Penguins Prospects Thread

mikey
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Penguins Prospects Thread

Postby mikey » Tue Jun 21, 2022 3:44 pm

Really, really. I made a light case for him to be a #1 overall pick because he's everything Shane Wright was supposed to be this year, but wasn't...

I like Cooley a lot. Checks off of a lot of boxes. Absurdly high ceiling (relative to draft stock)? Perhaps not. But a real high floor. He'll play and then it's all about the development in terms of how he can get...he's better than Matty Beniers in terms of likely potential from when he was picked...

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Postby mikey » Tue Jul 05, 2022 7:46 pm

Our drafting is really frustrating and, worse, very unimaginative...I need to be our U.S. guy soon because we're taking a lot of suckers bets...

And then the Euros - man, if you're gonna go deep into these leagues, at least draft guys that have talent...I think that's a fair ask. I'm not saying I'd go 7 for 7. But, I should look back at my lists - which do NOT contain more than 1 to 3 territories, generally, so I'm at a huge disadvantage...but let me see where we'd be with our picks if I was in charge, that'll be a fun exercise for me...
So I went back and did this quickly based on my final lists from just my territories...

2021:
We picked | I'd have picked (U.S., Russia)
#58 Tristan Broz | Sasha Pastujov
#154 Isaac Beliveau | Matvei Petrov
#194 Ryan McCleary | Andre Gasseau
#215 Daniel Laatsch | Yegor Savikov
#218 Kirill Tankov | Nikita Skoropad

2020:
We picked | I'd have picked (U.S., Russia, Finland)
#52 Joel Blomqvist | Maxim Beryozkin
#77 Calle Clang | Dylan Peterson
#108 Lukas Svejovsky | (would have traded up to get Maxim Groshev, but if I can't) Ruslan Novruzov or maybe Brett Berard
#149 Raivis Ansons | Kirill Tankov
#170 Chase Yoder | Yegor Chizhkov

2019:
We picked | I'd have picked (U.S.)
#21 Samuel Poulin | Shane Pinto
#74 Nathan Legare | Aaron Huglen
#145 Judd Caulfield | Patrick Moynihan
#203 Valtteri Puustinen | Parker Ford
#211 Santeri Airola | Jami Krannila

2018:
I'm struggling to find my final lists...I definitely would have picked Joey Keane with one of our second round picks though.

##

Obviously, too soon to tell with a lot of this stuff...but I'm encouraged that we would have been way, way better...

2021:
Pastujov - Led his OHL team in goals by more than 10 and points by more than 20.
Petrov - 40+50=90 in the OHL this year
Gasseau - Narrowly led his USHL team in goals (22). Still 38 points in 60 games in the USHL in your D+1 isn't amazing.
Savikov - Point per game d-man in Russian Jrs. (!), played 36 games split between the two Russian pro leagues (KHL/VHL) - still available, Alex/Ron
Skoropad - 18+23=41 in 57 Russian Jr. games...we'll see how that goes. Still available, but probably won't be picked again.

2020:
Beryozkin - Better than 1.5 pts/gm in Rus. Jrs, played 30 games in the KHL. Looking good.
Peterson - 10+6=16 in 29 games at Boston Univ. - meh...not looking great.
Novruzov - 1+0=1 in 7 games in the VHL - not looking great. Berard: Led Providence in goals (18) and points (38) on a team with 10 NHL picks on it. Tracking well
Tankov - We did pick, we know him.
Chizikov - 14+20=34 in 45 Mestis (Finland's AHL) games. Hmmm...probably gonna be a miss there.

2019:
Pinto - NHL regular and looking good. Tough injury this year, so he would have fit right in.
Huglen - 7+9=16 in 37 games at Univ. of Minnesota - meh.
Moynihan - 11+14=25 in 38 games with Providence College. Tracking pretty well.
Ford - 13+14=27 in 38 games with Providence College. Tracking pretty well. He's still available for some reason.
Krannila - 15+15=30 in 37 games with St. Cloud State. Tracking pretty well. He's still available too.

