Reality Check
Ok, lot's of talk about a bunch of different issues (don't exactly know how J. Morrow made it into this thread). Morrow and Ruopp are apples and oranges in terms of types of players. Couldn't be more different, in fact.
But here's a reality check that needs to be stated: over the last year or so, Joe Morrow was
NOT considered the top prospect by people within the Penguins organization. Yes, he was considered best by many Pens' fans because they were enamoured with his skating the one pre-season, beauty slap-shot goal he scored on the PP, but that's not the opinion that counts. The opinion that counts is within the Penguins managements offices and amongst their scouts. They liked Joe Morrow, a lot; but they didn't LOVE Joe Morrow. That's part of why they drafted Pouliot and Maatta, and that's why they were willing to trade Morrow over other defensive prospects.
Anything else beyond this is just conjecture.
So..he'll be more of a replacement for someone else than Orpik by then. The Defense certainly looks bright in the next couple years.
I don't see him as a replacement for Orpik anytime soon, if at all. Orpik is a top-4 left-handed, left-side Dman who is big and plays a physical game, and has logged big minutes. I think Orpik's time and role will be replaced by guys like Despres, Harrington and Dumoulin. On the right side, Bortuzzo may play a similar type role to Orpik, and if we retain Murray (unlikely, but possible), then Murray will take some of the role that Orpik has (i.e. on the PK).
Ruopp is more likely to take over Engelland's role: a bottom pairing, right-side Dman who drops the gloves, protects our stars, and gives us a physical presence. I'm sure he'll spend a full 3 years in the AHL, and we'll see how/where he fits in based on how he develops. But he will probably take over Engo's spot as a #5/6/7 Dman who is moved in and out of the line-up, especially early in his career until he establishes himself. If he becomes anything more than this (which is possible), then that would just be a bonus. But at this point, nobody is projecting him to be the next Orpik/Regehr/Foote, etc.
I like what I see of him, But with our defensive depth, He might get caught in a numbers game.
Has he played any forward in his career
Because he plays a specific role that nobody outside of Engelland does, he probably does have a "spot to lose", so to speak, within our organization. And he probably won't be seriously pushing for a spot until after 3 years in WBS, by which time Engelland will be 34/35 years old, if he's even still with us. So Ruopp is pretty safe for now, but will have to play well enough to be a serviceable player who can play real minutes. He seems to be able to skate pretty well and decent at moving the puck, so he's got the chance to do that.
But HFBoards only has him as a 6.0C, so... bust?!?!?!
The HF Rankings systems is, frankly, bad and misleading. I have proposed a few different, alternate rating systems that better convey the qualities of a prospect, but there's no real appetite to change that right now. It's really not very important -- what's important is independent scouting reports by people who watch these kids play, or actually watching these kids play (duh) -- but the biggest issue with HF is that they RARELY ever change these rankings as these players develop. So, for example, if Bortuzzo was a "6C" when he was drafted, he would have remained a "6C" until he plays in the NHL and graduates...
I think we can all tell at this point that Bortuzzo does not merit a "6C" rating. But the ratings are not revised yearly, as they should be, and then you have people on these boards look at these ratings and believe they're accurate, which they are not. That is why they are poor and misleading. But alas. Just ignore the rankings, watch these kids play, and listen to reports from within the Pens' own organization (or other independent or NHL scouts) about how good any given player/prospect is.
