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Dustin Penner

brianscot

brianscot

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Jan 1, 2003
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I saw Penner several times this year in the AHL with the Portland Pirates. The kid is the real deal.

He's got a great work ethic and surprising motor skills for such a big man. Most importantly, he always seems to be in good position. Its amazing how opposing players just seem to bounce off of him.
 

Kritty

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Feb 27, 2002
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God Bless Canada said:
To expand on what was said earlier about Penner's story. He was actually cut twice by his hometown Junior A team in Winkler, Manitoba. Played a couple years in Junior B. For those not aware, junior A is a step below Canadian major junior (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), and the MJHL is not exactly recognized as one of the dominant junior A leagues in Canada.

Bottineau's basically an obscure college in North Dakota. No offence to the school, either. Actually, a friend of mine went there for a couple of years. Don't even know if it's classified as Division III.

Penner has the potential to be an all-time, dictionary example of a hockey late bloomer. Young players are supposed to get better every year, but not to the extent that he has improved. He has all the skills to be a star, and the size to match. The sky is the limit.
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And another shot at junior hockey that isn't based in Saskatchewan. Do you actually watch any of the MJHL? This league has gotten stronger and stronger every year to the point where they can definitely compete on the same level as the other junior A leagues in Canada. If I remember correctly, Portage took down the SJHL champs last year, so I guess the league isn't that bad. It sounds to me like you need to see some of these other leagues with the non-SJHL bias because it sure clouds your thoughts on them.
 

God Bless Canada

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Jul 11, 2004
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mmbt said:
There's a great article on Penner in today's OC Register.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/columns/article_1137739.php

You may need to register, or you can get a password from bugmenot.com.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, the SJHL has won the Anavet Cup in what, 8 of 10 years? And the RBC two of the last three years? And the SJHL has had an RBC finalist in four of the last five years. Why do you think Flin Flon plays in the SJHL, even though they could have a very natural rivalry with OCN. (Located in The Pas, which is what, a couple hours away). It's because the SJHL is a better league.

Reality is that the three Western Canadian Junior A leagues are the creme of the crop in Canada. Those three leagues have combined to win 20 of the last 30 RBC's/Centennial Cups. The last national title for the MJHL? 1974's Selkirk Steelers. And they've had two teams reach the final since then.

I have watched a lot of players who were very good MJHL players, even all-stars, struggle in the SJHL.

Last year's Portage team was strong. But their opponents, Yorkton, were betrayed by their own league.
 

inferno98

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Mar 22, 2006
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Ducks look pretty good for the future.

Penner
Getzlaf
Perry
Lupul
Beauchemin
Bryzgalov
+ Ryan in the future
 

Randall Graves*

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He looks like Bertuzzi with his beard...and pass like he can.
 

Hockey-Freak

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Apr 18, 2005
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I would add Bryzgalov to that group!

He´s a puck stopping machine.

I wonder if he will get the starting job next year like Lundqvist got it instead of Weekes.
 

NYR469

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penner's hockeydb.com profile only lists 1 year at the university of maine...did he play 4 years of college hockey??
 

Kevin Forbes

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Jul 29, 2002
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He was in college for four years but did not play four years of hockey. He played two years at MSU and then was redshirted for a season when he transferred to Maine before playing his senior year with Maine.
 

NYR469

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Kevin Forbes said:
He was in college for four years but did not play four years of hockey. He played two years at MSU and then was redshirted for a season when he transferred to Maine before playing his senior year with Maine.
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thanks
 
Dirk316

Dirk316

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Nov 8, 2004
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As a Duck fan i would love and hope he developes some nastiness to his game once he does that imo he could be an ideal 1st liner. He take hits and goes to the net but does not throw hard hits, fight and i havent really seen him involved in any scrums.
 
sammyp

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Dec 2, 2005
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Dirk316 said:
As a Duck fan i would love and hope he developes some nastiness to his game once he does that imo he could be an ideal 1st liner. He take hits and goes to the net but does not throw hard hits, fight and i havent really seen him involved in any scrums.
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Me too.

