Prospect Info: 2015 Prospect Development Camp

[Zen Arcade]

Marcantuoni is never going to be the player people expected him to be a couple of years before his draft, but he can be a speedy, pesty 4th liner that likes to throw his body around and occasionally shows off some skill. Think Comeau this year before he clicked with Malkin.

 

[thecore]

Kids been putting in work, looks like he's added a legit 15 pounds of muscle. Iirc when I seen him last year he was quite frail, he's changed his body composition alot.

Maybe it's because he has been injured so much in the past he was always rehabbing instead of working out.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Marcantuoni is never going to be the player people expected him to be a couple of years before his draft, but he can be a speedy, pesty 4th liner that likes to throw his body around and occasionally shows off some skill. Think Comeau this year before he clicked with Malkin.

Matia had 1yr in the AHL so far, I don't want to pigeonhole anyone before they get a bit more time to come around or show us what they have. We see time and time again a guy we are on the fence with has a good season and then we're unsure, they either get better or they get worse, I think he's a little behind because of his injury, he adapted to the game because of it and will find either that development path again or he'll carve out a niche for himself in WBS and try to make it that way.

Speedy checkers with some physicality are very wanted in the Eastern conference.

 

[thecore]

Wilson wasn't here today and my understanding is that spot's his to lose. Probably worth keeping an eye on Simon in camp, though.






Gonna have to agree with the latter. I didn't think Guentzel was good at all. At least he's not 5'6 any more.

Guentzel is a chemistry-driven and smart player. He's probably never going to impress in a scrimmage. A little disappointed Sprong didn't do more. This type of format is set up for him to impress.

 

[Zen Arcade]

Matia had 1yr in the AHL so far, I don't want to pigeonhole anyone before they get a bit more time to come around or show us what they have. We see time and time again a guy we are on the fence with has a good season and then we're unsure, they either get better or they get worse, I think he's a little behind because of his injury, he adapted to the game because of it and will find either that development path again or he'll carve out a niche for himself in WBS and try to make it that way.

Speedy checkers with some physicality are very wanted in the Eastern conference.

We'll have to wait, I guess. I liked what I saw of him in WBS playing with Farnham, Leblond and occasionally Uher. Watching him and Farnham forecheck was pretty damned entertaining.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

We'll have to wait, I guess. I liked what I saw of him in WBS playing with Farnham, Leblond and occasionally Uher. Watching him and Farnham forecheck was pretty damned entertaining.

That's the thing, he was put into a role, excelled at it. I am curious as to what other roles they can put him into and if he could step his game up there as well. He provides solid 2-way hockey skills, a ton of speed, grit, and he's a tenacious guy with his checking. He can be a solid cog on a line with 2 offensive minded players that need someone to get in fast on the forecheck and help establish a forecheck.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Maybe it's because he has been injured so much in the past he was always rehabbing instead of working out.

Mac was pretty well known in Kitchener for being a gym rat.

 

[PensPlz]

At the game, my girl turned to me and said Loney's parents should of named him Beau.

 

[wej20]

So the best offensive show of the day came from.someone on an ahl contract... never change pens.

Personally I think we're dreaming anybody but sundqvist makes a push on the fourth line. Hynes in the past got blood from a stone in the ahl but these callups have looked lost in the nhl.

Regardless I still say struggle through it instead of filling uhf bottom six with vets as usual. It's just frustrating considering what other teams have going on with developed talent in the bottom six.

Its a July scrimmage, no need to jump off a cliff just yet.

 

[Waffle Fries]

I was there today. I felt bad for the kids on Team Black

Anyway a few thoughts:

- It was pretty disappointing that the more NHL ready guys like Sundqvist and Wilson were injured. I was also bummed when it was time for the team picture and Marcantuoni walked onto the ice in shorts with his ankle wrapped. I always look forward to seeing his speed at these camps, and I really want to see him on our fourth line someday. There wasn't a report about his injury and there was this article about him healthy and ready to expand his role yesterday, so not sure what happened there.

