Confirmed with Link: Matia Marcantuoni Signs ELC

[Crafton]

PensNation_Nick ‏@PensNation_Nick 14m
Congrats to Matia Marcantuoni who signed a three-year entry level deal with the Pens.

https://twitter.com/PensNation_Nick/status/391652992065503232

would like a better source, but this should get the discussion started...

Click to read more...

 

[Shrimper]

Sings? Bet that was interesting.

Good to see him signed up though. Hope he can give us something down the center in the coming years.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

A bit of odd timing, but even with his disappointing stat line since being drafted it was a given that he was going to at least get an ELC. Hopefully this helps light a fire under his ass.

edit: Here's a better source - The Penguins themselves.

 

[PensFan101]

I'm pretty surprised he's getting an ELC, still feels like he's living off of the hype he had coming out of Midget and "fell" to Kitchener. 6 points in 9 games would be his best scoring pace since entering the OHL, and unless his speed really translates to the pros, he doesn't have a lot else going for him as an NHL level prospect. Haven't seen him this season, so maybe a Rangers fan can give some insight, and maybe he's turned the corner?

 

[TheStinger]

Is he with Kitchener or the Baby Pens now?

 

[Captain Hook]

I'm pretty surprised he's getting an ELC, still feels like he's living off of the hype he had coming out of Midget and "fell" to Kitchener. 6 points in 9 games would be his best scoring pace since entering the OHL, and unless his speed really translates to the pros, he doesn't have a lot else going for him as an NHL level prospect. Haven't seen him this season, so maybe a Rangers fan can give some insight, and maybe he's turned the corner?

Pens aren't exactly stacked with forward prospects. The kid seems to have enough talent to be worthwhile given what little else they have in the pipeline.

 

[Stecz]

I'm pretty surprised he's getting an ELC, still feels like he's living off of the hype he had coming out of Midget and "fell" to Kitchener. 6 points in 9 games would be his best scoring pace since entering the OHL, and unless his speed really translates to the pros, he doesn't have a lot else going for him as an NHL level prospect. Haven't seen him this season, so maybe a Rangers fan can give some insight, and maybe he's turned the corner?

Hustle, speed and a disregard for your own safety will get you far in professional hockey. Farnham, Scrabbles, Rinaldo to name a few.

 

[Shrimper]

Is he with Kitchener or the Baby Pens now?

I believe he's the Kitchener Rangers 1st line C.

 

[JTG]

I remember people stroking themselves over this pick.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I'm pretty surprised he's getting an ELC, still feels like he's living off of the hype he had coming out of Midget and "fell" to Kitchener. 6 points in 9 games would be his best scoring pace since entering the OHL, and unless his speed really translates to the pros, he doesn't have a lot else going for him as an NHL level prospect. Haven't seen him this season, so maybe a Rangers fan can give some insight, and maybe he's turned the corner?

He hasn't been the same since his concussion problems, but he is getting back there now I feel.

I disagree that he doesn't have a lot going for him. He is one of the fastest prospects I have ever seen. He is a workout warrior and loves to play a physical game. He also has a decent pair of hands. He isn't Crosby, but he isn't Dupuis either.

It all depends on how you look at him. If you look at Mac as a top end prospect who can play in your top six, you may be disappointed. If you look at him as a guy who can be a forechecking beast and a top end third liner, you have your eye in the right place.

If Mac is coached up, he can create absolute havoc on the forecheck and be a valuable player. I don't think he will ever be a big points guy though.

 

[eXile59]

He's looked great the last prospect camp. I don't understand how he's not lighting it up. He might just be a workout warrior I guess.

 

[nhindian]

Hustle, speed and a disregard for your own safety will get you far in professional hockey. Farnham, Scrabbles, Rinaldo to name a few.

Matia is more like Grabner than those guys.

 

[JTG]

With his speed, he may be a good 3rd wheel type top 6'er. I mean, good size, physical, good wheels...sounds like a Geno LW'er to me.

 

[Ogrezilla]

With his speed, he may be a good 3rd wheel type top 6'er. I mean, good size, physical, good wheels...sounds like a Geno LW'er to me.

I don't think good size is correct, is it?

 

[JTG]

I don't think good size is correct, is it?