2018:
Keane - 2 NHL games so far. AHL All-Star in 2020. AHL Championship, most points by a d-man in the playoffs in 2022. 7+26=33 in 62 AHL games. Tracking pretty well.


Definitely not perfect, as that's tough. But we'd be a hell of a lot better off, even just limited to a couple of territories...

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Penguins Prospects Thread

Postby meow » Tue Jul 05, 2022 8:29 pm

I've seen Joey Keane play a few games in the AHL. Guy is very talented.

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Postby Lemon Berry Lobster » Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:13 am

That's a lot of words for all of our prospects are ass.

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Postby Lelldorin » Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:44 am

Nice breakdown mikey. Send it to Dallas and Pittsburgh and start a new career;)

You have a lot of Russians in your list. It was not easy to foresee the extent of the current situation, but could some teams have stayed away from them due to the uncertainties regarding whether they would come over?

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Postby mikey » Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:49 am

I'm actually expecting (anything can happen, but I believe I'm in a good spot) to get an informal NHL interview tomorrow or Friday - not Pittsburgh - while I'm up there. We'll see.

Teams stayed away from them for the same reason as they always stayed away from Russians. My list is Russian heavy because that's a territory that I covered because we had no one stationed there. So, in my down time, I'd just watch a bunch of Russian junior hockey and thus became very familiar with who was there and the structure.

If I was really doing this, I wouldn't have free reign to pick from just my territory...the OHL (over-drafted league) guys would wrap me in duct tape and stuff me into a goalie bag before I got a third selection in a single draft haha

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Postby Lelldorin » Wed Jul 06, 2022 12:40 pm

Great to hear =) Good luck with the potential interview!

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Postby dodint » Wed Jul 06, 2022 12:41 pm

Make sure to drop some Howie Morenz references on them so they know you're a true student of the game.

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Postby mikey » Wed Jul 06, 2022 1:02 pm

The ol' Stratford Streak...? Of course. I'll be in Montreal. I'd be dumb not to...

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Postby meow » Wed Jul 06, 2022 1:23 pm

You don’t even speak French. They won’t hire you

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Postby meow » Tue Jul 12, 2022 6:02 pm

Break down our draft picks, you coward

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Postby willeyeam » Tue Jul 12, 2022 6:35 pm

Yeah dodint

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Postby mikey » Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:10 pm

:lol: working on it

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Postby meow » Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:13 pm

Well quit jerking off in the political thread and get to work

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Postby mikey » Tue Jul 12, 2022 7:15 pm

I'll jerk off where I want, when I want, who I want.

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Postby Kane » Tue Jul 12, 2022 8:44 pm

Image

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Postby mikey » Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:51 pm

1-21: Owen Pickering (LD) - I really like this player. I moonlighted in the Dub this year, so I'm pretty familiar with him already. I said in multiple meetings that this is probably a top 5 or 10 pick for me overall. Not only is he really good now, but I think he's raw and a huge upside play too. He was 5'7" just a couple years ago in bantam, now he checks in at just over 6'4". He'll probably play at 210 or so, he's 180 now. But he just checks off all the boxes for me. Very, very smart. Him and Savoie (#9 to Buffalo) are the two smartest players in the Dub for me. Terrific skater. And seems no worse for wear from having a major growth spurt in the last few years. Skating is still improving, but it's already really good. Very coordinated, dexterous. One of the better athletes of this draft for me. Puck retrievals - clean and contested - are among the best in the class. Not a killer, but definitely competitive. Maybe one of the most advanced, composed, competent defensively in this class. In fact, I can't think of anyone who is already as good defensively as he is.

Now, I like his skill level...it's got a lot of potential. Some scouts think this is the limiter and I'm really sensitive to guys having a high skill level. I think he played a really simple game this year. Simple passes, not venturing down from the point, just putting pucks on net from distance when he found the lane. I think there's more here. When I wrote about or did a video on Noah Dobson in his draft year, I said, "If there's something that doesn't work out at the next level, it might be the offense...but he has a B game and a C game to fall back on, he's gonna play no matter what. It's just: is it 25 points or is it 45."

