Penguins Sign Defenseman Lukas Bengtsson

[count2infinity]

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?i ... b-penguins

The two-way contract will begin with the 2016-17 season and runs through the 2017-18 campaign.

Bengtsson, 22, recently helped his Swedish Elite League club, Frolunda, win the championship, contributing seven points (2G-5A) and a plus-7 in 12 postseason contests.

A 5-foot-10, 181-pound righthanded-shooting defenseman, Bengtsson logged his first full season in the SHL with Frolunda in 2015-16, tallying 14 points (7G-7A) and a plus-17 in 30 regular-season contests.

[willeyeam]

Is he any good?

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/peng ... 1604270152

[Silentom]

Oh, the irony.

[Silentom]

I saw what you did there, c2i.

[Kicksave]

Paging @mikey

[count2infinity]

I saw what you did there, c2i.

[mikey]

Oh...I didn't know he was even a choice to get...that's cool. When I get home tonight I'll provide some more info...but I saw him play in the SHL Playoffs and just thought he was one of those really good Swedish lifers...I didn't know he was so young or else I would have focused on him more, because I had not heard of him before the playoffs, I assumed he wasn't on a radar...(to elaborate on that point, there's a lot of players in Euro leagues that, in theory, are good enough to play in the NHL...I mean, Christ, Mike Weber dressed in an elimination game for a 1st place team...there's two dozen guys in each of the SHL, KHL, "Luga" that are "better" than him...but there's more at play than that, more factors...)

From what I recall, he's a really good player. Let me go home and re-watch some stuff on him to make sure I'm thinking of the same player, but if memory serves, this is a really good get for us in the realm of undrafted FAs...

He can skate, he can carry, he's smart, but not big...let me look at home before I say too much...more to follow...

[NTP66]

Be sure to include videos in your review.

[Silentom]

And a mikey jesus meme.

[mikey]

Tidbit Was close to signing with Rangers, he was in their training camp last year in fact. They had good ties. So...we beat them again...or perhaps on his way to Gorton's office maybe Dan Boyle told him to get the **** away from him...trying to find out how that deteriorated because it was very, very close AIUI...

[Miami Vice]

there's two dozen guys in each of the SHL, KHL, "Luga" that are "better" than him...but there's more at play than that, more factors...

such as? what keeps a guy like Janne Pesonen, who has his own theme song, from succeeding with similar skills that other 3rd/4th line guys have

[MR25]

The ability to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NHL game.

[mikey]

there's two dozen guys in each of the SHL, KHL, "Luga" that are "better" than him...but there's more at play than that, more factors...

such as? what keeps a guy like Janne Pesonen, who has his own theme song, from succeeding with similar skills that other 3rd/4th line guys have

Because the NHL has different roles. It's not a "pure skill" league. Players like Mike Weber play instead of Henrik Tommernes...that's just the nature of it. There's a lot of factors: role, size, comfort level, language, contractual obligations, desire, and on and on...

We all know if you were drafting for pure skill, Mike Weber, Deryk Engelland, Colin Greening, etc. they just wouldn't make the cut in the top 600...on the flip side Alexander Radulov, Alexander Frolov, Vadim Shipachov, Maxim Afinogenov, Tomas Zaborsky, Tomi Kallio, etc. they all would...easily...soon you can add Pavel Datsyuk to that list...

Those leagues aren't as good as the NHL on the whole...but their top-end talent could play in this league...instead kong donkeys like David Moss and Taylor Pyatt and Kyle Chipchura are in the league because they were in the league yesterday...even if some of those specific guys aren't in the league any more, the point still stands...

[NTP66]

Source of the post kong donkeys

I have no idea what this means, but I'm totally stealing it.

[mikey]

It's just the transposing of words from a popular video game title haha

[Dickie Dunn]

Schultz. Prow. Bengtsson. Gearing up to trade Pouliot at the draft.

[count2infinity]

I like him...

[Pavement]

I like him...

[Gaucho]

Prow?

[Dickie Dunn]

Prow?

Ethan Prow. College UDFA from St. Cloud State that they signed a month ago.

[dodint]

Prow?

One of the mods made a thread about it a while ago. Morkle, I think. He was indirectly responsible for the short but vibrant Megathread! resistance.

[Gaucho]

Ah yes, forgot about him.

[mikey]

More biographical on Bengtsson:

7+7=14 in 30 GP. 12 PIMs. 7 goals on just 43 shots. Played 18:31 per night over 30 games, 8 hits. 21 blocked shots. 25:8 GF/GA ratio. Played 15 minutes of ES with young Jacob Larsson on his left. Middle pairing guy. PP1, but also saw regular PK time. 7:0 GF/GA ratio on PP; 0:7 on PK.

I don't think is going to be a guy that plays right away. Not very strong, even as far as Swedish hockey goes. Still needs to mature his game a little, get more consistency. AHL will provide that. Particularly in the NZ, he just needs to make sure he's playing above the puck more. Far from a trainwreck though defensively. I think he's a good skater, I like his lateral skating more than his straight line speed. Continued progress on his edgework and he might have enough to him to be a low-level puck carrier. Two zones, maybe not three. I don't see a big shot, looks like more of a playmaker - though 7 goals on 43 shots, I don't know how that works. A lot of d-men aren't gonna shoot at 16% or whatever that is...I do like that he can shoot off the pass, he doesn't need to dust it off, that's worth a lot even without a ton of power. I think it's a player you keep a close eye on in the AHL, long offseason for him to put on 10-12 pounds of muscle maybe if you can. I don't believe that he'll make the World Championships team, if he does, that changes things, but I don't think he would make that team. Maybe a little bit like Tobias Enstrom of Winnipeg when he first came in, before he had to learn to be very defensive to babysit for Byfuglien...needs pounds, need experience, and then once you get the pounds, you need to really work on the technical aspects of your skating, your edgework, escapability...this is not a guy that's gonna want to take a lot of abuse, especially early...Sergei Gonchar is a great teacher from that perspective, Gonchar found a way out of getting run pretty often...but he's gotta get stronger all-around, conditioning, the whole bit...probably never played more than ~50 games in a season with minimal travel.

