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

[Randy Butternubs]

One more comment about size, Murashov is pretty short for a goalie but he moves really well. I think Murashov may be the most early-career Fleury type of goalie they've had in their system in a long time: short but crazy athletic.

Murashov is 6'2" which is the same height as Jarry, Blomqvist, Gauthier, and Larsson. And is 2" taller than Ned. Same height as MAF.

edit to add: the top 10 goalies with the most GP last season average out to 6' 2.1"

 

[Ryder71]

Murashov is 6'2" which is the same height as Jarry, Blomqvist, Gauthier, and Larsson. And is 2" taller than Ned. Same height as MAF.

He needs to eat, like his potential but he's too damn thin and will wear down in the course of a season.

EAT!

 

[Andy99]

From what I’ve little seen from these games after the fact, Broz and Pono have been their best forwards and should be the first call ups…Koivunen needs to be work on his skating and getting his shot off in tight quarters…McG looks odd how he gets his stride going but he isn't especially slow. He knows a thing or two about positioning himself and opening the way for others and delivers good passes. But based on just two games, he wouldn’t be my first call up. Give him some time to work on skating too

 

[Gurglesons]

Would be pleasantly surprised if Broz turned into an NHL player of some impact. That dude looked all the world to be another forgotten nobody shortly after he was drafted.

Not really. Broz has been great the last two years.

From what I’ve little seen from these games after the fact, Broz and Pono have been their best forwards and should be the first call ups…Koivunen needs to be work on his skating and getting his shot off in tight quarters…McG looks odd how he gets his stride going but he isn't especially slow. He knows a thing or two about positioning himself and opening the way for others and delivers good passes. But based on just two games, he wouldn’t be my first call up. Give him some time to work on skating too

As I have been trying to tell everyone Koivunen is gonna blow in the NHL.

 

[Ryder71]

From what I’ve little seen from these games after the fact, Broz and Pono have been their best forwards and should be the first call ups…Koivunen needs to be work on his skating and getting his shot off in tight quarters…McG looks odd how he gets his stride going but he isn't especially slow. He knows a thing or two about positioning himself and opening the way for others and delivers good passes. But based on just two games, he wouldn’t be my first call up. Give him some time to work on skating too

Don't expect much improvement on ''skating'' at this stage. You're either a good skater by the time you're drafted or you aren't. And any improvement made would be marginal at best. Koivunens vision is the best of any pens player in the tourny, it's pretty obvious. But Koivunen should start in WB. He needs to be in the NHL within a year.

Pono should make the team. McGroaty not sure.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Murashov is 6'2" which is the same height as Jarry, Blomqvist, Gauthier, and Larsson. And is 2" taller than Ned. Same height as MAF.

edit to add: the top 10 goalies with the most GP last season average out to 6' 2.1"

That's actually a surprise to me. Murashov is listed as 6'1" but I thought the average goalie size was more like 6'3" or 6'4" at this point.

 

[Andy99]

Don't expect much improvement on ''skating'' at this stage. You're either a good skater by the time you're drafted or you aren't. And any improvement made would be marginal at best. Koivunens vision is the best of any pens player in the tourny, it's pretty obvious. But Koivunen should start in WB. He needs to be in the NHL within a year.

Pono should make the team. McGroaty not sure.

I mean I’d like to see all those guys playing in preseason games working with vets and see how they do, even regular season games…my guess is that Koivunen and McG are going to have some issues, despite having strengths…I would bet that Pono and Broz could start at 3C right now and do better than the other options we have now except for maybe Eller, who should be the 4C lol

 

[Ryder71]

I mean I’d like to see all those guys playing in preseason games working with vets and see how they do, even regular season games…my guess is that Koivunen and McG are going to have some issues, despite having strengths…I would bet that Pono and Broz could start at 3C right now and do better than the other options we have now except for maybe Eller, who should be the 4C lol

Pono most certainly should maker the team, hell he made the Canes last year! Broz, who knows. But keep in mind he's a year older than our hero McGroaty.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

That's actually a surprise to me. Murashov is listed as 6'1" but I thought the average goalie size was more like 6'3" or 6'4" at this point.

