Prospect Info: Penguins #2 prospect

Coastal Kev

There will be "I told you so's" Bet on it
Feb 16, 2013
16,644
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The Low Country, SC
how is ZAR in front of the net? It would be huge to have a guy like him establishing himself this year with Horny's contract running out. Even if it just takes away some leverage from Horny in negotiations, I think that could be big.

I didn't notice that much due to how the camp was set up. But my gosh, the kid carries himself as a force.

The last time I saw a young player carry his kind of swag was Kevin Stevens. I am among the biggest fans of Sprong here, but ZAR was the guy who blew me away in person.
 

WayneSid9987

Registered User
Nov 24, 2009
30,053
5,676
I didn't notice that much due to how the camp was set up. But my gosh, the kid carries himself as a force.

The last time I saw a young player carry his kind of swag was Kevin Stevens. I am among the biggest fans of Sprong here, but ZAR was the guy who blew me away in person.

Kid's sneaky tough:

 

Ugene Magic

EVIL LAUGH
Oct 17, 2008
54,151
18,550
Pittsburgh
ZAR. Goalies are a crap shoot and people are expecting Jarry to go the Murray route even though Murray is a total anomaly. AHL success does often does not preclude to NHL success for a goalie. I see Gustavsson starting to be hugely overrated as well. It's waaaaay too early to tell.

Here is the thing, not all goalies are crap shoots. We haven't even seen Murray take on the full reins of a seasons work load. We'll have this upcoming season to fully gauge where he is. Injuries are a concern.

Jarry may not have the same kind of success, but he will also be coming in most likely on the tail end of this wave they currently are on as a backup.

I agree it's too early to tell, but that goes for all of them.

It's actually nice having this wave of them coming in like domino's.

ZAR and Johnson are going to be some nice sleepers where they slipped through the cracks to the Pens. They still haven't proved a thing at the level Jarry has, yet.

ZAR has 10 games to his credit, and Johnson has zero. I don't think anyone has to say they are a crapshoot as well. They still have to do the same thing, transfer all that to the NHL level from a level they haven't even established themselves in yet.

So bold holds true to any position, as we all know.
 

JTG

Registered User
Sep 30, 2007
50,369
5,670
Jarry. Closest to the NHL, and has shown an upside to be a #1 at the NHL level.

I like Jarry, but has he shown the upside to be a #1 at the NHL level? He's played one game...and his stats in that game weren't good at all.

I went with him, but depending on what you read, unlike when I would read about Murray, some scouts do believe he will be a backup NHL netminder. Almost every scouting report I read about Murray said that he showed starter potential. Gustavsson's scouting report reads much more like Murray's. Gustavsson needs to stay healthy though.
 

Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
76,530
21,073
I didn't notice that much due to how the camp was set up. But my gosh, the kid carries himself as a force.

The last time I saw a young player carry his kind of swag was Kevin Stevens. I am among the biggest fans of Sprong here, but ZAR was the guy who blew me away in person.

Kid's sneaky tough:



Between ZAR, Sprong, and Johnson, WBS should be a ton of fun to watch this season. These college signings sound very promising, and as long as we can keep incorporating, developing, and winning, we should be able to keep attracting them.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
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I went with Jarry. He's proven more and, just going from the scouting reports, has a higher ceiling. Sure he probably finds out whether he can find that ceiling away from us - two or three years as a cheap quality back up before getting traded looks like the likeliest path - but that's still valuable, and, in any case, I'm going for best rather than best for us.
 

JTG

Registered User
Sep 30, 2007
50,369
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I went with Jarry. He's proven more and, just going from the scouting reports, has a higher ceiling. Sure he probably finds out whether he can find that ceiling away from us - two or three years as a cheap quality back up before getting traded looks like the likeliest path - but that's still valuable, and, in any case, I'm going for best rather than best for us.