Team Black:

- Jarry was obviously disappointing.

- I disagree with those saying that Guentzel wasn't good. I thought he showed a lot of skill and made a few nice defensive plays as well. He was one of the better players out there today in my opinion.

- Sprong had a rough showing. I'm not going to judge him on one camp, but it was frustrating as I expected him to be better.

- The big Russian is... big. His skating is a big awkward, which is unsurprising for someone that tall and lanky. He seemed to try to make his way to the net every time he was in the offensive zone, which is where he'll need to be to make it. The most notable thing he did was whack Pouliot in the face, which got a loud gasp from the crowd,

- I like Troy Josephs. He was on a line with Blueger and Tiffels, and I thought he stood out the most of the three. Good board player, good speed. Seems to be good defensively as well.

Team White

- Both goalies had a good showing

- Loney was the star and surprise of the day. If you asked me who was going to score 4 goals, I doubt I would have pegged Loney for anything. Pretty funny that the best player of the day is someone who some on this board complained about giving an AHL contract to.

- Sheary was really exciting to watch. The scorekeeper robbed him of multiple assists. He was probably the fastest player out there today.

- Simon looks like he could be a call-up later in the season. I'm not sure he's ready for NHL time right now though.

- Lindo seems to have a fan club already. People around me were drawn to him and cheering for him. I was happy with how he looked. He's a better skater than I was expecting, and he had a nice screen on a goal. I'm glad that they seem to have taken an interest in developing him because there could definitely be something there.

- Pouliot looked good, as expected. None of the other defensemen stood out much.

 

[eXile59]

I'm not going to take much from a meaningless scrimmage in July.

This is my third year going to this and this had to be the smallest group we have had. Taylor, Dea, Sheary...

Overall though I like that they have free events like the scrimmage. There were a lot of young kids there really enjoying it.

 

[eXile59]

I was there today. I felt bad for the kids on Team Black

Anyway a few thoughts:

- It was pretty disappointing that the more NHL ready guys like Sundqvist and Wilson were injured. I was also bummed when it was time for the team picture and Marcantuoni walked onto the ice in shorts with his ankle wrapped. I always look forward to seeing his speed at these camps, and I really want to see him on our fourth line someday. There wasn't a report about his injury and there was this article about him healthy and ready to expand his role yesterday, so not sure what happened there.

Team Black:

- Jarry was obviously disappointing.

Yeah but so was Murray last year

- I disagree with those saying that Guentzel wasn't good. I thought he showed a lot of skill and made a few nice defensive plays as well. He was one of the better players out there today in my opinion.

- Sprong had a rough showing. I'm not going to judge him on one camp, but it was frustrating as I expected him to be better.

I don't think he was as bad as people are saying. I liked his hockey sense. Showed he can get open. At some point though someone should tell him his team has a goalie as well.

- The big Russian is... big. His skating is a big awkward, which is unsurprising for someone that tall and lanky. He seemed to try to make his way to the net every time he was in the offensive zone, which is where he'll need to be to make it. The most notable thing he did was whack Pouliot in the face, which got a loud gasp from the crowd,

Yes, his skating is noticeably bad.

- I like Troy Josephs. He was on a line with Blueger and Tiffels, and I thought he stood out the most of the three. Good board player, good speed. Seems to be good defensively as well.

I was surprised that he was one of the better forwards out there. Might say more about the prospect pool than anything.

Team White

- Both goalies had a good showing

The Goalie from PSU (from what I could tell from his helmet) had his wife in the stands screaming Micheal every time he made a save. At the end of the game everyone started to mock cheer for him. I couldn't stop laughing.

- Loney was the star and surprise of the day. If you asked me who was going to score 4 goals, I doubt I would have pegged Loney for anything. Pretty funny that the best player of the day is someone who some on this board complained about giving an AHL contract to.