Dobson went back to junior for one. Played sparingly for the Isles (7 in 34, then 14 in 46) and then exploded last year for 13+38=51 in 80 games. I could really see this turning out like that here.

One thing that's tough is that Swift Current (WHL) isn't the Titan (QMJHL). So it's gonna be tougher for Pickering to put up gaudy numbers and go to the Memorial Cup for the Dub on this horseshit team. Hopefully he gets traded this year to a contender. 33 pts last year still led his team in D scoring by 12 points over the next guy. That said, Swift Current was the youngest team in the WHL last year. That means a lot in junior, so maybe they have something there...we'll see. Either way, this player could be ready to compete for an NHL job in a year. I wouldn't recommend that necessarily, I'd like to see if we can tap into a little bit more of that offensive ceiling, but **** it worked with Dobson at 19...so as long as we have some skill developers on our side, I actually wouldn't mind it. I'd be surprised if he wasn't an NHL contributor before he was legally able to drink.

4-118: Sergei Murashov (G) - It's a goalie, who gives a ****. Butterfly Russian goalie, more so than most even. Seems just meh to me. Meow wasn't a huge fan either. He moves decently in the crease, but not noteworthy. He's decent at rebound control, but not so much from longer shots in my estimation. The thing that's bizarre for me is his use of his stick...he like fights things off with his paddle in an old school way. He actually kind of reminds me of Jocelyn Thibault a little bit. I don't know, he's a little goofy looking, but doesn't have the propensity to give things up through his 6'0" frame. Though meow noted that he moves up and down a lot in traffic, which is a concern for pucks getting through him. Looks like he reads rushes pretty well. It looks he used to play a certain way and now is trying to do something different. Loko Yaroslavl is actually a legit org and we've been a goalie factory recently for whatever reason, so I guess that's good. But I don't know, this is my least favorite one in a while. Another goalie scout I talked to also didn't like him that much.

5-150: Zam Plante (LW) - Smaller, hard working winger. This probably isn't gonna work out, but I appreciate the pick none the less. It's tough when you're 5'9", 160 and not that good of a skater. Son of former Sabre Derek, also not a big guy. Zam in a nutshell is: below average skating, high level compete, high-end hockey sense, and a plus skill level. There's some hands plays in there that make you look twice. Definitely not going to be a gamebreaker. Good shooting placement, even if the shot isn't overpowering nor the release super quick. Passing accuracy isn't a strength.

Loves the game, loves being at the rink...so he'll work to improve. Recognizes his flaws and deficiencies because he's not too proud and he has really good hockey sense, as I mentioned. Plays an extremely clean game (one minor penalty [a rough as part of a scrum with 22 seconds left in a 5-1 game] in over 100 games at various levels: MN-HS, NAHL, USHL, International), but is willing to grind a bit. He was a really good forechecker in high school. Played on a stacked Chicago Steel team and didn't play much - about 12, 13 minutes.

Just about the youngest player in the draft. Three weeks later and he's a 2023 eligible. He should be back with the Steel next year and they'll be stacked again...but if he gets top six minutes, he'll probably be a point per game, point and a quarter per game player.

Ultimately, I just don't think there's a path for him to the NHL. And if there is, it's more like a Brian Gibbons type deal. It's tough at 5'9", but if you're not that good of a skater, that's tough.

6-167: Nolan Collins (RD) - Oh my god, who the hell cares. Some Ontario scouts aren't a fan of me because a) I'm American b) I tell them that the OHL is brutally over-drafted. Case in point. If this player played in the USHL, he'd never get picked. Big RHS. Tough player. Doesn't make great decisions with the puck. Tries to circle his own net with the puck if he doesn't see an immediate outlet, but he isn't a good enough skater or puck handler to do that Cale Makar ****. I don't know, I wouldn't even consider this player. I don't know why we pick players like this. Like, even if you need this type of player down the line, just sign them for $900,000 on July 9th. Waste of time. This was the pick for Gorman, so it's just a new bust to ignore. If all goes perfectly, he's Zach Bogosian. His likely potential is far less.

