Pittsburgh Penguins Prospects Thread

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I can't wait for these prospects to be NHL-ready in a few years, just in time for us to be chasing top-5 picks annually because we've wasted the final years of Sid/Geno on JR going after guys like Tanner Pearson, Ryan Reaves, Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson.

All joking aside, I'm excited. I hope they pan out, and they impress next camp/pre-season. This team could use some hunger and youth badly.

 

[stardog]

What has Erik Gudbranson done while in Pittsburgh to deserve criticism? Yeah he's expensive and the money could have been used elsewhere. No he isn't the ideal fit for what most fans want or isn't the model image of what was the proven formula this team used to win cups.
But none of those are things that he can, nor should be held accountable for.
Almost every fan of this team decided he would come here and be awful, and in fairness, his play over the years gave them plenty of cause for those thoughts. Yet also in fairness, there should have been more of a wait and see approach given his past teams.
So I am talking about his play during his time here. While no all star, when weighing expectation versus delivery, he has exceeded such far more than any player on the team.
When the metrics folks get involved, the very same ones who gleefully posted all sorts of fodder on the day he was traded to Pittsburgh, the expected ammo from his time here is nowhere to be found because it was a complete 180 from the bottom dwelling numbers which previously defined his career. Those people who were mocking the deal and laughing have all gone dark.
Sure the sample size is small (also not EG's fault), it is what we have.
Yet constantly he is taking potshots, from fans and media and/or when the discussion turns into yet another Jack Johnson complaint thread, the two are often lumped together. It's like there is nothing the guy can do to get a fair shake. The massive amounts of negativity he caught from Pens fans even before suiting up was more than many get throughout their entire careers and while I understand being skeptical, this went far beyond that.
So he goes out there, by far exceeds even the best of the few to no positive expectations of even the most optimistic of fan, yet still receives a ton of negativity.
Now there's much more acknowledgement of his better play (usually with a caveat, like a backhanded complimentary which finds an excuse for his play not being awful and usually the credit goes anywhere but to him) but considering there was almost zero positive coming his way upon his arrival, that ain't saying much.
I just don't get the criticism when the expectations have not only been met but greatly exceeded.

 

[The Old Master]

I just don't get the criticism when the expectations have not only been met but greatly exceeded.

glad to see you posting again. as for the criticism, it starts with him being over paid. as those people post, the magnifying glass gets put on him (so everything looks worse) along with unreal expiation's. then you have those that join the band wagon because they don't know as much as they think they do, or aren't able to think for them selves.

 

[WayneSid9987]

What has Erik Gudbranson done while in Pittsburgh to deserve criticism? Yeah he's expensive and the money could have been used elsewhere. No he isn't the ideal fit for what most fans want or isn't the model image of what was the proven formula this team used to win cups.
But none of those are things that he can, nor should be held accountable for.
Almost every fan of this team decided he would come here and be awful, and in fairness, his play over the years gave them plenty of cause for those thoughts. Yet also in fairness, there should have been more of a wait and see approach given his past teams.
So I am talking about his play during his time here. While no all star, when weighing expectation versus delivery, he has exceeded such far more than any player on the team.
When the metrics folks get involved, the very same ones who gleefully posted all sorts of fodder on the day he was traded to Pittsburgh, the expected ammo from his time here is nowhere to be found because it was a complete 180 from the bottom dwelling numbers which previously defined his career. Those people who were mocking the deal and laughing have all gone dark.
Sure the sample size is small (also not EG's fault), it is what we have.
Yet constantly he is taking potshots, from fans and media and/or when the discussion turns into yet another Jack Johnson complaint thread, the two are often lumped together. It's like there is nothing the guy can do to get a fair shake. The massive amounts of negativity he caught from Pens fans even before suiting up was more than many get throughout their entire careers and while I understand being skeptical, this went far beyond that.
So he goes out there, by far exceeds even the best of the few to no positive expectations of even the most optimistic of fan, yet still receives a ton of negativity.
Now there's much more acknowledgement of his better play (usually with a caveat, like a backhanded complimentary which finds an excuse for his play not being awful and usually the credit goes anywhere but to him) but considering there was almost zero positive coming his way upon his arrival, that ain't saying much.
I just don't get the criticism when the expectations have not only been met but greatly exceeded.

Think it takes a bit for a traded player to really settle in.
Yes, you are correct, he did pretty well(pretty much a 180 on his underlying numbers) post trade but we are at the point where he's settling in now and what he really is will shine through.
Can he keep that 180 flip? Will he regress a tad? Or will he be VAN level bad?
Thats yet to be determined.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

