WBS Penguins 2017-18 Season Thread: Pens out in first round, black aces are up

[Dipsy Doodle]

I dunno, WC. We have quite a few guys on the roster that came up from WB/S and earned their stripes in the playoffs. Hell, we even put Pouliot in for a few games. I don't think it'd be ideal, but I think honestly Sprong's chances of getting in are better than you're painting it there. But I think it's going to take an injury to Sheary to do it, because there's other options for the 4th line.

Could be. But Sprong has a few things working against him.

We're deeper on the wing than we've been in previous runs, and already have rookies Simon and ZAR ahead on the depth chart. Sprong is one-dimensional, and most of the WBS guys have had more well-rounded games to earn trust/bolster their chances. And Sprong also has a little attitude which Sully's been known to bristle at (ie Cole) and the org may be trying to humble him to a degree.

I'm not ruling it out, but based on everything I've seen and heard I'd be pretty surprised if we see Sprong on the big club again before next fall. It's not a Greek tragedy, but I'd have given him a shot while ZAR and Simon are injured instead of cycling through the Adams and Glass calibre plugs, who can only do so much even in a best-case scenario.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Semi-related, but why is it always the coaches who came up as terrible grinders who have problems with any confident players? Therrien, Bylsma, Sullivan, Quinn... ad infinitum.

 

[Andy99]

Semi-related, but why is it always the coaches who came up as terrible grinders who have problems with any confident players? Therrien, Bylsma, Sullivan, Quinn... ad infinitum.

Because they were always insecure about their talent and whether they could play in the NHL and those guys aren’t....

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Teddy Bloogs' numbers look pretty good this season.

37 points in 57 games now. Hope he's one of the first in line for a call-up next year. Surprising he hasn't even gotten a cup of coffee yet.

 

[Jacob]

Teddy Bloogs' numbers look pretty good this season.

37 points in 57 games now. Hope he's one of the first in line for a call-up next year. Surprising he hasn't even gotten a cup of coffee yet.

Lotta ES points and clutch goals, too.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Teddy Bloogs' numbers look pretty good this season.

37 points in 57 games now. Hope he's one of the first in line for a call-up next year. Surprising he hasn't even gotten a cup of coffee yet.

I mean, he got a pretty sweet seat in the press box this year for a few games while Rowney rowney'd it all up.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Lotta ES points and clutch goals, too.

Always good to hear about a guy who'll never get PP time here.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

The coaches know what they have in Blueger and he isn't good enough to challenge Rowney. Why bother giving him any coffee.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Semi-related, but why is it always the coaches who came up as terrible grinders who have problems with any confident players? Therrien, Bylsma, Sullivan, Quinn... ad infinitum.

If Bylsma's attitude is any indication, it's because they can't get over their jealousy of players who make the game look easy.

Bylsma sounds so bitter whenever he talks about his time playing briefly with Wayne Gretzky in LA.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I mean, he got a pretty sweet seat in the press box this year for a few games while Rowney rowney'd it all up.

That call up was one of the more ridiculous things Sullivan/JR have done so far.

"Oh hey let's call up a C that looked good in camp and in WBS, but....let's not even let him play!!"

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

That call up was one of the more ridiculous things Sullivan/JR have done so far.

"Oh hey let's call up a C that looked good in camp and in WBS, but....let's not even let him play!!"

There is nothing ridiculous about it. He was called up "In case" and they didnt need him. If they thought he was an NHL center right now he would already have a place on the team. There not gonna play a guy just to use the new toy.

You have every right to disagree with their assessment but nothing about how the situation played out is ridiculous.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

There is nothing ridiculous about it. He was called up "In case" and they didnt need him. If they thought he was an NHL center right now he would already have a place on the team. There not gonna play a guy just to use the new toy.

You have every right to disagree with their assessment but nothing about how the situation played out is ridiculous.

It is kind of weird tho. Under most circumstances you would not call someone up unless you were going to play them. If he is still a player in development then it wouldn't make sense to call him up to sit him. I can why that could be the case if they are placing someone in the top 6 and that person is not going to sit out like originally thought. But for the most part it seems kind of pointless otherwise.

 

[Peat]

It is kind of weird tho. Under most circumstances you would not call someone up unless you were going to play them. If he is still a player in development then it wouldn't make sense to call him up to sit him. I can why that could be the case if they are placing someone in the top 6 and that person is not going to sit out like originally thought. But for the most part it seems kind of pointless otherwise.

