Pittsburgh Penguins Prospects Thread

[Speaking Moistly]

I guess that's fair but I'm not sure that, even with that possibility, that Hallander's ceiling is definitely higher.

Yeah, that’s not easy to ascertain but I’d say Hallander’s ceiling is more concrete. I’m not sure we can have a clear idea of Bellerive’s ceiling right now. Maybe it’s higher than Hallander’s or maybe it’s a 3rd liner.

 

[wej20]

Bellerive's still on pace for almost 80 points, not worried about him at all.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Both because of what happened to him. Right now I think Bellerive’s ceiling is somewhat in question. We don’t know if last season was an anomaly or if he just won’t be the same after the injury. Hallander doesn’t have a question mark like that.

As much as I like Bellerive, it does seem like that hand injury's impairing him right now.

Worth noting that his doctor told him that he may not even play hockey for a year after the incident though, so the fact that he's playing at all let alone putting up over a P/G is pretty encouraging...even as a 19 year old in the Dub.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I guess that's fair but I'm not sure that, even with that possibility, that Hallander's ceiling is definitely higher.

Hallander generally flies under the leaguewide radar, and I get the sense he’s largely known as a “safe” high floor/middle ceiling prospect- even by us.

Why? Fast, skilled forward with a good shot who’s intelligent and plays a relentless, frenetic pace. Can go to the hard areas. Great numbers against men in his draft year, then moves up a league and continues to produce. Young for his draft class.

The tools are there, the numbers are there. He does the little things. A little hot takey, but I feel his best-case upside is absolutely high-end.

 

[Peat]

Hallander generally flies under the leaguewide radar, and I get the sense he’s largely known as a “safe” high floor/middle ceiling prospect- even by us.

Why? Fast, skilled forward with a good shot who’s intelligent and plays a relentless, frenetic pace. Can go to the hard areas. Great numbers against men in his draft year, then moves up a league and continues to produce. Young for his draft class.

The tools are there, the numbers are there. He does the little things. A little hot takey, but I feel his best-case upside is absolutely high-end.

The skill is the part in question. I don't think I've seen anyone suggest that he's particularly handsy and that's where the cap on his ceiling seems to be. If I'm wrong, that'd be pretty cool.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

The skill is the part in question. I don't think I've seen anyone suggest that he's particularly handsy and that's where the cap on his ceiling seems to be. If I'm wrong, that'd be pretty cool.

Never thought of him as a dangler or a guy with high-end/elite handles, but was very much under the impression his hands were soft and skill is a plus tool. Was not aware that was a question mark. Maybe I’m too high on him then.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Hallander generally flies under the leaguewide radar, and I get the sense he’s largely known as a “safe” high floor/middle ceiling prospect- even by us.

Why? Fast, skilled forward with a good shot who’s intelligent and plays a relentless, frenetic pace. Can go to the hard areas. Great numbers against men in his draft year, then moves up a league and continues to produce. Young for his draft class.

The tools are there, the numbers are there. He does the little things. A little hot takey, but I feel his best-case upside is absolutely high-end.

I don't know if I have it in me to feel hopeful about another Pens prospect, but him and Kasper are two that I really hope keep progressing in the right way. Even Pavs.

Bellerive's still on pace for almost 80 points, not worried about him at all.

Only near open fires.

 

[Jacob]

I think even Hallander looks like a complimentary top-6 winger, at best. Which is fine, you're not gonna nab elite talent in the late 2nd.

 

[Peat]

Never thought of him as a dangler or a guy with high-end/elite handles, but was very much under the impression his hands were soft and skill is a plus tool. Was not aware that was a question mark. Maybe I’m too high on him then.

I don't think skill is a question mark, I just don't think it's a particular strength either if you get me.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I don't think skill is a question mark, I just don't think it's a particular strength either if you get me.

Gotcha. I had been under the impression it was a strengths of his game from video/clips but everyone looks good in highlights.

I did just go back and read a bunch of pre draft scouting reports on him to see what the consensus experts had to say. And tbf I was encouraged to see that his hands & puck skills are widely mentioned as being strong tools and a big part of his good play/production.

Butttttt, it is important to note that prospect writers want to make every single player sound exciting (in a truthful way) and they have to base judgements off limited viewings. Imo still good to see it noted though.

I think even Hallander looks like a complimentary top-6 winger, at best. Which is fine, you're not gonna nab elite talent in the late 2nd.

I think that’s a fair opinion, but imo low for the absolute best possible case scenario. Something to remember about draft position is that Hallander is prob a late 1st/early 2nd if he doesn’t hurt his knee.

I agree that he’s not an elite talent and I’m not saying he has that level of superstar upside. But I do think in general his ceiling and talent are largely underrated on here, and if all the chips were to fall perfectly and the best case played out I could see him as a high-end 1st liner. I mean that as in a guy who at his peak is a shade below the All-Stars and top tier players but can drive top 6 play and score in that 55-70 pt range. Again that’s just best-case, he probably won’t hit that comp.

I totally get if that ceiling is too rich for some too. But I’m very high on Hallander as a whole. Everyone has their guys.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I think even Hallander looks like a complimentary top-6 winger, at best. Which is fine, you're not gonna nab elite talent in the late 2nd.

Are we pretending Nikita Kucherov doesn't exist?

DON'T YOU DARE TAKE AWAY MY HOPE!

 

[Peat]

Gotcha. I had been under the impression it was a strengths of his game from video/clips but everyone looks good in highlights.