He hasn't really been involved too much in physical play in the NHL so far, but he has stepped up and supported his teammates in Portland on numerous occasions this year.
 

Le Golie

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Jul 4, 2002
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God Bless Canada said:
Hmmm, the SJHL has won the Anavet Cup in what, 8 of 10 years? And the RBC two of the last three years? And the SJHL has had an RBC finalist in four of the last five years. Why do you think Flin Flon plays in the SJHL, even though they could have a very natural rivalry with OCN. (Located in The Pas, which is what, a couple hours away). It's because the SJHL is a better league.

Reality is that the three Western Canadian Junior A leagues are the creme of the crop in Canada. Those three leagues have combined to win 20 of the last 30 RBC's/Centennial Cups. The last national title for the MJHL? 1974's Selkirk Steelers. And they've had two teams reach the final since then.

I have watched a lot of players who were very good MJHL players, even all-stars, struggle in the SJHL.

Last year's Portage team was strong. But their opponents, Yorkton, were betrayed by their own league.
Click to expand...

This is a little off topic, but a reality check in needed here. Your view of the MJHL is out of date. It's not the mid 90's anymore. The league has improved by leaps and bounds over the last decade. With specific changes like the contraction of the Canadians and the Blues and Saints becoming full time programs, the league is now on par with the SJHL. For the last five years the Anavet Cup is splitting evenly and you can expect that from now on. You make it sound like the SJ teams walk all over the Manitoba teams, which is simply not the case. Over the last five years, Saskatchewan has won it three times (thanks to their recent win) and Manitoba twice. Selkirk blew a 3-1 series lead in 2004 or else Manitoba would have the five year advantage.

To say MJHL all stars struggle in the SJ is ridiculous. Maybe you've seen it, but not in the last 10 years.
 

Le Golie

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Jul 4, 2002
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On to the topic at hand, the story I heard on TSN and CBC is that Penner was cut from his local AAA midget team - the Pembina Valley Hawks. So he played high school hockey with his local team in Winkler, the Garden Valley Zodiacs. Then when he was out of high school he tried out for the Winkler Flyers (Jr A) and got cut there too.

High school hockey in Canada sucks. The talented players all play AAA, it's hard to imagine anyone coming out of high school hockey and going anywhere decent. Most high school players will never even play Jr A. It happens, but not often at all.
 
PMP5030

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Kevin Forbes said:
He was in college for four years but did not play four years of hockey. He played two years at MSU and then was redshirted for a season when he transferred to Maine before playing his senior year with Maine.
Click to expand...

Slightly inaccurate, he played 1 season at Maine in 2003-04 with Junior eligibility, he could have returned in 2004-05 as a senior but chose to leave school early.

2 more good articles on him and his background:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/hockey/nhl/san_jose_sharks/14550096.htm

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/9NCAA/2004/penner_0232.htm
 

college hockey

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Jun 8, 2004
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Kevin Forbes

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PMP5030 said:
Slightly inaccurate, he played 1 season at Maine in 2003-04 with Junior eligibility, he could have returned in 2004-05 as a senior but chose to leave school early.

2 more good articles on him and his background:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/hockey/nhl/san_jose_sharks/14550096.htm

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/9NCAA/2004/penner_0232.htm
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have clarified, it was his senior year of school, but not of NCAA college eligibility.
 

deathbear

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i have no real way of proving this, so you can take my word for it if you like.

i played high school hockey against penner in 1999 and 2000 and in minor hockey before that. really, he was a good player back then, but not a lot better than any of the other good players in the league at the time.

yes, he did get cut from the p.v. hawks, and the winkler flyers of the m7hl.

scouts went to watch my friend at bottineau, but when they showed up, they said "wait a minute, we came for the wrong guy..."

amazing story, and the best part is penner is a really nice guy in person. has always been humble, and deserves what he's getting right now.
 
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