Top 10 GP != good goalie though.

Also, EP has Murashov as 6'2" but the Pens have him at 6'.

another edit: his KHL stats have him as 187 cm which is 73.6 inches (6'1.6")

 

[Al Smith]

Not really. Broz has been great the last two years.



As I have been trying to tell everyone Koivunen is gonna blow in the NHL.

At least against players at this level, from what little I've seen, his vision and passing appear to be exceptional. I don't know if he has an NHL gear/skating though to avoid getting the crap kicked out of him on a constant basis. We'll see how he does against better competition in the pre-season and in WBS.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The impression I get from watching these games is that Ponomarev can play right now and he fits in Sullivan's system both as a winger and a center, whichever the team would play him at. I think he'd be ready right now and he will be a good fit wherever you play him in the bottom-6. That being said, I have no issues with him playing big minutes in WBS to start the year.

Broz isn't ready yet, but he's significantly further along than I think anyone anticipated him to be at. The fact that he has bulked up to over 200 lbs is awesome, I think he is significantly more likely to be able to stick at center at 5'11" and 202 lbs than if he was still at the 165 lbs he was drafted at. His skillset has all of the makings of a good 2-way 3C, but I don't know that his upside is much higher than that. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd mesh extremely well with Crosby either. He's a jack of all trades guy, but so was Rust and I think Broz is noticeably more skilled than Rust.

I think McGroarty is NHL ready right now, but I am unsure of whether rushing him to the NHL is the best idea. He has legit NHL size, he's smart as hell, he has good hands and he has a sick shot. That being said, I don't know that I'd want him playing bottom-6 minutes with this team over dominating in the AHL. They could do the same thing they did with Guentzel by letting him dominate the AHL and only call him up to play in their top-6. Doing that could also let you have Ponomarev in the bottom-6 to start the year as well (O'Connor as LW1 and Ponomarev as LW3 or LW4), I think there's a pretty good argument for that.

Those three are the big standouts to me from what I've seen in the two games, and that seems to be a common opinion I can see on twitter as well. If you held a gun to my head right now and made me pick, I think I'd start the year with McGroarty in the AHL and Ponomarev in the bottom-6. That's not a criticism of McGroarty's ability, but I think that's a better development path for this team to take with those two. It's either that or McGroarty needs to be starting in the top-6 with O'Connor in the bottom-6.

At least against players at this level, from what little I've seen, his vision and passing appear to be exceptional. I don't know if he has an NHL gear/skating though to avoid getting the crap kicked out of him on a constant basis. We'll see how he does against better competition in the pre-season and in WBS.

I noticed this about Koivunen's skating as well. His IQ, playmaking and hands are all great, so I think he will make it to the NHL, but I think his skating will be a real detriment towards him. He really needs to improve that, if he does I think he's a great bet to be a middle-6 playmaker like Jussi Jokinen.

 

[Andy99]

The impression I get from watching these games is that Ponomarev can play right now and he fits in Sullivan's system both as a winger and a center, whichever the team would play him at. I think he'd be ready right now and he will be a good fit wherever you play him in the bottom-6. That being said, I have no issues with him playing big minutes in WBS to start the year.

Broz isn't ready yet, but he's significantly further along than I think anyone anticipated him to be at. The fact that he has bulked up to over 200 lbs is awesome, I think he is significantly more likely to be able to stick at center at 5'11" and 202 lbs than if he was still at the 165 lbs he was drafted at. His skillset has all of the makings of a good 2-way 3C, but I don't know that his upside is much higher than that. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd mesh extremely well with Crosby either. He's a jack of all trades guy, but so was Rust and I think Broz is noticeably more skilled than Rust.

