No worries - I like to contribute around here somehow and it's not gonna be with my in depth knowledge of hockey, so might as well grab stats
But if you don't mind a cheeky question, are there are any other forwards in WBS that looked like potential NHLers?
Going from the NHL - I think Simon plays a better give and go game, and is more willing to throw the body around. I remember Sully mentioning Simon's ability to spring guys from the neutral zone. He lacks Sprong's offensive tool kit and speed, but - at least when they were both up - he looked the better complimentary player to me, in terms of understanding where to go to set up plays and doing dirty work.
Which is great for playing with Sid. But if you're looking maybe at a guy to go with an injured Brassard who's able to set people up but needs someone with the shots, wheels, skills and so on to take the chances...? The role Rust is meant to be doing?
I'd also add that maybe, back in the regular season, it was simply they were close enough and the org didn't care if Simon got 10 minutes a night here and there. And now Simon is just that extra bit more integrated.
It's a good question. I'm not a WBS expert. I just pop in now and again to just check on the development of some guys and then I have a few contacts around the organization and the league to get others thoughts. If I may c&p from another post I made elsewhere on 4/8/18 about some of the guys I saw...this was not intended to be scouting reports or anything legitimately useful...just quips and nonsense...I can do a deeper dive on players on command usually if someone wants a more serious response...
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LW Adam Johnson (signed thru 2019) - still has a little ways to go to become a legit prospect. Not as involved or as confident as he was in college, I'd like to see him take more command of things. Doesn't play top line minutes, but he does play on the power play. There's some skill and some skating in there, but he needs to show more.
F Thomas DiPauli (RFA) - Very fast, tenacious, seems to get our style of play really well. Not much on hands but he funnels a lot of stuff towards the net without d****** around with it in the interior of the rink. He needs more skill development, but the head and the feet are tracking towards being NHL caliber. It's fair to consider him a possible 4th line NHL player next year given his development. I'd qualify him for sure, he could be Rust Jr. - who also couldn't finish when he first came into the league. Though, I think TDP is starting from a lower point...
RW Daniel Sprong (RFA) - Better playmaker down in the AHL than he showed in the NHL. I hate to say it, but kind of like Kessel in that regard. How far that will go in the NHL is another story, but he doesn't just try to drive wide with speed and throw it under the bar every rush. There's a little more maturity to his game than that. He still does that, don't get me wrong...and he's going to score in the NHL like that too. But you need a dynamic skill set, you can't just rest on one move or else you flake out like Hunter Shinkaruk...naturally, I qualify him. If he wants to go two years, with two-way in the first, one-way in the second, I'm cool with that. He'll be an NHL player certainly.
C Jean-Sebastien Dea (RFA) - We really don't have a lot of guys knocking on the door and this player has always caught my eye. I don't think he's going to be a regular NHLer, but he's worth having around because good centers help develop good wingers. He's not in anyone's way and he's quite talented for his surroundings. He does everything for the club...probably our most well-rounded player in WBS (not only among forwards, but d-men too). He's RHS to boot. Is there a chance he's a 4C candidate next season? Yes, it's possible. But like I said, I'm not sure he's a regular NHLer. Right now, he's adding skill to his game and not necessarily grime. He'll have a long AHL career if he wants it, plus he'll get some looks. He can probably parlay this season into another couple NHL contracts. I qualify him.
LD Andrey Pedan (RFA) - Pedan is probably best summed up as the Oleksiak of the WBS Penguins, except he's naturally tougher. He's a big, mobile player that just kind of freelances it...he'll pump a big shot, he'll make a big hit, he'll get isolated on pretty routine plays...ya know, Oleksiak stuff...if Pedan was RHS, he might actually be on an NHL roster somewhere...I don't like these style of players, I'm starting to soften my stance on that a little as I learn more, but Pedan doesn't offer a lot to me at this level. I qualify him because I think he's a valuable AHL defenseman...he's a big minute player on a team that routinely dresses 11 & 7...and WBS d-men have the freedom to be first on the forecheck whenever they want, a big, athletic player will thrive in that scenario. I'll keep him in the organization, but only because he's not in anyone's way and I can see him feasibly being called up and giving us four games at some point...
RD Ethan Prow (RFA) - I really do wish Prow was like a '96 instead of a late '92 so it'd be easier to chalk up his development arc...but whatever...the fact is that he's a year younger than Dumoulin, the same age as Oleksiak and Olli Maatta is two years younger than him and OM3 has played more games in the last 12 months than Prow has a pro. He's a competent skater, he's a competent puck mover, he's competent defensively usually...but I don't think there's enough rope left for him...it's just too little too late...you tell me this is a '96, I'll tell you it's a B-/C+ prospect...you tell me it's a '97 or a '98, you have a B- prospect out right...this is a late '92...you have an AHL defenseman. I'd qualify him because I'm still a little curious and he's not in anyone's way...but there's just not enough runway left...
RD Lukas Bengtsson (RFA) - He doesn't check off a lot of boxes for me from an NHL perspective. He's pretty smart, but pretty vanilla. But his game just doesn't do much for me, I don't see a scenario where he stands out enough to ever get a look in the NHL. Needs to manage his gaps better. I don't qualify this player because there's a million of him and he can make a better living in the SHL probably...
LD Jarred Tinordi (UFA) - Hahaha what a putz...pls go. Typical big, dumb, physical defenseman. He's everything Jared Cowen and Dylan McIlrath are/wanted to be...and like all these first round picks, they wish they were playing in the NHL...and if they were drafted in 1991, they might be...but this guy is rubbish...he only gets another NHL deal if the name and draft stock fumes float under someone like Brian Burke's nose...
LD Chris Summers (signed thru 2019) - I remember you...you were like a late first round pick a while back...went to Michigan...how'd you get worse at this after all this time? You and Brandon Gormley I guess just don't have the Paul Martin/Andy Greene magic formula...I don't like you. But you're out of sight, out of mind as a third pairing defenseman in the AHL...
(Editor's note: I haven't gotten a good look at the Latvian kid...Bluegers (?) in a while...I've heard some good things about him...but I won't jump on things I haven't seen myself)