Jayson Megna Re-Assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

[hiptanaka]

Megna wasn't eligible for membership at the country club.

 

[ColePens]

Megna was leveling off and I expressed my concern with his hockey sense or lack of experience, whatever it is, he has work to do.

However, he was still doing things to help the team win. On some shifts he looked like he had no idea where to go to make himself an option for Malkin. That said, he was still scoring, back checking well, drew a couple of penalties, and was one of the few guys on this roster willing to go to the net (probably his best attribute since he was called up). His speed was also a big asset as well.

When compared to how poorly Dags is playing, and the two big mistakes he made last night, the move to send Megna down is kind of BS. Let him play himself off the roster.

This is just part of what I'm talking about with DB not making guys accountable. Dags has earned a seat on the bench, but Megna gets demoted instead.

I kind of expected this anyway, even though I expressed some hope DB was changing.

Yeah... I expected it, but he was still helping the team win. It makes no ****ing sense. In my opinion, he should be in the line up.

This is an issue I have w/ DB and the Pens right now. We are so okay with just being good. We don't have any desire to be different. Babcock said what he does is takes the best 12 players that will help us win hockey games. Megna was looking like one of the better players on the ice each night. He was really finding his own out there. So I thought it would be different once Maatta stayed up, but I guess not. I don't really get it. It's not that DB is a bad coach, but then we see line up decisions like this that just make me want to scream. He's not a good coach, but he does bring this team down.

Any other coach would have kept him in the line up. And I get that Glass, Adams, etc. all have roles, but Megna deserved 3rd line minutes w/ spot work in the top 6 by how damn well he was playing. Instead of giving a kid a chance to make something, we just send him back to WBS because he doesn't have a proven track record.

Makes...no...sense.

 

[vodeni]

Yeah... I expected it, but he was still helping the team win. It makes no ****ing sense. In my opinion, he should be in the line up.

This is an issue I have w/ DB and the Pens right now. We are so okay with just being good. We don't have any desire to be different. Babcock said what he does is takes the best 12 players that will help us win hockey games. Megna was looking like one of the better players on the ice each night. He was really finding his own out there. So I thought it would be different once Maatta stayed up, but I guess not. I don't really get it. It's not that DB is a bad coach, but then we see line up decisions like this that just make me want to scream. He's not a good coach, but he does bring this team down.

Any other coach would have kept him in the line up. And I get that Glass, Adams, etc. all have roles, but Megna deserved 3rd line minutes w/ spot work in the top 6 by how damn well he was playing. Instead of giving a kid a chance to make something, we just send him back to WBS because he doesn't have a proven track record.

Makes...no...sense.

see that's what DB does to us, causes total confusion, so I wonder Who the F... is Dan Bylsma?

 

[Shrimper]

Would anyone say that is is inconceivable that could be on the big team next year? Either as on the 3rd line or on the 4th line.

 

[Whakahere]

he won't be because he has no experience in the nhl.

 

[Shrimper]

he won't be because he has no experience in the nhl.

He's got to get it at some point. You can't not promote if he deserves because he's only played a handful of games in the NHL.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him have another stint in the NHL this season and should he do well he may prompt the coaching setup to think about giving him a spot next year instead of Glass or someone on the bottom 6.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Would anyone say that is is inconceivable that could be on the big team next year? Either as on the 3rd line or on the 4th line.

Because we have an unblemished record of signing scrubs in the off-season to compliment our "Dominant C" strategery. We also have an unblemished record of treating young F who are ready to contribute at this level, to a few games a time before demoting them for half the season, rinse and repeat for at least 3 seasons. Partly that's because most of the young F who come up here are just not that good, but the other part is this team is dedicated to experienced grinders. If Bylsma could put 4 Craig Adamses on the 3rd and 4th line, I believe he would. That's not a joke.

Guys like Jeffrey, Letestu... Megna... probably Payerl when he gets a shot, probably Macaroni... they don't have a prayer. Playing well and scoring a few points in teh span of 5 games, is not enough to keep their spot. That's why it's inconceivable (with this coach).

 

[Shrimper]

Because we have an unblemished record of signing scrubs in the off-season to compliment our "Dominant C" strategery. We also have an unblemished record of treating young F who are ready to contribute at this level, to a few games a time before demoting them for half the season, rinse and repeat for at least 3 seasons. Partly that's because most of the young F who come up here are just not that good, but the other part is this team is dedicated to experienced grinders. If Bylsma could put 4 Craig Adamses on the 3rd and 4th line, I believe he would. That's not a joke.

I follow you.

But with Glass up next season I believe, I think we should cut him and save some cap and in my opinion add some speed to the team and someone very determined on a cheaper hit.

When does Megna's contract expire?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Megna is RFA after this season.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Yeah... I expected it, but he was still helping the team win. It makes no ****ing sense. In my opinion, he should be in the line up.

This is an issue I have w/ DB and the Pens right now. We are so okay with just being good. We don't have any desire to be different. Babcock said what he does is takes the best 12 players that will help us win hockey games. Megna was looking like one of the better players on the ice each night. He was really finding his own out there. So I thought it would be different once Maatta stayed up, but I guess not. I don't really get it. It's not that DB is a bad coach, but then we see line up decisions like this that just make me want to scream. He's not a good coach, but he does bring this team down.