6-182: Luke Devlin (LW/C) - I saw this player with his prep school team at a showcase and he caught my eye. I didn't love his interior skill, but he was an old school bully. He cross checked the tits off of someone during a center ice faceoff and one of the cross checks honestly should have been a major and he didn't get anything. Just a tough bastard. So, I went back and saw a regular game of his and it wasn't a great. And then his game really fell apart in the USHL. Like 1 point and a -7 in 8 USHL games. Just playing like 11, 12 minutes a game in the USHL. LW in the USHL, C with SAC. But it doesn't matter, he's not a center.

Really pretty good near the net. Tough as nails. Acceleration is poor, speed isn't great, but not nearly as bad as his first step quickness...not explosive. Doesn't have interior skill. Not an accurate passer. He flashes some fancy hands stuff, goes between his legs, all of this stuff...but his timing, his wheels, and the fact that most of his moves go wide and outside the dot line, they aren't scalable. If it all goes great, he's a 4th line winger...but it probably won't get there. He's going back to Des Moines next year someone told me (EP has him going to Cornell, but I'm told it's 70/30 he's staying in the U-show, which is for the best - I don't know that he'd take a regular shift in an NCAA game right now). No correlation between academics and hockey sense, but I'm surprised he got into Cornell...

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Penguins Prospects Thread

Postby meecrofilm » Wed Jul 13, 2022 12:08 am

:thumb: :thumb:

Lol that Collins write-up.
I wonder if the thought re: Plante is due to him being on the younger side, maybe there's still an inch or so to be squeezed out of his height.

At least we got Pickering!

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Postby Dickie Dunn » Wed Jul 13, 2022 9:36 am

Nice write up @mikey. I think ELC contribution out of someone picked at 21 would be a hell of a favorable outcome. Like that the skill is there but that he has other aspects of his game to fall back on if it doesn't materialize at a pro level. Hope the weight gain comes as I'm tired of seeing rail thin defensemen get obliterated by the opposing forecheck.

Our late round drafting strategy continues to confuse. Excellent point about signing guys to league minimum to fill out the roster instead of drafting guys who likely have that as their ceiling. Plante not being a great skater despite his size is worrisome, but in general I do like that direction for a late round pick. Low floor, but potentially a higher ceiling. Talent but has some things to work on and might grow a bit to help survival in the league, versus a meatball with so many skill deficiencies they'll never develop into something more.

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Postby meow » Wed Jul 13, 2022 9:50 am

Murashov is a full-right as well. Send him to the gulag

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Postby Gaucho » Wed Jul 13, 2022 9:57 am

ty, mikey

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Postby Trip McNeely » Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:02 am

Why don’t franchises just go straight highest ceiling available after the 3rd or 4th round?

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Postby mikey » Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:09 am

One day I hope to have that answer. And then a day after that, I want to ensure my team puts an "ND" after any player who can't perform a standard issue toe drag...

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Penguins Prospects Thread

Postby meecrofilm » Mon Aug 01, 2022 2:28 pm

Decent read about Broz and how Burke helped him get on track a bit: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pen ... 2208010011

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Postby Dickie Dunn » Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:59 am

@mikey, I fell down a hockeydb rabbit hole and now I want updates. Hallander, Puus, DOC, and Smith look to be producing in WBS, which I feel is something that really hasn't happened in forever. Poulin and Legare look like they're headed for scrub city.

Pickering is more productive this year, but the rest of the 2022 draft looks dumb. As far as 2021, Boz transferred and still sucks? Belliveau is over a point per game, but isn't everyone in the Q? The rest of that draft sucks and Tankov was almost murdered. 2020 draft, Blomqvist might be good and the rest of the draft is either traded or garbage.

Are there any actual prerequisites or job experience requirements to making selections in the draft? Or do we just throw names of uninspiring players into a hat and have drunks pull them out?

...

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