I did just go back and read a bunch of pre draft scouting reports on him to see what the consensus experts had to say. And tbf I was encouraged to see that his hands & puck skills are widely mentioned as being strong tools and a big part of his good play/production.

Butttttt, it is important to note that prospect writers want to make every single player sound exciting (in a truthful way) and they have to base judgements off limited viewings. Imo still good to see it noted though.



I think that’s a fair opinion, but imo low for the absolute best possible case scenario. Something to remember about draft position is that Hallander is prob a late 1st/early 2nd if he doesn’t hurt his knee.

I agree that he’s not an elite talent and I’m not saying he has that level of superstar upside. But I do think in general his ceiling and talent are largely underrated on here, and if all the chips were to fall perfectly and the best case played out I could see him as a high-end 1st liner. I mean that as in a guy who at his peak is a shade below the All-Stars and top tier players but can drive top 6 play and score in that 55-70 pt range. Again that’s just best-case, he probably won’t hit that comp.

I totally get if that ceiling is too rich for some too. But I’m very high on Hallander as a whole. Everyone has their guys.

Hey, I'm going from the same data as you. Maybe I'm misremembering things, or maybe I'm just rating skill in a different way to you.

And I was gonna say that sounds a pretty generous top end, then I remember that everyone keeps saying Hallander is like Hornqvist with speed and hands (he's definitely got better hands than Hornqvist), and Hornqvist with speed and hands would be in the lower echelon of the type of player you describe (conservatively speaking) so maybe its not all that far fetched. Ditto the other comparison of Hagelin with size and hands. A Horny-Hagelin hybrid doesn't need to have Gaudreau-esque hands after all...

 

[Jacob]

d’Orio hasn’t dressed the last 2 games, trade might be imminent?

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

d’Orio hasn’t dressed the last 2 games, trade might be imminent?

Or maybe he was hospitalized for exhaustion.

 

[BladeRunner66]

I’d put Hallander on a tier above Bellerive (injury), Almeida (size) and Drozg right now. Drozg is the wildcard for me as well and I think he’ll stay that way until he’s in WBS or if he gets traded to a better QMJHL team.

Probably won't happen, as someone already said here, Q teams can only have 2 Euros or non-Québecers playing for them (not sure but i think it's 2 non-Québecers). This makes it very unlikely that a Q team would trade one of their 2 non-Q to another Q team for one of their non-Q.

Speaking of Drozg, he's 27gp, 8g 23a 31pts, -17 (he was -21 in 61gp last season but his Q team devolved since then), good playmaker, still has to work on his shot, presently at WJC under 20 representing Slovenia. Now 19yo 6'2".

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Probably won't happen, as someone already said here, Q teams can only have 2 Euros or non-Québecers playing for them (not sure but i think it's 2 non-Québecers). This makes it very unlikely that a Q team would trade one of their 2 non-Q to another Q team for one of their non-Q.

Speaking of Drozg, he's 27gp, 8g 23a 31pts, -17 (he was -21 in 61gp last season but his Q team devolved since then), good playmaker, still has to work on his shot, presently at WJC under 20 representing Slovenia. Now 19yo 6'2".

Let’s pretend I’d thought of that before.

 

[Jacob]

Surely there’s some playoff bound Q team with an open import spot, or an import player clearly inferior to Drozg.

 

[OnMyOwn]

Penn State Hockey's Nikita Pavlychev Lands At No. 1 On SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays | Onward State

 

[Gumbercules]

Surely there’s some playoff bound Q team with an open import spot, or an import player clearly inferior to Drozg.

It's possible, but there likely wouldn't be many suitors. The very top teams have their Euro slots filled with top end talent for the most part, and the teams toward the bottom of the playoff pool also have their Euro slots filled with 16-17 year olds who are going to be around the next few years when those teams are ready to compete. Drozg being a 19 year old is likely to be gone after this season which would only make him a target for teams who think they have a shot at a deep run this year, which in the Q is usually just 4-6 teams. He could still find a home (Drummondville and Halifax make the most sense to me), but the nature of the Euro player rules and his age are conspiring against him a bit.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Penn State Hockey's Nikita Pavlychev Lands At No. 1 On SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays | Onward State

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Pav with 10G 10A in 17 games now. He's feeling it.

 

[rmartin65]

He still has so much room to fill out that frame... he is going to be a monster once he fills out.

I get that everyone looks good on their youtube videos, but Pavs really does seem to have good hands and skating ability for someone that large. He is probably one of the top 5 Penguins prospects for me, at the moment.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

He still has so much room to fill out that frame... he is going to be a monster once he fills out.

I get that everyone looks good on their youtube videos, but Pavs really does seem to have good hands and skating ability for someone that large. He is probably one of the top 5 Penguins prospects for me, at the moment.

The Penguins have 5 prospects?!

 

[rmartin65]

The Penguins have 5 prospects?!

I know you are speaking tongue-in-cheek, but the Pens prospect pool really isnt dreadful. Nobody really profiles to be a top6/top4 stud, but I would be shocked if the Penguins didnt have about 5 guys in the system who don't end up playing at least 300 games at the NHL level.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I know you are speaking tongue-in-cheek, but the Pens prospect pool really isnt dreadful. Nobody really profiles to be a top6/top4 stud, but I would be shocked if the Penguins didnt have about 5 guys in the system who don't end up playing at least 300 games at the NHL level.

I'd argue the bolded is exactly what makes it bad. You need an influx of guys who can play in those key roles. Having a prospect pool full of 4th liners and 3rd pairing defensemen isn't winning you championships.