Any other coach would have kept him in the line up. And I get that Glass, Adams, etc. all have roles, but Megna deserved 3rd line minutes w/ spot work in the top 6 by how damn well he was playing. Instead of giving a kid a chance to make something, we just send him back to WBS because he doesn't have a proven track record.

Makes...no...sense.

I don't like DB sending Megna down but quoting Babcock here rings pretty hollow, as any Detroit fan will attest. He has no more credibility than DB when it comes to playing young guys over vets.

Bylsma's sending Megna down. Babcock's kept Nyquist down.

 

[Captain Hook]

Yeah, I've seen many criticisms on the Wings board over the years of Babcock not playing young players enough. I don't think this is a Bylsma or Babcock issue though. I'd say the majority of coaches favor their veterans.

I still think Megna will get his chance here. Bylsma actually seems to like him.

 

[Jacob]

I don't know of a coach in the NHL that likes having rookies on their roster. I was watching some NHL Network show about the Bruins camp/preseason, and Chiarelli was talking to Julien about how the dropping cap meant that they needed to get a longer look at some younger guys (Caron and Bartkowski I think were the topic) and basically Julien was gritting his teeth and refusing to say anything positive about their camps. You could just tell that he didn't want to put up with rookies on his team for whatever reason.

 

[mpp9]

I'd rather have Cleary than D'Agostini. Bit of a difference there. Hell, we wanted Cleary signed over the summer. That's who is keeping young guys out of the lineup there.

 

[Kobita]

Maybe I saw something different with Megna. First off, I don't get the lack hockey sense comment I keep seeing. Admittedly, I didn't watch him much prior to his call up, but he showed more poise and playmaking ability with the puck in a few games than I ever remember seeing from TK. That one move he had where he slipped it through the defender's skates and walked him cleanly was something TK could never do.

I also don't see the same physicality with Megna that we saw with Kennedy. I just think they are really different players. Of course, it's a small sample size so I will need to see more.

There was one shift where we had possession of the puck and he sort of...skated side by side with the guy who had the puck up the boards. He looked like he had absolutely no clue where he was supposed to be and sort of just skated a big circle around the offensive zone, half of that circle skating eight inches away from our puck carrier. That's the most blatant example of a lacking hockey sense, but I dunno if it's so much "no hockey sense" as it is "random colossal brain fart."

 

[#66]

I don't know of a coach in the NHL that likes having rookies on their roster. I was watching some NHL Network show about the Bruins camp/preseason, and Chiarelli was talking to Julien about how the dropping cap meant that they needed to get a longer look at some younger guys (Caron and Bartkowski I think were the topic) and basically Julien was gritting his teeth and refusing to say anything positive about their camps. You could just tell that he didn't want to put up with rookies on his team for whatever reason.

Yeah and every coach has their favorite bottom sixers... anyone remember Keenan and Noonan or Mateau.

Megs going down sucks. The big club needs speed on the wings bad... really bad.

 

[Whakahere]

He's got to get it at some point. You can't not promote if he deserves because he's only played a handful of games in the NHL.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him have another stint in the NHL this season and should he do well he may prompt the coaching setup to think about giving him a spot next year instead of Glass or someone on the bottom 6.

you think I am kidding? Who has they brought up from the AHL who has been able to hold onto a role within the top 9 or even a regular since disco dan has been coach of the team? ..... The person who has played the most games is none other than Deryk Engelland! Hell even Joe Vitale still gets scratched even after playing better than many other the other plugs we have had. Jeffery can't get into the line up .... Vitale even struggles to hold a spot. Megna hasn't a chance in hell of making it into the 3rd line.

 

[Captain Hook]

Beau Bennett has already become a regular in the NHL in only his 2nd year in the organization. The futility when it comes to forwards earning regular spots in our lineup may speak as much or more to the lack of quality forward prospects in the organization than it does about Bylsma. I really can't get too bent out of shape that Letestu, Jeffrey, Tangradi etc. are not regulars here. I just don't think any of them are that great.

 

[Whakahere]

of course but they didn't get much of a chance to do anything here have they. We always end up signing a older guy. Hell Maatta is the first defencemen they have kept in the line up since dan has been here but he has never played in the ahl. Bennett still gets scratched.

The penguins don't play players from our AHL team. It is what it is. Either we can't draft or we aren't developing our own players to be in the NHL.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I'd rather have Cleary than D'Agostini. Bit of a difference there. Hell, we wanted Cleary signed over the summer. That's who is keeping young guys out of the lineup there.

The likes of Cleary and Miller are comparable with Glass/Adams at this point, and they're keeping Nyquist - not a Megna calibre prospect, but a Bennett calibre prospect - completely out of the NHL.

So no, I won't be accepting any arguments to Babcock's authority when it comes to youth being served.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

The likes of Cleary and Miller are comparable with Glass/Adams at this point, and they're keeping Nyquist - not a Megna calibre prospect, but a Bennett calibre prospect - completely out of the NHL.

