Recalled/Assigned: Derrick Pouliot sent back to WBS

[UnrealMachine]

I'm glad he is sent back. As excited as I am about his future, his defense is not NHL ready. We could be just fine with him on a 3rd pairing, but I'd much rather him play 20+ a night for WBS and come into training camp next ready to take a permanent spot.

Same. He looks as confused in the defensive zone as Adams is in the offensive zone.

 

[Fordy]

You do understand that means we're stuck with him? No chance at a trade or anything. There is no reason he shouldn't be sat here or there since he is getting up there in age.

That's a coaching decision. With the wealth of D-men there's really no reason not to rest him every 7/8 games.

there is no chance for a trade or anything because the organization does not want to trade him

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

He wasn't ready to play D at the NHL level. Hopefully he can be ready by next year.

 

[jmelm]

Bust.

 

[penguins2946*]

Does this mean that Maatta's progressing nicely or what? Seems odd that they would run with only 6 healthy D.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

I'm glad he is sent back. As excited as I am about his future, his defense is not NHL ready. We could be just fine with him on a 3rd pairing, but I'd much rather him play 20+ a night for WBS and come into training camp next ready to take a permanent spot.

Yup. No need to rush him. He needs AHL time to work on his D, and his development is the most important thing.

At the same time, I think Dumo, and to a lesser extent Harrington, have reached a point where they need NHL time to continue developing.

 

[JWells16]

No need to rush him.

 

[HandshakeLine]

About time. I'm not sure why they took their sweet time sending him back. I know they are big fans and I agree that he showed a lot of (mostly offensive) promise. But I think he needs to go back in the oven for a while. I would argue that he isn't even ready for a sheltered/specialty role in the NHL, yet... unless the injury situation is dire.

In short... the people that say he probably has another year or even two are looking pretty much spot on.

Well, he still got an NHL paycheck, got to work out against NHLers, and potentially work more closely with the training staff/coaching staff here in the actual NHL. It's not like it's a zero-sum game here. I would have sent him down a bit earlier, but it's not some weird mystery that he stayed up for a few more games, I think.

Man, there was a time round these parts when we actually enjoyed our prospects coming up for a cup of coffee to learn something. Whether or not they did is another matter entirely.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I just figure it would be more valuable in all aspects for him to get top playing time in a league that is at his actual level of ability, at the moment. I get that practicing with NHLers and just being around is valuable. But only to a point.

It's not that big a deal. I'm just glad they don't have him riding pine, anymore.

 

[cassius]

Ryan Ellis played ~60 games in the AHL before he became a full time NHL'er... I see no reason why Pouliot can't have a similar dev path. Pouliot is already 1/2 way there... ~30 GP in AHL

 

[HandshakeLine]

I think we're all being a little hypersensitive after our last few forward busts, but honestly, the one thing this club actually knows how to do is develop defensemen. It's about the only thing I feel confident in saying "hey, maybe the front office ISN'T run by the morons who post on the trade board?"

 

[joeyjake5]

It's good that he got a few games but the kid needs to work on some things. Great chance for him to do that down in WBS and come back up a better player as a result of it down the road.

So I wonder what scuds has to work on. Isn't it the obligation of the pen's braintrust to play the best 20 players regardless of experience.

 

[radapex]

Why not Scuderi? Someone literally kill me now.

Because Scuderi would still cost almost $2.5-mil against the cap if he were waived and assigned to WBS.

 

[joeyjake5]

He is costing you 3.3MM on the cap no matter if in PGH. or W-B and he isn't playing good D. He deserves to be in the minors for no other reason than bad performance.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I'll bet Joeyjake could turn a thread about how to make a french onion soup into a Scuderi thread in under 3 posts. Dude's got an eye for such things.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Good move to send him down now, Pouliot needs a little more seasoning. But I disagree that he needs another year or two in the minors. The remainder of this season and the playoffs down in the AHL, playing top minutes as the #1 Dman, ought to be enough. Add a little size in the offseason, and he will be good to go as our #5/6 next year, IMO. At any rate, we have options.

 

[Ugene Magic]

Tomorrow we could see Harrington is called up.

 

[SEALBound]

He has a lot of hockey ahead of him. He'll be back.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I think its obviously the right move to send him back down, my only complaint is i don't know why it took so long, DP wasn't getting any better sitting in the press box.

 

[Callista Rhian]

Glad that he's being sent down. There were flashes of brilliance, but he's simply not ready yet. No reason to overwhelm him and break him before he's ready.

 

[Deutschland Dangler]

I think its obviously the right move to send him back down, my only complaint is i don't know why it took so long, DP wasn't getting any better sitting in the press box.

Meh, it's been three games and Letang had two or three maintenance days between them.
And honestly, nobody could predict that we would go so many consecutive games without a defender suffering a devastating injury.

 

[madinsomniac]

My guess is he will be back up before the playoffs... he just needs more playing time than he will get here in the meantime.

 

[jmelm]

Ryan Ellis played ~60 games in the AHL before he became a full time NHL'er... I see no reason why Pouliot can't have a similar dev path. Pouliot is already 1/2 way there... ~30 GP in AHL

It's not about number of games played in Pouliot's case. He needs at least the rest of this season + this offseason to mature & develop physically, and work hard off the ice. There's no question that his surgery last year prevented him from doing that.


And he also would benefit mentally just from having another year to mature, lead his team to what is hopefully a solid playoff run, etc.


Bottom line, and anyway you want to slice it, Pouliot is just not ready yet. He got GREAT experience up here, playing some games, getting to practice with the big club, and seeing guys like Letang, Crosby, and others and how they prepare to be great NHLers. Oh, and he got paid nicely while he was up here for that extra week or so, too. This (unforeseen, due to injuries) opportunity was great for him.

 

[Pancakes]

He's really just not ready yet but it was a good experience for him. He knows what he needs to do now and what kind of speed to expect at the NHL level.

He'll be back next year, maybe even this year.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Quite confident he'll be on the Pens roster next year and running the PP.
MJ will have had it with Letang by then.