Prospect Info: Prospect Rating #8 (2023 Version)

[Randy Butternubs]

Vote for who you think is the #8 Penguins prospect.

And post who you think should be added.


#1 - Yager - Votes: 56 - 71.8%
#2 - Pickering - Votes: 49 - 86.0%
#3 - Blomqvist - Votes: 33 - 63.5%
#4 - Puustinen - Votes: 43 - 50.6% *** I asked people to change their vote to avoid a runoff poll
#5 - Poulin - Votes: 31 - 63.3%
#6 - Murashov - Votes: 27 - 62.8%
#7 - Broz - Votes: 33 - 68.8%

Click to read more...

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Eric Hartzell

 

[steelcityassault]

Shaw Boomhower
(just re-signed with Wheeling)

 

[Jacob]

Team seems high on Pieniniemi so I'll trust their judgement.

 

[Peat]

Gonna have to have a long think about this.

No doubt the team is high on Pieniniemi, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to believe in a guy who's playing Mestis in his draft year and will be trying to learn how to handle the puck and contribute offensively to NHL standards in Finland's very defensive league.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

What's the # we stop at?

It's starting to get depressing.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Gonna go Jarventie here in hopes he just had a bad draft year and is more of the top 2-3 round pick prospect he was expected to be.

Gauthier is probably the sensible pick. Thought about Ilyin.

 

[Lust for Life]

Went to random.org, typed in all the names left, press random five times.

1. Pieniniemi
2. Glover
3. Gauthier
4. Gruden
5. Belliveau
6. Jarvantie
7. Tankov
8. Plante
9. Ilyin
10. Svejkovsky
11. Ansons
12. Andonovski

Pieniniemi it is.

 

[Peat]

Gonna go Jarventie here in hopes he just had a bad draft year and is more of the top 2-3 round pick prospect he was expected to be.

Gauthier is probably the sensible pick. Thought about Ilyin.

The stuff about Emil Jarventie not processing the game well scares me. Hockey IQ 4 eva. I think he is quite clearly the highest upside guy left in the poll based on pure skills and athleticism though.

If you were to simply show me stats and pick a guy, I'd pick Ilyin. I think.

 

[Freeptop]

Sticking with Belliveau for the same reasons as in the previous vote.

But I'll add this for going forward: Plante and Jarventie are two who intrigue me, albeit from a (very) limited viewing at the summer prospect camps. Both of them were slippery devils who would suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere to retrieve a puck, hound an opposing player, or receive a pass.

Granted, that comes with a huge caveat that summer prospect camps are about as far from real game action as you can get, while still being at least somewhat related to professional hockey.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

The stuff about Emil Jarventie not processing the game well scares me. Hockey IQ 4 eva. I think he is quite clearly the highest upside guy left in the poll based on pure skills and athleticism though.

If you were to simply show me stats and pick a guy, I'd pick Ilyin. I think.

Emil Jarventie's hockey processing power doesn't scare me.
I’m not afraid of anything. I’m afraid of bears. But bear in the forest.

 

[SEALBound]

Do we still have Alexander Pechurskiy's rights? If so, him.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

No doubt the team is high on Pieniniemi, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to believe in a guy who's playing Mestis in his draft year and will be trying to learn how to handle the puck and contribute offensively to NHL standards in Finland's very defensive league.

Yeah idk how many guys can make an impact in the league in a significant way with that heinous of production since being like 12 years old.

 

[Peat]

Ahem. Correction on Pieniniemi. Finnish U20s, not Mestis.

I don't think a single guy drafted from the Finnish U20s since 2015 has made the NHL. I guess sooner or later that's got to change through dumb luck if nothing else? I mean, sure hope so, when we took two guys from that league this draft...

 

[Allie Kitsune]

Whichever has any potential at all to be European Flash instead of Good Ol' North American Trash.

 

[SomeDude]

We’ve about reached that point already.

 

[3ladesof5teel]

I give you guys credit even knowing about where these guys stand at this point.

I'll check to see what some of our prospects are doing from time to time but we're going down the hole pretty far at this level.

 

[WickedWrister]

Pieniniemi probably makes Finlands WJC team, can anyone else remaining make that claim?

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I've got Gauthier's floor as an AHL 1A/1B, ceiling an NHL 1A/1B, and readiness fairly higher than Broz and Pieniniemi.

Pieniniemi's floor is a defense only AHLer, ceiling an NHL two-way middle pair, and readiness quite low.

Edit: with that said I'd rank Belliveau over Pieniniemi.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Pieniniemi probably makes Finlands WJC team, can anyone else remaining make that claim?

Idr if Tankov did, or that he would've if Russia didn't get banned or if it didn't get covid'd, can't remember which was happening during the year he would've played.

 

[Jacob]

Idr if Tankov did, or that he would've if Russia didn't get banned or if it didn't get covid'd, can't remember which was happening during the year he would've played.

He did in the year it was cancelled due to COVID. Played a couple games.

Jarventie might still be there?

 

[Peat]

Jarventie might make it, but nothing like the same role. Pieniniemi will be a top 4 D taking hard minutes, almost locked in. Jarventie would need to set Finland on fire to get a top 6 role.

I think Ilyin might have made it if Russia wasn't on the naughty step. Only might. Russia U20 are playing games against Belarus and themselves, and Ilyin was with the weaker Russia Whites (unlike our saviour Murashov who was with the Russia Reds along with all the notable prospects.

And of course you never know for sure how guys from deeper systems might have gone in terms of getting picked if put in shallower systems.

But still. There's no doubt Pieniniemi is very advanced defensively for his age.

The problem is very defensively advanced prospects with poor offensive numbers have a very bad track record.

 

[SEALBound]

I've got Gauthier's floor as an AHL 1A/1B, ceiling an NHL 1A/1B, and readiness fairly higher than Broz and Pieniniemi.

Pieniniemi's floor is a defense only AHLer, ceiling an NHL two-way middle pair, and readiness quite low.

Edit: with that said I'd rank Belliveau over Pieniniemi.

Yeah the Pieniniemi selection here is a little bizarre to me. After we drafted him I researched as much as I could about him but didn't find much that led me to believe he was anywhere near ready for the big show and I am shaky on how his skill set fits in with the NHL. Some people noted "two-way" play but I'm not sure I've seen much evidence of that. Really, it's such a small sample size from him though. He just hasn't played many games over the last 2-3 years really.

 

[Gurglesons]

Plante

 

[Peat]

Had a peek at the results and voted Ilyin without thinking too hard as it won't matter. Not sure that's who I'll vote next round, just going with a hunch as there's so little seperation.

I'd love to vote for a guy like Svej/Plante/Jarventie/Tankov as it's fun dreaming a skillful late round guy is going to be a huge win, but I don't think the numbers are there for any of them at this point (but then who are they there for).

I'd love to believe in Pieniniemi, but I've made my case why I'm a little slow here. Tbf to him, he did pop offensively for Finland U20s this summer, and he's got a very intriguing off-puck game. If the Pens did find a guy where the numbers are legit lying, then sweet.

Gruden is closest to the NHL but I think his likely ceiling is 10 minutes a night. Pass.

Gauthier... eh, probably should be higher based on his numbers, just a little sus of goalies who don't come with stupid numbers/pedigree.

So... Ilyin. I like high IQ players. I like guys whose highlights show some hustle. And I like guys who score well for their level. I'm not at all convinced he's the best guy left, but it's real tight and damned if I can work it out.