6'0 and in the 200-210 range

 

[Ogrezilla]

6'0 and in the 200-210 range

I stand corrected then.

 

[jmelm]

15 posts in, and no one has posted the picture of the Macaroni yet? Darth Vitale: where are you?


p.s. congratulations to MM. Hoping he could be a really good bottom-6 forward for us in a few years down the line. Gotta love his speed, 2-way game, commitment to playing hard on the forecheck and defensively, and his ability to be a good PKer (and his right-hand shot). If he can do that for us, that would be great. If he can add some offense to that, that would be the icing on the...um, I mean the extra cheese on top of the Macaroni.

 

[MonsterSurge]

 

[wej20]

Surprised, I thought they'd see how his season played out before signing him given how underwhelming he's been since being drafted. His speed means he'll always be an intruiging prospect.

 

[Darth Vitale]

 

[SBrisScout]

I see MM as being a good 3rd line player for the Pens down the road. Hopefully his speed translates well to the pros.

 

[Waffle Fries]

He hasn't been the same since his concussion problems, but he is getting back there now I feel.

I disagree that he doesn't have a lot going for him. He is one of the fastest prospects I have ever seen. He is a workout warrior and loves to play a physical game. He also has a decent pair of hands. He isn't Crosby, but he isn't Dupuis either.

It all depends on how you look at him. If you look at Mac as a top end prospect who can play in your top six, you may be disappointed. If you look at him as a guy who can be a forechecking beast and a top end third liner, you have your eye in the right place.

If Mac is coached up, he can create absolute havoc on the forecheck and be a valuable player. I don't think he will ever be a big points guy though.

I see MM as being a good 3rd line player for the Pens down the road. Hopefully his speed translates well to the pros.

I agree with this. I can see him as a guy who ends up being really annoying to play against. His speed alone will frustrate teams.

 

[jmelm]

Thank you.


p.s. what happened to the original picture of Macaroni?

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Macaroni had an assist last night against Guleph.

Sadly, the Rangers lost.

 

[jmelm]

He hasn't been the same since his concussion problems, but he is getting back there now I feel.

I disagree that he doesn't have a lot going for him. He is one of the fastest prospects I have ever seen. He is a workout warrior and loves to play a physical game. He also has a decent pair of hands. He isn't Crosby, but he isn't Dupuis either.

It all depends on how you look at him. If you look at Mac as a top end prospect who can play in your top six, you may be disappointed. If you look at him as a guy who can be a forechecking beast and a top end third liner, you have your eye in the right place.

If Mac is coached up, he can create absolute havoc on the forecheck and be a valuable player. I don't think he will ever be a big points guy though.

I agree with this. I can see him as a guy who ends up being really annoying to play against. His speed alone will frustrate teams.

I agree with this for the most part, except that I think he'll need to show some more offensive ability at the higher levels (i.e. the AHL) to really show if he projects to be a great 3rd liner, as to what appears more likely now: an excellent 4th liner on this team, or 3rd/4th line tweener. Archibald is ahead of him right now, and they bring very similar things to the table in terms of speed, forechecking ability, some grit, 2-way play, etc. Marcantuouni does it with a touch more size, but Archibald does it with more skill and innate offensive ability.

I'm not sure if Archibald projects to really be a top-6 forward at this point, so at least for now, I project Archie as a really high-end 3rd line RWer, or perhaps middle-6 forward. I don't think he's the guy who is going to flank Crosby long-term. I'd like the long term picture to include a guy more along the lines of a Marian Hossa (to use an old example) or a Jacob Silvferberg (to use a more recently talked about example, even though I think he's playing too well for Anaheim to trade him) as the calibre of winger to play with Sid.

I think Dupers and Kunitz will maintain their play for another 2-3 years after this one, but by the time they're on the decline, Sid will still be in the prime of his career and I think everyone in the fanbase and organization would love to see him playing with an elite, all-star calibre winger. And that's an asset we should be able to attain with some combination of our depth at defense, free agency, and/or draft picks. Sorry if this is hijacking the Macaroni thread, and I do have high hopes for the guy, but I do think there's a realistic trickle-up effect of, say "Marcantuoni--Archibald--Neal--???" when we project the future line-up of this team 2/3/4/ years from now when these prospects like Archibald & Macaroni will be roster players.