[chethejet]

You can't trade picks for 12 years like Shero and GMJR and even Hextall due to complete incompetence and have a good prospect pool. It will take probably 3 drafts and numerous picks to have the kind of system to be good. Dubas if he can get the right deal for Jake as an overpayment can begin to leverage what he has especially after next year to load up the picks.

 

[Alkamfell]

Another bunch of Ilyin's highlights, He was involved in all three goals of his team against Kunlun.

For this one he didn't get any points since the puck flew into the net from the defenseman's stick.


Assist


Empty net goal

 

[Randy Butternubs]

It's really cool that he's doing this at 18 years old in the KHL.

 

[Ryder71]

We should sign him and Yager, still waitin.

One quick observation, it seems as though Dubas, (albeit a small sample size here), is looking for good all around players. Guys who think the game well, make few mistakes and are often times responsible at both ends.

 

[SEALBound]

It's really cool that he's doing this at 18 years old in the KHL.

Him being 0.5ppg at 18 is huge. Not a ton of 18yos in the KHL. Fewer that put up over .5ppg.

Sans Michkov, he's the best performing 17-20yo in the KHL.

 

[Jacob]

Yurov and But are doing well too, but they’re also 1st rounders and Yurov is a year older.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Surprise! I had a lot of free time yesterday & this morning and finished my updates:

Text version:

Spoiler

rank	player	ceiling	potential	max p/82	readiness	rankΔ	std%
1	murashov s	goalie - g nhl - elite	6.6	n/a	4.4	+5	83.95%
2	blomqvist j	goalie - g nhl - starter	5.7	n/a	5.8	0	83.94%
3	yager b	f - first - all star	5.8	47	3.5	-2	83.1%
4	pickering o	d - top - star	5.4	37	3.0	-1	76.4%
5	puustinen v	f - second - scorer	4.6	38	6.3	+2	70.3%
6	gauthier t	goalie - g nhl - 1a/1b	4.9	n/a	5.5	-1	69.9%
7	ilyin m	f - second - two way	4.0	33	6.8	+3	67.8%
8	poulin s	f - third - two way	3.5	28	5.0	0	65.2%
9	hallander f	f - third - complimentary	3.5	29	5.4	-5	61.3%
10	svejkovsky l	f - third - scorer	3.4	28	4.7	-1	55.0%
11	rathbone j	d - bottom - scorer	2.9	19	5.7	n/a	54.7%
12	plante z	f - second - scorer	4.3	35	2.4	+12	53.2%
13	belliveau i	d - middle - complimentary	3.4	23	4.3	-2	52.3%
14	foster c	f - second - two way	4.0	33	2.7	+9	52.0%
15	jarventie e	f - second - scorer	4.3	35	2.0	0	50.6%
16	tankov k	f - second - two way	4.0	33	2.5	-2	50.5%
17	gruden j	f - fourth - complimentary	2.5	21	5.3	0	49.5%
18	ansons r	f - third - complimentary	3.0	25	4.3	-2	48.6%
19	pieniniemi e	d - middle - two way	3.6	24	2.3	-1	48.5%
20	ludvig j	d - bottom - defense only	2.4	20	5.2	n/a	48.0%
21	broz t	f - third - scorer	3.4	28	2.1	-8	47.5%
22	collins n	d - middle - two way	3.6	24	2.2	-3	46.3%
23	samorukov d	d - bottom - defense only	2.2	15	4.7	n/a	43.9%
24	hamaliuk d	f - fourth - defense only	2.0	16	4.5	n/a	43.2%
25	nickl t	d - bottom - complimentary	2.5	17	4.0	+4	43.2%
26	andonovski c	f - fourth - complimentary	2.3	19	4.6	-5	41.3%
27	lindberg f	goalie - g ahl - 1a/1b	2.0	n/a	5.0	-15	40.4%
28	devlin l	f - third - two way	3.2	26	1.7	-2	40.4%
29	frasca j	f - fourth - complimentary	2.3	19	4.0	-2	39.3%
30	yoder c	f - fourth - two way	2.4	20	2.3	-2	34.6%
31	st ivany j	d - extra - defense only	1.4	10	4.4	-6	34.4%
32	kangas k	d - bottom - defense only	2.2	15	1.8	-1	30.0%
33	laatsch d	d - bottom - defense only	2.2	15	1.8	-3	29.8%

 

[Gurglesons]

Seems fair. Although Svej seems like he’s toast.

 

[Peat]

I don't understand why Svejkovsky is so far ahead of Frasca when their pro numbers seem to say the same thing.