- Sheary was really exciting to watch. The scorekeeper robbed him of multiple assists. He was probably the fastest player out there today.

- Simon looks like he could be a call-up later in the season. I'm not sure he's ready for NHL time right now though.

Besides DP he looked the most NHL ready

- Lindo seems to have a fan club already. People around me were drawn to him and cheering for him. I was happy with how he looked. He's a better skater than I was expecting, and he had a nice screen on a goal. I'm glad that they seem to have taken an interest in developing him because there could definitely be something there.

- Pouliot looked good, as expected. None of the other defensemen stood out much.

Put some of my opinions above. Once again not putting too much stock in it.

 

[Zen Arcade]

I'm not taking much from the scrimmage, it's hard to project what players can do when they're playing with hodgepodge of unfamiliar teammates in a setting that's less than 100% competitive.

I was surprised by Loney's confidence though. I hadn't seen him play before, so I just expected him to be a big, non-flashy role player. Not that I think he's going to be busting out all sorts of crazy moves in real games, but him being willing to try that stuff says almost as much as him pulling it off.

Also, Sheary showed his strengths but also showed one of the areas he needs to work on to take the next step. The odd man rush where he held on to the puck for too long before he dropped it back to a defenseman who wasn't expecting a pass is something he had a problem with in WBS last year too. I like that he's patient and willing to slow the play down, but he needs to get a better feel for when to take charge of a situation and when to defer to a teammate.

It's something he can fix with more experience, because he probably pulled stuff like that off with no problem when he was playing in college. I'd rather have someone that thinks too much than someone with tunnel vision, he just needs to learn to trust his instincts more in certain situations.

It's also not that surprising that Pavlychev's skating is a bit awkward, dude just hit a massive growth spurt. It's going to take him a while to get used to being 6'7 as opposed to 6'3 or so.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think it says that some guys are putting more into it because they know they have to show a little more to stay on the map, not a diss to the prospect pool.

Lindo has things that are hard to find in a lot of players, that's strength and willingness to battle for pucks and play in the dirty areas, he's a guy that I guess they feel they can develop a little more as a solid bottom 6 banger that could possibly be a solid PK specialist as well.

 

[Asuna]

Went to my first scrimmage game. It was pretty fun. Just some observations from players who stood out to me:

- Zlobin: had a nice goal...looked decent out there

- Simon: showed some good skills...good speed. i really think he'll grow into a good fourth liner if he started there this year, with the potential for 3rd line in a few years

- Loney: man among boys it seemed. dunno how he'll translate to the NHL...a bit slow...but he was impressive

- Sheary: very fast, shifty, creative player. should be the first player to call up when injuries hit

- Lindo: i can see why they're working with him a lot. he's a very raw player, but showed a good motor, and willingness to go to the net. i'm interested to see him develop

- Floodstrand: very impressive game...I'm disappointed we can't sign him right now. he showed good creative skills out there and good speed.

- Pouliot: best dman out there..but that was to be expected. was expecting him to stand out a bit more though

- Taylor: mobile dman...small player. interested to see how he turns out

- Angello: good size...very raw though

- Rust: pretty meh game for him. dunno if he'll be good in a 4th line role

- Sprong: was expecting more from him, but he showed he can get open...good shot. even laid a good hit on someone else...can't remember who

- Tiffels: didn't stand out much except he showed very good speed. created a few chances with that speed. i hope he can develop the rest of his game

- Pavlychev: also didn't stand out much except he's huge. created some chances early in the game. didn't see him much since. but with his size he can be pretty good if he can develop...brian boyle type player perhaps.

- Ruopp: didn't show much...lacking in puck handling skills...passed up a few shots. i hope with more experience he can be better

Overall, I think the Pens may have a few hidden gems in Simon, Sheary, Taylor and mayb Loney. Few project players in Lindo, Pavlychev, Ruopp...if the Pens can develop these players properly they'll have some real good players on their hands.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Put some of my opinions above. Once again not putting too much stock in it.

