What will Daniel Sprong's fate be after 9 games?

[Boocock]

I'd send him back for a few reasons.

1. He never dominated at the junior level. 39 goals is good but not exceptional. He won't be wasting his time if sent back. Charlottetown is a decent team with a new coach with experience as an NHL assistant. He'll play a ton, improve on his offensive skillset and round out the rest of his game.

2. His spot here is too much of an unknown. We might get a rash of injuries and he sees top 6 ice time. We might be healthy and he's on the 4th line or scratched. He's playing well now but it's normal to experience lulls and confidence issues. Mistakes are magnified and I'd hate to see any 18 year old's confidence bottom out because he made a mistake that costs a game. That's tough to recover from.

I'm always worried about a lost season of development like guys like Niederreiter, Sbisa, Connolly and countless others experienced because their management lacked a little patience.

Stop being logical!

You're probably right, but it sure is nice having that spark in the lineup.

 

[Extra Texture]

God this team is so depressing.

 

[joeyjake5]

Its the obligation of management and MJ to put the best 23 on the roster. With the likes of the golden trio of scudjoy and kunitz still on the team, its not going to happen unless DS scores at least 3 goals in the next four games.

The teams rationale will be he needs to refine his game and gain experience; whereas, the golden trio will continue to suck with their vast experience and leadership. Talent will never be discussed. I feel a lottery pick is coming and that won't be bad.

 

[Zero Pucks]

Sprong will score a hat-trick the next 4 games. Take a minor penalty his 10th game, and then gets sent back to juniors.

I'd expect nothing less from this Pejorative Slured organization.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Non Pens fan here but Id have to admit I think Sprong has looked like he belongs. He actually has impressed me more and more the past few games. Honestly he has been better than half of your other forwards so I would be planning on keeping him if I were management. Punt the dead weight and keep the youth

 

[Coastal Kev]

Non Pens fan here but Id have to admit I think Sprong has looked like he belongs. He actually has impressed me more and more the past few games. Honestly he has been better than half of your other forwards so I would be planning on keeping him if I were management. Punt the dead weight and keep the youth

In Pittsburgh, that dead weight you are referring to is considered to be "Much Needed Veteran Experience".

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

In Pittsburgh, that dead weight you are referring to is considered to be "Much Needed Veteran Experience".

haha true... I dunno, id just love to see him stay.. Pens need to switch er up a little

 

[Penguinsyay]

The poll obviously says what SHOULD happen with Daniel Sprong, not what the Penguins will actually do. I'm not sure why so many people are voting for send him down. Reading comprehension, I suppose. Edit: I know a couple of people have legit reasons, mostly about how the Penguins will misuse him, but the voting just seemed lopsided for something that should be freaking obvious! They should keep him up and they should actually make use of him. I guess people are assuming that the organization's level of idiocy will still remain the same even if they gather enough smarts to keep Sprong in the lineup.

Definitely they should keep him up, but I think there is probably a 90% chance he gets sent down. All of the signs that they do not respect his amount of skill are there, from the limited minutes to the unwillingness to try him on a higher line except when an injury happens. Add in the fact that Dupuis and Fehr will likely be returning from injury soon and there is almost NO way that this organization will choose Sprong over one of the older guys.

 

[ColePens]

I never really understood the whole "He needs to learn to dominate a league before stepping into the NHL." I think some offensive talents need to work on parts of their game, but some guys are 20-40 goal scorers no matter what league they are in.

Examples:

- Orpik/Scuds were never going to be different from AHL to NHL. They were NHL ready but if they weren't on the Pens, they probably would have never gotten a real shot. Their stats weren't going to change.

- Talbot dominated juniors and it didn't come with him to the NHL.

- Beau was a guy who did need to work on size/strength in the AHL. While he had the skill set, he didn't have size/strength at that high level. He needed to work on it, but unfortunately kept getting injured.


Every talent is different. In this situation, I don't see many things Sprong needs to work on. He plays fast but his thought process is not rushed with the puck. That is VERY good. He doesn't look to be overpowered in any way. He doesn't look to have speed problems or anything with his shot release. It's all NHL caliber but needs to grow. So with this specific situation, the only thing the Pens could do is save a year of ELC like Burgs mentioned. It also could allow us to trade Kunitz for a defender and make a strong move toward the ultimate goal.

 

[JWells16]

He may wear out but you know who is almost guaranteed to wear out? Kunitz, Dupuis, Scuderi (although he doesn't skate hard enough to wear out. Smart cagey veteran).

Valid point. However, I think this brings up an entirely different problem.

 

[IcedCapp]

I just haven't seen enough from Sprong to show me he's earned it.

This isn't Peewee. You gotta go out there shift after shift, like it's your last. Because it might be your last.