If you read scouting reports, it seems as though scouts believe Gus will be higher potential than Jarry. Gustavsson is a long way away though. We are talking 3-5 years, I'd say.
 

JTG

Registered User
Sep 30, 2007
50,369
5,670
Aston-Reese to me is one of the more intriguing prospects we've had in a while because he seems like a guy that is a good fit for what we do here - a real solid, tough, team first guy who just goes about his business. The concerns I have with ZAR are his skating deficiencies. I cannot really comment much because I've seen him play exactly one game, so the real problems may be overblown.

That being said, his 2-way game is universally applauded, he's a monster down low, his shot is NHL level, and he scores goals in tight. We have some really quality players that are on the cusp of being NHL ready, which works so well in our favor because those little shots in the arm from younger guys have been our differentiator these past 2 years.
 

Empoleon8771

Registered User
Aug 25, 2015
80,407
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Redmond, WA
I'm excited for ZAR because he seems like he could be a LW version of Hornqvist, which is exactly what the team needs. I'd love to see a top-9 long term with Guentzel-Sheary, ZAR-Sprong and Rust-Kessel as the wing duos.
 

Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
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I'm excited for ZAR because he seems like he could be a LW version of Hornqvist, which is exactly what the team needs.

Great point, and if he can be that then it gives us a options next summer if Horny's demands are too high.

I'd love to see a top-9 long term with Guentzel-Sheary, ZAR-Sprong and Rust-Kessel as the wing duos.

That's effin ridiculous. :yo:
 

JTG

Registered User
Sep 30, 2007
50,369
5,670
I think Kessel and ZAR on the 2nd unit could create some headaches. Kessel needs to be the man on the PP. The one-timer opportunities aren't his bag. More often than not he whiffs, or he stops a puck he should one-time.

Sprong - Hornqvist - Crosby
Letang - Malkin

Kessel - ZAR - Guentzel
Maatta (?) - Schultz

I'd feel comfortable letting Guentzel take draws.
 

TNT87

Registered User
Jun 23, 2010
21,353
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PA
Between ZAR and Jarry for me. I went with ZAR at the last moment.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
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If you read scouting reports, it seems as though scouts believe Gus will be higher potential than Jarry. Gustavsson is a long way away though. We are talking 3-5 years, I'd say.

Yeah, I've seen that. I still have Gus behind Jarry because he's done less in proving it. I don't think the potential difference there outweighs it.
 

JTG

Registered User
Sep 30, 2007
50,369
5,670
Yeah, I've seen that. I still have Gus behind Jarry because he's done less in proving it. I don't think the potential difference there outweighs it.

Which is why I'd also put Jarry ahead of him at this point...

I do believe if you rank guys based on their potential though...it'd go Sprong, Gus, ZAR, and maybe even Bengtsson ahead of Jarry. That's just my opinion though, and I haven't seen much of any of these guys in person aside from Sprong.
 

Ugene Magic

EVIL LAUGH
Oct 17, 2008
54,151
18,550
Pittsburgh
Which is why I'd also put Jarry ahead of him at this point...

I do believe if you rank guys based on their potential though...it'd go Sprong, Gus, ZAR, and maybe even Bengtsson ahead of Jarry. That's just my opinion though, and I haven't seen much of any of these guys in person aside from Sprong.

Add Johnson to this equation.

So people are going to put a level of potential on undrafted players higher than guys drafted to be top 5 at their position?

Potential then there gets overrated in a sense where potential is now used on current events and not what lead up to them.

What was their potential before the current events?

I really just don't buy into that, and one reason why I said ZAR could dominate the poll as #1 next season dependant on Gustavsson. Now you have Johnson added into the mix.

Some guys had that potential from the start. It should never really be about need, potential is potential, and readiness with potential should always win out.
 

Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
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It's Jarry, and frankly I think it's asinine that he won't win this with >90% of the vote.