So no, I won't be accepting any arguments to Babcock's authority when it comes to youth being served.

As per usual, a great voice of reason.

Cleary is a pariah to Wings fans and he comes at a larger cost than Glass or Adams, and he's helping block not just a top six prospect, but a 24 year-old top six prospect back. There is no reason that could even be argued for Nyquist to be in the AHL anymore. Megna? He has 17 career points...in the AHL. He was a nice surprise, and that surprise puts him on the radar going forward...but Megna is coming from nowhere.


We haven't seen the last of Megna this season, but to suggest that he's legit because of a couple games in the NHL with his background is madness. He's a novice who got called up mid-hot streak and had a fairly advantageous situation to enter into.

 

[jmelm]

We haven't seen the last of Megna ths s season, but to suggest that he's legit because of a couple games in the NHL with his background is madness. He's a novice who got called up mid-hot streak and had a fairly advantageous situation to enter into.

I think this is correct, and I think this move was very much driven by 2 things:

1) This is very much tied in to the salary cap issue. Kobasew, although I don't have particularly high hopes for him, was actually not playing too badly before he got hurt. I think the Pens would like to see what they have in D'Aggostini and Kobasew before making a more "permanent" move for those waiver in-eligible guys, in case they actually play well, or concern that another team may claim them and they want the depth of guys who actually have some NHL experience.

2) Speaking of NHL experience: I am VERY happy with what I saw of Megna when we was here, but let's be honest: this kid was a very late bloomer who still has to learn certain aspects of the game, and to be able to perform at the highest of levels consistently over an 82 game + playoff season. I agree with Mr. Big above that we probably haven't seen the last of him here this season, and as much as we want to see more of him here -- due to our pathetic depth at the RW spot on the 3rd line -- for his own development, he really is better off getting 1st line minutes, playing in all situations, putting up bigger numbers, and gaining the confidence that he will doing all of that in WBS.

I am pumped about having Megna in the fold and think he will be a player for us in the very near future (I'm a lot higher on him than Rust or even Macaroni, for example), but he still has a step or two he can improve, and/or show it for a longer period of time, before being up here for good, which he will be within the next 1-2 years for sure.

 

[tinkezione]

Megna was leveling off

I find very hard to justify this based on the first period against the Rangers, especially when we have freeride surfers doing stupid things for 15+ minutes per game on the roster at the same time. He did not do any magic tricks during that period, but I still think scratching him was a clear sign to the AHL folks to stop dreaming about a spot in the spotlight. Demotion was only good for him because now he gets to play.

 

[Tender Rip]

I thought it was ridiculous that Megna was not allowed to continue doing what he was doing as Malkin's line actually worked with him there, but now that he was already getting scratched and we have been getting forwards back, there is no surprise and also very little consternation on my side that he is sent back the WBS.
It isn't this team's policy to cut a pro before he has had a chance to show himself, and whereas I have no hope that D'Agostino is someone we need, he still hasn't really had a shot. Kobasew showed that he was a fine bottom6 option and - huge surprise - that he should never be on Malkin's line. I have no problem with him playing bottom 6 over Megna, but Megna should get his chance again later in the season... when we've hopefully cut some fat to make room for a move or two.

 

[WayneSid9987]

To be honest with you, i would've stuck Neal on Geno's LW with
Neal-Malkin-Megna for a bit to see what they could give me but oh well...

The writing was on the wall when Shero signed D'ags and Kobasew. Both former 20 goal scorers who will always get the benefit of the doubt with DB.

They should've never signed either and forced DB to let prospects tryout for jobs on the roster.

In hindsight, Shero was just trying to snatch up anything that could give them some scoring punch in the bottom six but it's looking like he's lost that gamble.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Yeah... I expected it, but he was still helping the team win. It makes no ****ing sense. In my opinion, he should be in the line up.

This is an issue I have w/ DB and the Pens right now. We are so okay with just being good. We don't have any desire to be different. Babcock said what he does is takes the best 12 players that will help us win hockey games. Megna was looking like one of the better players on the ice each night. He was really finding his own out there. So I thought it would be different once Maatta stayed up, but I guess not. I don't really get it. It's not that DB is a bad coach, but then we see line up decisions like this that just make me want to scream. He's not a good coach, but he does bring this team down.

Any other coach would have kept him in the line up. And I get that Glass, Adams, etc. all have roles, but Megna deserved 3rd line minutes w/ spot work in the top 6 by how damn well he was playing. Instead of giving a kid a chance to make something, we just send him back to WBS because he doesn't have a proven track record.

Makes...no...sense.

Ya as people have mentioned, Babcock and the Wings really let their prospects stew.

I've used Chicago as an example for years how a team can integrate youth and still be competitive and win championships. They were the model franchise for developing youth IMHO, long before they won their second cup in four years.

However, every fan base will find something to ***** about, including Hawk fans.

Again I'm not looking at this as a rookie vs a vet and wouldn't care that Megna got demoted, if Dags was at least playing decent, like he did in his first game back. However, he is playing like ass, and Megna was doing things to help them win.

It's not like this team is on a ten game winning streak. Any spark or sign of life would help right now. Like I said, you let Megna play himself off the roster.