Prospect Info: Pittsburgh Penguins Prospect Discussion

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Pens fans: "We need less grinders!"
Worse than a legit 4th like NHL grinder gets promoted: "Omg, I'm so heppeh!!"

this fanbase deserve every infuriating thing it encounters.

I hear Glass is having a great year! Leads the team in hits! And he once blocked three shots on one shift!

Who needs fast and aggressive fourth liners like Sill that can hit and actually posess the puck? It's better to be blocking shots every shift because you be getting done hemmed in your own zone cuz you can't cycle that tricky and slippery puck. Foot speed to cover your hashes, bah! Overrated nonsense.

Oh and I don't recall anyone on here saying they need less grinders; just the opposite in fact.

Who are the real grinders on the bottom six? Vitale and?

I know. Glass, because Glass.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Pens fans: "We need less grinders!"
Worse than a legit 4th like NHL grinder gets promoted: "Omg, I'm so heppeh!!"

this fanbase deserve every infuriating thing it encounters.

What in this thread are you even responding to?

Also, why are we now talking about Glass in the prospect thread? Come the **** on.

 

[EVGENIMERLIN]

What in this thread are you even responding to?

Also, why are we now talking about Glass in the prospect thread? Come the **** on.

Every time you start to get solid prospect talk momentum on this thread someone comes in and starts complaining about the big club/coach/Forsberg (yes there are still complaints about people we didn't draft) etc.

It drives me crazy. I'm not singling anyone out, it just always happens.

http://www.thebostonhockeyblog.com/2013/11/sean-maguire-matt-oconnor-roughed-up.html#more

After touting Maguire's good numbers despite BU not being very good, he got trounced last night and pulled early. Maybe I cursed him?

Above is more insight into the game. O'Connor (the other goalie) didn't fare much better. Maguire is still only a sophomore, but he could be serviceable if he continues to develop his positioning.

 

[Stecz]

If Sill can bring something similar to what Glass brings (who has, admittedly, played a lot better this year) for half the price, why on earth are people complaining?

 

[Sivek]

JS Dea is tied for 5th in goals in the Q, with 17 in 22 games. More interesting is that the top 3 goal scorers are all named Anthony. Slightly less interesting, Dea has only 2 assists. Cy Young, here we come. Also he is taking a boatload of faceoffs this season, 528 so far and has won 60% of them.

 

[Jacob]

Yeah, it's a weird anomaly that he's 5th in the league in goals but only 5th on his team in points. Judging only by his insanely high face-off numbers it seems like he's being used in a variety of roles, not just offensively.

 

[EVGENIMERLIN]

JS Dea is tied for 5th in goals in the Q, with 17 in 22 games. More interesting is that the top 3 goal scorers are all named Anthony. Slightly less interesting, Dea has only 2 assists. Cy Young, here we come. Also he is taking a boatload of faceoffs this season, 528 so far and has won 60% of them.

The faceoff #'s are solid. Seems like he's finishing for the people dishing it to him, but his teammates aren't?

How good are the Huskies in the Q anyway?

 

[Sivek]

The faceoff #'s are solid. Seems like he's finishing for the people dishing it to him, but his teammates aren't?

How good are the Huskies in the Q anyway?

They were supposed to a middle of the pack team coming into the season and that's were they're at so far. It's hard to even get a handle of who Dea is playing with considering of his 17 goals, 6 have been on the PP and 2 SH and his even-strength goals don't have too many common connections. As for the faceoffs, they basically have 2 guys that take faceoffs for them. Dea and another player have taken like 65% of the team's faceoffs.

Ruopp back in the line-up for Wheeling. Looking like yesterday might of just been a scheduled game off.

 

[cygnus47]

I've been watching Winterhawks highlights. Pouliot is on the ice for a lot of goals against. Lots of unchecked sticks and lazy pokes. Bleh. Hell of a powerplay quarterback though.

 

[KIRK]

I've been watching Winterhawks highlights. Pouliot is on the ice for a lot of goals against. Lots of unchecked sticks and lazy pokes. Bleh. Hell of a powerplay quarterback though.

He should fit right in on this Pens defense then.

 

[deakka]

I've been watching Winterhawks highlights. Pouliot is on the ice for a lot of goals against. Lots of unchecked sticks and lazy pokes. Bleh. Hell of a powerplay quarterback though.

The positive part is that he must be on the ice for quite a lot of goals for as well since hes a +16 in 20 games played.

I kinda dont care if he improves his poiunt totals from last year or not. scoring at a PPG is good enough. What i do hope is that he improves his defensive game. Scoring will come at almost any level with his passing skills.

 

[MrBurghundy]

I've been watching Winterhawks highlights. Pouliot is on the ice for a lot of goals against. Lots of unchecked sticks and lazy pokes. Bleh. Hell of a powerplay quarterback though.

Which is exactly what I saw before he was drafted and why I wanted no part of the Pens picking him.

 

[jmelm]

Which is exactly what I saw before he was drafted and why I wanted no part of the Pens picking him.

I don't disagree that this is a "problem" that needs to be remedied, and I don't want to make excuses for this player, but this might be an issue of him not feeling particularly challenged at the junior level at this time (I know, ****** excuse).


I think that when we can get him to WBS and have John Hynes bust his ass and challenge him more, and be playing at a higher level, I think he will come around. He hasn't ever really exhibited laziness as a character trait before, so perhaps it was just a particularly bad night, and/or a case of this guy needing to compete against guys at a higher level. This doesn't necessarily mean he will exhibit this particular trait at the NHL level. And I didn't see much, if any, of this in the playoffs last season...