Are you sure you aren't mixing up Matt Skoff and Floodstrand? I think Floodstrand was the "Michael" who seemingly had his entire family there.

As for Sprong, I think it's about expectations more than anything. Mine were probably too high for a kid in his first camp, but I just expected him to shine more.

Josephs was one of the best forwards last year as well. Admittedly, I've never seen him play outside of these scrimmages. He doesn't get much attention as far as prospects go, likely in part because he was a 7th round pick that went the college route. He increased his point total from 5 to 17 from his freshman to sophomore year. Apparently those 17 points were good for third on the roster, and he also led the team in +/- and faceoff percentage. I don't know if he'll become anything, but he seems to have the potential to be a decent two-way energy player.

 

[M0NTY26]

I guess I'm the only one that wasn't impressed at all with DePo. He had a few really bad turnovers. With a year of AHL/NHL games under his belt, he should've been leaps and bounds better than the rest of these guys and he just wasn't.

Yet, it's July, so I'm not stressing over it.

 

[td_ice]

I guess I'm the only one that wasn't impressed at all with DePo. He had a few really bad turnovers. With a year of AHL/NHL games under his belt, he should've been leaps and bounds better than the rest of these guys and he just wasn't.

Yet, it's July, so I'm not stressing over it.

No, I'm with you. He wasn't very good. Didn't have any jump. Looked like he was going through the motions/thought it would be easy. jmo

 

[madinsomniac]

Please keep in mind that every one of these guys has an aspect of the game(or aspects) that the pens staff will have specifically pointed out as a development area... scrimmages like this always have guys stressing that area over their typical game trying to prove themselves... its why you see scorers hitting guys or trying to play D first rather than run and gunning and more defensive guys trying to press for offense... you cant take much out of a game like this outside of the obvious physical strengths they have.

 

[Jacob]

The fact that Loney was the stand out is all the more reason to not really take this kind of format too seriously. We'll get more perspective from camp & preseason.

 

[Ogrezilla]

The fact that Loney was the stand out is all the more reason to not really take this kind of format too seriously. We'll get more perspective from camp & preseason.

right, it seems pretty common for the best players in the AHL to have a harder time moving to the NHL than guys who don't perform as well in the AHL.

 

[eXile59]

Are you sure you aren't mixing up Matt Skoff and Floodstrand? I think Floodstrand was the "Michael" who seemingly had his entire family there.

As for Sprong, I think it's about expectations more than anything. Mine were probably too high for a kid in his first camp, but I just expected him to shine more.

Josephs was one of the best forwards last year as well. Admittedly, I've never seen him play outside of these scrimmages. He doesn't get much attention as far as prospects go, likely in part because he was a 7th round pick that went the college route. He increased his point total from 5 to 17 from his freshman to sophomore year. Apparently those 17 points were good for third on the roster, and he also led the team in +/- and faceoff percentage. I don't know if he'll become anything, but he seems to have the potential to be a decent two-way energy player.

No that makes sense. I just heard "Michael" and "That's my husband" a thousand times.

I got what I expected out of Sprong. He created some scoring chances but isn't strong or consistent enough yet.

 

[ColePens]

I know Skoff pretty well. Cool stuff that he gets to play in this. He has some ups and downs at PSU. Overall solid goalie. Nothing to sign or use in any other way other than letting him do this stuff.

 

[jmelm]

This is probably going to be more depressing than anything.

I know it's July and that it's a scrimmage, but I thought the overall pace, level of intensity and level of compete was seriously lacking in the game. I wasn't expecting physicality, but I was expecting more pace and effort.

 

[Jacob]

right, it seems pretty common for the best players in the AHL to have a harder time moving to the NHL than guys who don't perform as well in the AHL.

Huh?