Prospect Info: HF Penguins 2019 Top-20 Prospects

Malkinstheman

Registered User
Aug 12, 2012
9,270
8,033
Thanks for voting everyone!

This year, Lafferty jumped the most (+7) and Phillips dropped the most (-8).

I think most would agree that the pool looks better than it has the past few years.

#1 Samuel Poulin (35.6%) (New)
#2 Calen Addison (50%) (+2)
#3 POJ (44%) (New)
#4 Filip Hallander (60.4%) (+1)
#5 Kasper Bjorkqvist (43.2%) (+3)
#6 Nathan Legare (53.2%) (New)
#7 Jordy Bellerive (45.2%) (-4)
#8 Justin Almeida (76.6%) (+6)
#9 Sam Miletic (24.7%) (+6)
#10 Sam Lafferty (33.9%) (+7)
#11 Adam Johnson (36.4%) (+1)
#12 Jan Drozg (37.5%) (+6)
#13 Anthony Angello (31.3%) (-3)
#14 Niclas Almari (44.4%) (-6)
#15 Emil Larmi (33.3%) (NEW)
#16 Nikita Pavlychev (41.7%) (NEW)
#17 Jake Lucchini (36.6%) (NEW)
#18 John Marino (58%) (NEW)
#19 Clayton Phillips (46.5%) (-8)
#20 Judd Caulfield (51.3%) (NEW)
 

Andy99

Registered User
Jun 26, 2017
50,038
32,210
Imo Borkqvist and Militec are slightly high and Legare, Lafferty, and Larmi slightly low, but I’m not quibbling...
 

Zero Pucks

Size matters
May 17, 2009
4,586
298
I'll say it one last time. Almeida should have been higher... We may lack high-end potential franchise players. But we got a solid group of prospects with solid NHL potential that can fill a variety of complementary roles. I can't complain at all with how the list looks, especially with all the high draft picks we've thrown away the past several years. I wish we had this core of prospects while Malkin and Crosby were entering their prime.
 

cygnus47

Registered User
Sep 14, 2013
7,510
2,594
I'll say it one last time. Almeida should have been higher... We may lack high-end potential franchise players. But we got a solid group of prospects with solid NHL potential that can fill a variety of complementary roles. I can't complain at all with how the list looks, especially with all the high draft picks we've thrown away the past several years. I wish we had this core of prospects while Malkin and Crosby were entering their prime.

I think Almeida and Addison are the two with real star potential.
 

Giskard

Registered User
Jun 20, 2008
1,828
568
Alps
I'm looking forward to see Bellerive, Bjorkqvist and Lucchini first season in WBS.
Angello and Lafferty would be nice call-up when injuries starts to pile up in Pittsburgh.
 

steelcityassault

Registered User
Sep 17, 2008
1,249
526
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm looking forward to see Bellerive, Bjorkqvist and Lucchini first season in WBS.
Angello and Lafferty would be nice call-up when injuries starts to pile up in Pittsburgh.

There may be a few guys ahead of them for call-up purposes.. Adam Johnson, Haggerty, DiPauli, Agozzino. But I agree it's a long season and we should see their debuts
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
29,292
25,206
There may be a few guys ahead of them for call-up purposes.. Adam Johnson, Haggerty, DiPauli, Agozzino. But I agree it's a long season and we should see their debuts

Is Agozzino a C? Because I'm guessing that Lafferty's is first C up (depending on Palve), which could be a good or a bad place but probably means he's in a different queue to those guys.

Angello's got a tricky road in front of him though.
 

CrosbyMalkin

Registered User
Aug 7, 2005
6,700
1,722
A much better top 8 than we've seen in a long time

I agree with this. The top 8 is filled with some very nice prospects. After that it is a drop off but I still believe several players after 8 have a shot to help the team and some as early as next season when injuries occur such as Johnson, Lafferty, Angelo, and Miletic are some of them.
 

CrosbyMalkin

Registered User
Aug 7, 2005
6,700
1,722
That's the most talented Prospects list I've seen in some time. Very few (if any) superstars, but a lot of solid potential

I'll say it one last time. Almeida should have been higher... We may lack high-end potential franchise players. But we got a solid group of prospects with solid NHL potential that can fill a variety of complementary roles. I can't complain at all with how the list looks, especially with all the high draft picks we've thrown away the past several years. I wish we had this core of prospects while Malkin and Crosby were entering their prime.

Lack of high-end potential franchise players? Well how many of those types are ever available to draft outside the top one or two picks? As far as high end prospects we could have several on that list or none. Time will tell but when Guentzel and Murray had been prospects I don’t remember seeing them even cracking the top 20 on any league prospect lists and they are both very high end players that still could be franchise types with a little more development.

Murray was well on his way after his two Cups but had not stayed healthy or consistent since. We Murray was right near the top in the league after his poor start last year. If Murray could stay healthy I do believe he would be in the conversation for the top goaltender as one of the top 5 goalies in the league.

Guentzel coming off a 40 goal season and unbelievable playoff numbers for his career could also develop into a consistent top tier performer. Guentzel put up 40 goals and 76 points without being on the top PP and only 11 PP points. Kessel and Crosby had 36 PP points each and if Guentzel gets that duty of Kessel’s this year he could be a top 10 scorer this year in the 90’s point range. So who knows if one of our prospects blossoms into an elite player like Guentzel and Murray did.