I would think, thinking way out here, that he becomes an 18-20 minute guy in WBS after about 50 games or so...definitely worth keeping tabs on...Pouliot being an NHLer, kind of, I'd say that makes this guy our best defensive prospect at the moment...

[columbia]

I'm struck by the change from signing undrafted fowards to GMJR doing the same with D. That Shero strategy and draft picks doesn't seem to have panned out...

[mikey]

Me, 6/26/11

We had had this discussion before, in passing, re: philosophy. Morrow doesn't bother me at all really, as I have made perfectly clear in this thread. I'm familiar with the kid, he's a fine choice there. Your swing for the fences philosophy would have been fine at 54...but instead, we went with an even safer pick (so safe, that it's nearly comatose...Harrington will never be more than a 3rd pairing guy - which is fine, I wouldn't mind my 54th pick being an NHL regular - but that's his ceiling and it's not a lock necessarily). Winger, d-man or goalie - I didn't really approve of taking a player like that at 54.

Full disclosure, I can't say I've seen our 6th or 7th round picks play before...I've seen the others though. And I've been an ardent follower of our draft work in the past and I'd say we have below average scouting that lacks imagination, ingenuity or creativity. They reach - but in the wrong direction. Their inability to find European talent is disheartening and really to the point now that it's unacceptable. I don't like to make posts like this, as a fan, that makes sweeping judgements of an organization that I don't work for or know the inter-most workings of...I really don't...and I'm not the type that demands immediate results or anything of that nature or thinks we should draft directly for need (again, very fine with Morrow pick) but this draft - as it stands now, based on what I know about who we picked - is not very enchanting.

Now, Morrow and Harrington may well turn out just fine. I'd say that Morrow is probably looking like a 2nd pairing guy at his best, Harrington a 5/6 at his best. Which is fine, I had said in this thread somewhere that I'd be happy to come out of this draft with two NHLers and if it's are first two picks, then so be it. I still dislike our scouting staff - I feel there's an overall lack of attention to detail (which is unfair and rash, but I can't say it any other way) all over the map. What is Shero's desire to move up or down to assure talent that he wants and still get good value picks? Who, if anyone, is handling our European scouting? I'm not looking to pluck super-skilled Morozov's out of tier-3 Russia...no. Our inability to cultivate Swedish and Finnish talent (which fit our organizational culture, hard-working, skillful and defensive responsible - which many Swedes and Finns are, plus the homerun types blessed with superb technical skill) is beguiling. I'd love an explanation on that with no sugar-coating.

Our inability to cultivate talent from the West is damn near embarrassing. Our last pick out of the WHL was Moises Gutierrez in 2004. What the french, toast? The WHL produces some of the most NHL-ready talent among this age group. It's the hardest league to play in among CHL leagues and is the most professional by a slim margin over the OHL. Maybe I'm a little jaded from following the Dallas Stars...

WHL picks since 2004 by Dallas (round drafted is preceding each pick):
1st: Glennie (will turn pro this year), 5th: Vincour (already NHL games under his belt, will make the team next year), 6th Matt Tassone (was trending towards being a mucker at the NHL level but a serious injury derailed him), 4th: Colton Sceviour (will be an NHL regular next season), 1st: Mark Fistric (has been an NHL regular for a while), UND: Brendon Dillon (signed as overager, has a shot at making the Stars out of camp)...won't even mention Jamie Benn who was a 5th rounder.

(I know, Joe Morrow) Again, easy to say from here, I don't deny it. But where is it that we are looking that we are unable to identify talent? Where is it that we have success? You can say maybe the OHL? But then you see such a rotten pick like Bathgate sitting there and a pick like that is just disturbing. I don't know...I wasn't frustrated by the Morrow pick - I even talked to Jesse and attempted to bring him around on the pick a little more. (It was better than the two worst case scenarios we were talking about: Saad and Beaulieu at least). I was frustrated by the rest. Not because they absolutely won't turn out, I just find it to be so listless and I can't explain it to a point - just from following prospects and drafts for years now, the Pittsburgh organization just strikes me as an organization that has a poor eye for talent overall. It's unfortunate. I'm pulling for all our draft picks to pan out, always, but I can't help feeling our horrid prospect pool isn't a product of being successful at the NHL level - it's self-inflicted - 100%.

Finally, we're starting to see a little creativity from our staff, sniffing around on a lot more names it seems like...I like it. We used to go after fourth liners in the OHL and fourth liners in the NCAA for some reason...now at least there's a shift towards something better, whether they work out or not, isn't the most important part for now...

Also, let's ignore that I didn't like Brandon Saad or Nathan Beaulieu, two players that 24 months later I came to really, really like...Saad was just not impressive to me in junior, nor was he to the scouts I talked to either...he sprung up like a weed shortly thereafter...can't win'em all...