If he were to continue this, he'll find himself in the pressbox very quickly, and he strikes me as a competitive guy who won't want to be in that position. I'm not too worried about it at this point, although I look forward to see how he fares against superior competition in the Super Series, and hopefully the WJCs.

 

[Captain Hook]

A cannot believe a D-Man does not look good in highlights of goals against his team while he's on the ice.

I'm not saying the kid doesn't have work to do defensively but his defensive game can't be accurately judged on highlights. He's also going to be on the ice for a lot of goals against because he probably plays as much or more than any other D-Man on that team.

 

[Burgs]

Pouliot will be hard to judge until he leaves that ridiculously stacked Winterhawks team and proves himself in the pros. The fact that last season Portland had three defensemen on the 1st and 2nd WHL All-Star teams yet Pouliot was not among them leaves me slightly worried.

 

[jmelm]

Pouliot will be hard to judge until he leaves that ridiculously stacked Winterhawks team and proves himself in the pros. The fact that last season Portland had three defensemen on the 1st and 2nd WHL All-Star teams yet Pouliot was not among them leaves me slightly worried.

Well, Seth Jones in Seth Jones, so he's in a totally different category. Rutkowski and Wotherspoon were solid Dmen whose numbers were not too far off. There is a bit of a tendency to put guys who are in their final years and give them the nod, rather than guys who still have junior eligibility and a chance to do it the next season. If one Dman is blatantly better, he'll get the nod, but when you're splitting hairs, there's a tendency to do that.

The real "next" test for Pouliot will be in the Super Series. He's playing both games, so they expect a lot out of him. This will truly be his first and most important "audition" for Team Canada at the WJCs, and their defense is really stacked this year. Pouliot is going to have to bring his A-game in the Super Series and at the December camp if he wants a chance on that roster.

 

[Sjb141]

I think the quicker we get pouliot out of Portland the better. Like to see him somewhere where there's more focus on attention to defensive detail. Shame he can't take Maaata's spot in London.

 

[penguins2946*]

@coreypronman: Nurse, Reinhart, Pouliot, Severson, Pulock. 4/5 guys fight for 6th spot. RT @Thats_Offside: If WJC's start today, who are your 6 D for CAN?

Guess Pouliot will be a bust then

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Megna now has as many goals as he did last season.... In 48 less games.

 

[penguins2946*]

Megna now has as many goals as he did last season.... In 48 less games.

If you include his NHL games as well, he has 2 more goals and only 2 less points in 42 less games than last year. He's going to be a good 3rd liner.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

If you include his NHL games as well, he has 2 more goals and only 2 less points in 42 less games than last year. He's going to be a good 3rd liner.

I don't think we have to label him as a third liner. I know some people on here can't handle it when a wing prospect gets labeled as a top six guy and fails, but that's not our problem, really.

Megna has the skill and speed to be a top six winger and he seems to be improving. He also literally has no one ahead of him to beat out on the farm, DB seems to like him, Jeffrey is gone, and this team never stays healthy.

So he has a lot in his favor. We just have to see if his hockey sense is delayed or if it is absent. If its delayed, he has all the tools to be a top six guy.

We'll see.

 

[cygnus47]

I don't think we have to label him as a third liner. I know some people on here can't handle it when a wing prospect gets labeled as a top six guy and fails, but that's not our problem, really.

Megna has the skill and speed to be a top six winger and he seems to be improving. He also literally has no one ahead of him to beat out on the farm, DB seems to like him, Jeffrey is gone, and this team never stays healthy.

So he has a lot in his favor. We just have to see if his hockey sense is delayed or if it is absent. If its delayed, he has all the tools to be a top six guy.

We'll see.

I see him as the sort of player that will make a lot of chances for himself and put himself in good positions a lot but never really put up any numbers. Just from an eyeball anyway.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I see him as the sort of player that will make a lot of chances for himself and put himself in good positions a lot but never really put up any numbers. Just from an eyeball anyway.

He is so raw, that its almost impossible to even begin to try and predict what kind of player he will be.

We know he is skilled and extremely fast. I've seen enough of his skillet to think he can be a top six guy, but again as I said a couple of weeks ago, I rarely talked about him on here.

A lot of times guys who are fast and skilled, don't like to go to the dirty area to score and when they get to the NHL, they flame out.

One thing I've always liked about Megna is his willingness to go to the net. TD and Zen will back me up on that I would think. That said, he wasn't productive last season like you alluded to. However, this season the production seems to be coming along. So again, who knows what his potential is.

If he's a diamond in the rough, great. If not, the Pens risked nothing by signing him.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

If Sill can bring something similar to what Glass brings (who has, admittedly, played a lot better this year) for half the price, why on earth are people complaining?

We had Jeffrey, who was able to do what D'Agostini could do and the team waived Jeffrey, you think if Sill does well, he's going to move a guy that is over paid in a low cap season?

If someone manages to take Glass in favor of Sill, super, but I doubt Shero does that. He seems to love his plugs as much as Bylsma.

 

[Stecz]

We had Jeffrey, who was able to do what D'Agostini could do and the team waived Jeffrey, you think if Sill does well, he's going to move a guy that is over paid in a low cap season?

If someone manages to take Glass in favor of Sill, super, but I doubt Shero does that. He seems to love his plugs as much as Bylsma.

D'Agostini is on the smallest contract he can possibly have. Jeffrey cost more (if only marginally), hasn't been the same since he blew his knee out and is only 15 months younger than D'Agostini. It's not like a legit top 9 forward was waived in favour of a 35 year old plug. I don't think he's going to move Glass this year, I meant for the coming years. If he can provide grit from within the organisation, it's a lot cheaper than going out and paying FA prices for 4th liners.