Jarry has the most success at the level closest to the NHL, but goalies are the least predictable of all the positions, by far. I think you have to either have draft pedigree or a really remarkable AHL start as a goalie to be looked at as a can't miss prospect.

Jarry has been very good on balance, but he slumped late and lost the WBS starter's role by the playoffs in each of the last 2 years to DeSmith, who isn't anybody's idea of a blue chipper.
 

Zero Pucks

Size matters
May 17, 2009
4,586
298
I think things are definitely starting to look up for Jarry, but I'm still not over the moon about him yet either. I thought he seemed really erratic, a lot like bad Fleury gets sometimes, in goal when he was called up for a game last season. I'm sure nerves played a huge part in it, but I wasn't a huge fan of his play during his call up. Glad he's still eligible for another year in WBS, it should do a lot of good for him there for one more season.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
29,292
25,206
Jarry has the most success at the level closest to the NHL, but goalies are the least predictable of all the positions, by far. I think you have to either have draft pedigree or a really remarkable AHL start as a goalie to be looked at as a can't miss prospect.

Jarry has been very good on balance, but he slumped late and lost the WBS starter's role by the playoffs in each of the last 2 years to DeSmith, who isn't anybody's idea of a blue chipper.

Are you sure he lost his net this year? The obvious reason is he was called up for NHL duties and given that his last 5 games for WBS produced 2 shut outs and only 1 game below .900, it seems unlikely they'd have started DeSmith ahead of him if available. That's certainly not a slump.
 

Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
76,530
21,073
Are you sure he lost his net this year? The obvious reason is he was called up for NHL duties and given that his last 5 games for WBS produced 2 shut outs and only 1 game below .900, it seems unlikely they'd have started DeSmith ahead of him if available. That's certainly not a slump.

Nope. I think you're right about this year. I stand corrected.
 

Jacob

as seen on TV
Feb 27, 2002
49,342
24,740
Gustavsson is #3 for me. I went with Jarry here because he's a good prospect in his own right and further along in his development, but I think his upside is a little lower than Gustavsson's.
 

Brandinho

deng xiaoping gang
Aug 28, 2005
14,804
1,405
República de Cuba
I like Jarry, but has he shown the upside to be a #1 at the NHL level? He's played one game...and his stats in that game weren't good at all.

I went with him, but depending on what you read, unlike when I would read about Murray, some scouts do believe he will be a backup NHL netminder. Almost every scouting report I read about Murray said that he showed starter potential. Gustavsson's scouting report reads much more like Murray's. Gustavsson needs to stay healthy though.

I mean, there are legitimate criticisms of Jarry that could give one pause when evaluating his likelihood of success at the NHL level, but a lack of upside isn't one I've ever heard from any credible source.

Also, my answer to the question is Jarry. Unequivocally Jarry. If it weren't him, it'd be Gustavsson. Sure, they may not play a position of need for us, but that's not a criteria that I'll ever consider when evaluating a prospect. I may be more excited about ZAR because we have a greater need for a player like him, but it seems as if he's being overrated a la Vesey where you had a lot of people convinced he'd be an impact player out of the gate for reasons I'll never be able to fathom.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,519
46,242
I like Jarry, but has he shown the upside to be a #1 at the NHL level? He's played one game...and his stats in that game weren't good at all.

I went with him, but depending on what you read, unlike when I would read about Murray, some scouts do believe he will be a backup NHL netminder. Almost every scouting report I read about Murray said that he showed starter potential. Gustavsson's scouting report reads much more like Murray's. Gustavsson needs to stay healthy though.

He's shown improvement in the AHL and, as far as I've read, is still considered a future #1 goalie. Now, does that mean Murray-level or league average-level #1, that's unclear. But I'd say so far he's done enough in his AHL career to still have the same sort of potential he had when was drafted, which was as a potential starter in the NHL.

Goalies are a total crap shoot, though, so we won't know until he actually plays regularly in the NHL.
 

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