Sprong scored a nice goal, sure. And he's been good on the forecheck and the boards. But hockey isn't about scoring goals. It's not about the forecheck. It's not about the boards.

Hockey is about grit. Heart. Determination. Sticktoitiveness.

Daniel Sprong, in my estimation, can't even spell sticktoitiveness, let alone display it on a shift-after-shift basis.

Maybe next year, after a year in the juniors, he'll have earned a cup of coffee on the Pens 4th line, with Matt Cullen and Kevin Porter. And then after 2 more years of skating on WBS' top line, maybe he'll earn a full time spot on the 4th line, where, if he proves he can bang it with the Tim Jackmans of the world, we might give him a 3rd line shift.

Until we trade him to some Swedish team for Douglas Murray.

 

[Shady Machine]

Valid point. However, I think this brings up an entirely different problem.

I think it's the same problem. You prioritize vets over youth. Now you have youth that can contribute in the NHL and you are afraid of them wearing out but then proceed to overplay the crap out of your declining vets.

 

[Shady Machine]

haha Iced I almost believed you the first few sentences.

 

[IcedCapp]

haha Iced I almost believed you the first few sentences.

I'm not 100% sure he needs to stay up, but I know the Penguins won't make that call for the right reasons, which bugs the shit out of me.

 

[Coastal Kev]

He may wear out but you know who is almost guaranteed to wear out? Kunitz, Dupuis, Scuderi (although he doesn't skate hard enough to wear out. Smart cagey veteran).

Look around the league at other contenders. All of them have young legs that bring energy, skill, and passion. This team hasn't had that in a long time. Sprong has earned it, looks and acts mature, and is very confident. I don't think he has much more to learn in juniors and both he and the Penguins can benefit from him staying.

Damn Right! I will never understand this logic that an 18 year old will wear out quicker than a 30 something. I have been both and let me tell you, at 18, I would work 12 hours building walls with railroad ties, get off work, drink till I passed out and then was right back at it the next day at 6 am..... 6 days a week!!! If I tried doing that schedule at the age of 35, I would have been admitted in the nearest ICU by Wednesday of a normal work week.

 

[Shady Machine]

I'm not 100% sure he needs to stay up, but I know the Penguins won't make that call for the right reasons, which bugs the shit out of me.

Agreed. I'm not positive I'd keep him up, but I'd like to feed him all the opportunities in the next 4 games before I decided.

 

[Shady Machine]

Damn Right! I will never understand this logic that an 18 year old will wear out quicker than a 30 something. I have been both and let me tell you, at 18, I would work 12 hours building walls with railroad ties, get off work, drink till I passed out and then was right back at it the next day at 6 am..... 6 days a week!!! If I tried doing that schedule at the age of 35, I would have been admitted in the nearest ICU by Wednesday of a normal work week.

Yup. I mean it's one thing if the kid looked weak but he is playing like an NHLer.

 

[Pancakes]

Personally I don't think you can ruin a prospect. I think if a guy is good enough he'll find his way eventually in the league one way or another. So I don't think we'll ruin Sprong if we keep him up. We might delay/hinder his development by causing him to lose confidence/whatever, but as good as he is he's going to be a good NHL player and even the Pens can't f*** that up.

 

[Al Smith]

I just haven't seen enough from Sprong to show me he's earned it.

This isn't Peewee. You gotta go out there shift after shift, like it's your last. Because it might be your last.

Sprong scored a nice goal, sure. And he's been good on the forecheck and the boards. But hockey isn't about scoring goals. It's not about the forecheck. It's not about the boards.

Hockey is about grit. Heart. Determination. Sticktoitiveness.

Daniel Sprong, in my estimation, can't even spell sticktoitiveness, let alone display it on a shift-after-shift basis.

Maybe next year, after a year in the juniors, he'll have earned a cup of coffee on the Pens 4th line, with Matt Cullen and Kevin Porter. And then after 2 more years of skating on WBS' top line, maybe he'll earn a full time spot on the 4th line, where, if he proves he can bang it with the Tim Jackmans of the world, we might give him a 3rd line shift.

Until we trade him to some Swedish team for Douglas Murray.

Maybe he can spend a summer of intense training with Gary Roberts or Jay Caulfield and bypass those prereqs.

 

[IcedCapp]

Maybe he can spend a summer of intense training with Gary Roberts or Jay Caulfield and bypass those prereqs.

Dinosaurcasm

 

[themethod7]

Maybe he can spend a summer of intense training with Gary Roberts or Jay Caulfield and bypass those prereqs.

I mean, you can shit on Jay "ok stop it here ok now let it go" Caufield all you want, but Roberts is legit - spending the summer training with him is nothing to turn your nose up at and I'd hope any of our players that had that chance would take it.