Czuczman, G Wilson, Summers and Pedan have all been called up this season without playing iirc. Seems pretty normal to call up a body just in case then return them unused.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Czuczman, G Wilson, Summers and Pedan have all been called up this season without playing iirc. Seems pretty normal to call up a body just in case then return them unused.

I think Pedan was the only surprise to me. I know they can for sure, just seems weird to call up a quality player just to hang out in the press box for a couple of nights. Maybe it's the cal up to create competition, but if that were truly the case it would only work if you played them, I think.

 

[Jacob]

Getting an NHL paycheque even for a weekend is a nice incentive.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Getting an NHL paycheque even for a weekend is a nice incentive.

HAHA, yes! I would love to have that as well!

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

It is kind of weird tho. Under most circumstances you would not call someone up unless you were going to play them. If he is still a player in development then it wouldn't make sense to call him up to sit him. I can why that could be the case if they are placing someone in the top 6 and that person is not going to sit out like originally thought. But for the most part it seems kind of pointless otherwise.

He was there for what a week (or two?) in case of injury. Its just that simple. Sitting for a couple games and practicing with the NHL team for a short time wont hinder development. Its much ado about nothing. IMO he was probably not complaining about the NHL paycheck and per diem.

 

[WDYT]

I don't think there's anything odd about calling up a guy but not using them. Blueger was brought up as insurance while they were on a road trip and one of their regular forwards was hurt. They didn't end up needing to use him. I think teams typically think something like that can be a useful experience because the prospect gets to practice with the NHL team for a bit. Not a big deal.

I'm surprised there hasn't been discussion about Sprong being a healthy scratch yesterday. I think it's clear that there are reasons they think he needs development and is not ready for the NHL. Their pattern of usage of young players the last few years does NOT indicate that they don't trust rookies. See Murray, Dumoulin, Rust, Sheary, Kuhnhackl, Guentzel as examples of rookies who earned regular roles pretty quickly. It seemed Aston-Reese and to a lesser extent Simon were following that pattern. There are clearly things they are trying to get into Sprong's head that they're not yet.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

I don't think there's anything odd about calling up a guy but not using them. Blueger was brought up as insurance while they were on a road trip and one of their regular forwards was hurt. They didn't end up needing to use him. I think teams typically think something like that can be a useful experience because the prospect gets to practice with the NHL team for a bit. Not a big deal.

I'm surprised there hasn't been discussion about Sprong being a healthy scratch yesterday. I think it's clear that there are reasons they think he needs development and is not ready for the NHL. Their pattern of usage of young players the last few years does NOT indicate that they don't trust rookies. See Murray, Dumoulin, Rust, Sheary, Kuhnhackl, Guentzel as examples of rookies who earned regular roles pretty quickly. It seemed Aston-Reese and to a lesser extent Simon were following that pattern. There are clearly things they are trying to get into Sprong's head that they're not yet.

I didn't know he was a healthy scratch..that's kind of unbelievable. Yikes...

 

[Gurglesons]

The coach said word for word he wasn’t a healthy scratch.

 

[Gurglesons]

Semi-related, but why is it always the coaches who came up as terrible grinders who have problems with any confident players? Therrien, Bylsma, Sullivan, Quinn... ad infinitum.

Yeah, Sullivan’s team of grinders like Sheary, Kessel, and Jake Guentzel.

Maybe, like was said at the time of his draft and has followed him since then Sprong is just a prick?

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

The coach said word for word he wasn’t a healthy scratch.

Donatelli on Sprong?

 

[RizzleMcRib]

Yeah, Sullivan’s team of grinders like Sheary, Kessel, and Jake Guentzel.

Maybe, like was said at the time of his draft and has followed him since then Sprong is just a prick?

Or he just isn't as good as some people try to make him out to be.

 

[Gurglesons]

Donatelli on Sprong?

Yeah, that’s what I meant.

I guess he is “technically” a healthy scratch. But obviously they are saying it wasn’t for any reason other than getting a different angle for the game.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Yeah, that’s what I meant.

I guess he is “technically” a healthy scratch. But obviously they are saying it wasn’t for any reason other than getting a different angle for the game.

I'm not sure why he's getting scratched. Judging from Sully's comments it's about how he supports the play, and Donatelli's comments seem to suggest that. They like their call-ups to play a certain way whether we like it or not, and I imagine they're trying to drill that into Sprong.

He's probably wondering why a plug like Jooris (1 point in 4 AHL games) is getting the call too...so maybe scratching him after a game when he scored is trying to highlight that it's not just about production.