For a team that has traded away so many high picks and prospects we have really added many great players to the roster. Really how many teams have added two players like Murray and Guentzel to their lineups that didn’t come from 1st round picks? Pens have really done a great job with keeping the team young and also having good prospects while still going for it every year. I don’t think the organization gets enough credit for this on this board. Hornqvist only forward not 27 or younger surrounding our core. Goaltending young, defenseman all in 20’s besides Johnson surrounding our core defenseman Letang. Every GM makes mistakes but this team has really done a nice job adding good young players while still trading away so many picks and prospects.
 
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Zero Pucks

Size matters
May 17, 2009
4,586
298
Lack of high-end potential franchise players? Well how many of those types are ever available to draft outside the top one or two picks? As far as high end prospects we could have several on that list or none. Time will tell but when Guentzel and Murray had been prospects I don’t remember seeing them even cracking the top 20 on any league prospect lists and they are both very high end players that still could be franchise types with a little more development.

Murray was well on his way after his two Cups but had not stayed healthy or consistent since. We Murray was right near the top in the league after his poor start last year. If Murray could stay healthy I do believe he would be in the conversation for the top goaltender as one of the top 5 goalies in the league.

Guentzel coming off a 40 goal season and unbelievable playoff numbers for his career could also develop into a consistent top tier performer. Guentzel put up 40 goals and 76 points without being on the top PP and only 11 PP points. Kessel and Crosby had 36 PP points each and if Guentzel gets that duty of Kessel’s this year he could be a top 10 scorer this year in the 90’s point range. So who knows if one of our prospects blossoms into an elite player like Guentzel and Murray did.

For a team that has traded away so many high picks and prospects we have really added many great players to the roster. Really how many teams have added two players like Murray and Guentzel to their lineups that didn’t come from 1st round picks? Pens have really done a great job with keeping the team young and also having good prospects while still going for it every year. I don’t think the organization gets enough credit for this on this board. Hornqvist only forward not 27 or younger surrounding our core. Goaltending young, defenseman all in 20’s besides Johnson surrounding our core defenseman Letang. Every GM makes mistakes but this team has really done a nice job adding good young players while still trading away so many picks and prospects.

Tampa has grabbed some pretty good players outside of the first round. I don't think anyone is saying none of these players are capable of having an impact like Murray or Guentzel, far from it actually, but I don't think anyone is a clear slam dunk just yet either. Guentzel was a pretty obvious choice when he was producing senior like numbers while as a freshman and sophomore in college, and especially when he was producing at a ppg rate in his cup of coffee in the AHL. Murray was pretty obvious when he started smashing records his first season in the AHL. I love the potential I see with Almeida but I think he has a few more hurdles he has to clear than Guentzel had to when he reached the AHL; with his size, coming off an injury, not playing against stronger faster players yet. It's all a developmental process. I kinda like that people are putting the cart in front of the horse here. But who knows. In a year or two we could be talking about how 2 or 3 of these players are set to make an impact on the big club.
 

Ryder71

Registered User
Nov 24, 2017
22,831
11,036
Legare IMO has the biggest ''wow'' factor. Beyond that it's a better and deeper group than what we've experienced in recent memory (agreeing with the OP).
 

steelcityassault

Registered User
Sep 17, 2008
1,249
526
Pittsburgh, PA
Is Agozzino a C? Because I'm guessing that Lafferty's is first C up (depending on Palve), which could be a good or a bad place but probably means he's in a different queue to those guys.

Angello's got a tricky road in front of him though.

Agoz is a LW. Forgot about Palve.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
29,292
25,206
Agoz is a LW. Forgot about Palve.

In which case its him and Palve as far as I can see for when the C injuries come - and they come regular enough here - without even a C as 13F. That's a pretty flimsy barrier to NHL game time, not unless they convert every NHL W to C when the time comes.
 

Burn

Registered User
Mar 24, 2018
653
308
Solid list.

Legare really has some high end potential and seems to have that chip on his shoulder to get better.

I really like Philips and Caufield. I think both have the potential and IQ to reach the NHL.

Reilly didnt make the list? Not that he has star potential but hes solid.
 
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Dipsy Doodle

Rent A Barn
May 28, 2006
76,532
21,073
Tampa has grabbed some pretty good players outside of the first round. I don't think anyone is saying none of these players are capable of having an impact like Murray or Guentzel, far from it actually, but I don't think anyone is a clear slam dunk just yet either. Guentzel was a pretty obvious choice when he was producing senior like numbers while as a freshman and sophomore in college, and especially when he was producing at a ppg rate in his cup of coffee in the AHL. Murray was pretty obvious when he started smashing records his first season in the AHL. I love the potential I see with Almeida but I think he has a few more hurdles he has to clear than Guentzel had to when he reached the AHL; with his size, coming off an injury, not playing against stronger faster players yet. It's all a developmental process. I kinda like that people are putting the cart in front of the horse here. But who knows. In a year or two we could be talking about how 2 or 3 of these players are set to make an impact on the big club.

Ultimately though, neither Guentzel nor Murray were well-regarded in league-wide prospect rankings and the Pens system as a whole has generally been underrated, probably because of drafting so few 1st rounders and so many college players with long gestation times.
 
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