I think McGroarty is NHL ready right now, but I am unsure of whether rushing him to the NHL is the best idea. He has legit NHL size, he's smart as hell, he has good hands and he has a sick shot. That being said, I don't know that I'd want him playing bottom-6 minutes with this team over dominating in the AHL. They could do the same thing they did with Guentzel by letting him dominate the AHL and only call him up to play in their top-6. Doing that could also let you have Ponomarev in the bottom-6 to start the year as well (O'Connor as LW1 and Ponomarev as LW3 or LW4), I think there's a pretty good argument for that.

Those three are the big standouts to me from what I've seen in the two games, and that seems to be a common opinion I can see on twitter as well. If you held a gun to my head right now and made me pick, I think I'd start the year with McGroarty in the AHL and Ponomarev in the bottom-6. That's not a criticism of McGroarty's ability, but I think that's a better development path for this team to take with those two.



I noticed this about Koivunen's skating as well. His IQ, playmaking and hands are all great, so I think he will make it to the NHL, but I think his skating will be a real detriment towards him. He really needs to improve that, if he does I think he's a great bet to be a middle-6 playmaker like Jussi Jokinen.

That’s fair but I do think Broz is more skilled than Pono and has higher upside…I’d love to see his shot next to Sid, as you suggest…if he can play LW, he could start now in the top or middle six

 

[chethejet]

Koivunens has to get stronger and his skating may benefit from that. He has a burst but not speed. He had a potential breakaway, and Yakimchuk ran him down easily. But he has skill, just needs to spend next couple years developing physically.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Prospect camps can be encouraging, but never forget that Ty Loney looked great in one.

Let's not start handing out roster spots based on performances here.

 

[WickedWrister]

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Can always glean some info on a guy’s tools, but I wouldn’t really draw many (any) conclusions based on performance from these games.

 

[Ryder71]

Koivunens has to get stronger and his skating may benefit from that. He has a burst but not speed. He had a potential breakaway, and Yakimchuk ran him down easily. But he has skill, just needs to spend next couple years developing physically.

Lower your expectations bub! Koivunen is what he is. A skilled Winger with excellent vision but slight in stature and not the greatest. You'll just have to accept that.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Prospect camps can be encouraging, but never forget that Ty Loney looked great in one.

Let's not start handing out roster spots based on performances here.

Or was it Ty Glover?

 

[Ryder71]

Can always glean some info on a guy’s tools, but I wouldn’t really draw many (any) conclusions based on performance from these games.

Listen guy, PONO made the Canes last year.

If he can make a stacked team like them, he can make a bottom feeder like us.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Or was it Ty Glover?

Glover might have, but Loney definitely did. There was some hope for him around here, however briefly.

 

[Jacob]

Listen guy, PONO made the Canes last year.

If he can make a stacked team like them, he can make a bottom feeder like us.

He was a call-up in January.

 

[eXile3]

I’ve seen younger players get better skating as they’ve gotten stronger but that’s like 17-18 year olds. Early, mid 20s they’ve probably done all they can to become better skaters and it is what it is.

 

[Ryder71]

He was a call-up in January.

No, he made the team, you need to do some research, he made the team then got injured.

I’ve seen younger players get better skating as they’ve gotten stronger but that’s like 17-18 year olds. Early, mid 20s they’ve probably done all they can to become better skaters and it is what it is.

Exactly right.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Murashov is 6'2" which is the same height as Jarry, Blomqvist, Gauthier, and Larsson. And is 2" taller than Ned. Same height as MAF.

edit to add: the top 10 goalies with the most GP last season average out to 6' 2.1"

I still laugh at that stupid ass goalie ranking by The Athletic where 6'2" wasn't big to the bloke and that it was considered on the smaller side? I was like how the f*** is that smaller side for goalies? There's still some that are 6' and 6'1" and yeah they might be smaller but because the league has a couple of goalies above 6'4" it's become this size queen thing with goalie heights.

Murashov was drafted at 6', he grew...his talent in the crease wasn't hindered by it, it was a benefit.

He moves his legs a lot for not going anywhere particularly fast, suddenly I am having flashbacks of Ryan Malone and quicksand.

 

[WickedWrister]