What has Erik Gudbranson done while in Pittsburgh to deserve criticism? Yeah he's expensive and the money could have been used elsewhere. No he isn't the ideal fit for what most fans want or isn't the model image of what was the proven formula this team used to win cups.
But none of those are things that he can, nor should be held accountable for.
Almost every fan of this team decided he would come here and be awful, and in fairness, his play over the years gave them plenty of cause for those thoughts. Yet also in fairness, there should have been more of a wait and see approach given his past teams.
So I am talking about his play during his time here. While no all star, when weighing expectation versus delivery, he has exceeded such far more than any player on the team.
When the metrics folks get involved, the very same ones who gleefully posted all sorts of fodder on the day he was traded to Pittsburgh, the expected ammo from his time here is nowhere to be found because it was a complete 180 from the bottom dwelling numbers which previously defined his career. Those people who were mocking the deal and laughing have all gone dark.
Sure the sample size is small (also not EG's fault), it is what we have.
Yet constantly he is taking potshots, from fans and media and/or when the discussion turns into yet another Jack Johnson complaint thread, the two are often lumped together. It's like there is nothing the guy can do to get a fair shake. The massive amounts of negativity he caught from Pens fans even before suiting up was more than many get throughout their entire careers and while I understand being skeptical, this went far beyond that.
So he goes out there, by far exceeds even the best of the few to no positive expectations of even the most optimistic of fan, yet still receives a ton of negativity.
Now there's much more acknowledgement of his better play (usually with a caveat, like a backhanded complimentary which finds an excuse for his play not being awful and usually the credit goes anywhere but to him) but considering there was almost zero positive coming his way upon his arrival, that ain't saying much.
I just don't get the criticism when the expectations have not only been met but greatly exceeded.

The only thing that's going to change opinions on Gudbranson after years of terrible production and underlying numbers is sustained performance. He's got 20 games while being buoyed by a very steady defenseman who can be put to better use elsewhere. Not everyone defers to the most optimistic possible outlook after 20 games under circumstances that shouldn't be continued.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

First set of boxcars - seems early, but stuff's already happening

WHL

Calen Addison (D, Lethbridge) GP4 G2 A3 P5 PIM6 -2

QMJHL

Samuel Poulin (W, Sherbrooke) GP4 G1 A2 P3 PIM4 +2
Nathan Legare (W, Baie-Comeau) GP3 G2 A2 P4 PIM2 -1

SHL

Filip Hallander (W, Lulea) GP2 G0 A1 P1 PIM2 +1
CL GP4 G2 A1 P3 PIM0 +5
SW U20 GP4 G0 A3 P3 PIM0

Huge shame about his injury after a hot start

Linus Olund (C, Brynas) GP5 G0 A2 P2 PIM0 -1

Liiga

Antti Palojarvi (D, Lukko) GP5 G0 A0 P0 PIM4 +0
U20s - GP4 G0 A0 P0 PIM0 +2

Valtteri Puustinen (D, HPK) GP8 G2 A7 P9 PIM2 +0

Santeri Airola (D, SaiPa) GP2 G0 A0 P0 PIM0 -2

Not sure why Airola's in the Liiga with SaiPa and not in Kettera in the Mestis as originally advertised

FWIW, I found this on Airola.

August 26th
Agile Santeri Airola and SaiPan Matias Mäntykivi , who played in the Russian tournament with the Finnish U20 national team, will join the SaiPan team leaving for Switzerland in the evening. At the summer booking event, Airola, booked by the Pittsburgh Penguins, is on loan at SaiPa during the tournament.

SaiPa will begin their trip to Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland today, where they will meet Geneve Servette on Wednesday, HC Chamonix-Morzine on Friday and Friborg Gotteron on Saturday at La Coupe les Bains.

SaiPan Kasperi Torikka is on loan this week in Agility. Agile plays Thursday against K-Vantaa at home.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 11
SaiPa and Agile lend players. Defender Santeri Airola moves on a loan from Agile to SaiPa, while defender Kasperi Torikka goes to SaiPasta to Agility.

Airola was already with SaiPa in a training tournament in Switzerland, while Torikka has already played in the agile Finnish Cup matches.

Both players' loans are open-ended and the situation is reviewed weekly.

Santeri Airola SaiPan mukaan Sveitsin turnaukseen
Santeri Airola lainalle SaiPaan - Kasperi Torikka Ketterään

If I read that right, the 2 players were swapped on loans for the tournament and for whatever reason they decided to keep them with their new teams for the time being.

ETA: They have his game logs here Game logs | #6 Airola, Santeri | Liiga
He played 20 minutes in game 2 of the season, played 11 minutes in game 3, and hasn't played in the 6 games since then. IDK if he's banged up or just hasn't gotten back into the lineup.

 

[dogthateats]

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

Think it takes a bit for a traded player to really settle in.
Yes, you are correct, he did pretty well(pretty much a 180 on his underlying numbers) post trade but we are at the point where he's settling in now and what he really is will shine through.
Can he keep that 180 flip? Will he regress a tad? Or will he be VAN level bad?
Thats yet to be determined.

How about judging a player on what he does for our team instead of projecting he will settle in to being a bad player again. Gudbranson hasn’t been nothing but excellent for the Pens and had some of the best metrics for all defenseman for his time with the Pens last year. Gudbranson looked great during the preseason and in his first two games this year. Last game wasn’t anything special but I blame that on mixing and matching defense pairings the whole game. Absolutely hated the 7 defenseman thing and that was the worst I seen the pairings this year. I have no problem trading Gudbranson or JJ for cap space and playing Riikola and or Marino but let’s judge a player on how he does in our system. Using that measure Gudbranson has been a very pleasant surprise and has been worth his contract for how he has played since arriving.

 

[WayneSid9987]

How about judging a player on what he does for our team instead of projecting he will settle in to being a bad player again. Gudbranson hasn’t been nothing but excellent for the Pens and had some of the best metrics for all defenseman for his time with the Pens last year. Gudbranson looked great during the preseason and in his first two games this year. Last game wasn’t anything special but I blame that on mixing and matching defense pairings the whole game. Absolutely hated the 7 defenseman thing and that was the worst I seen the pairings this year. I have no problem trading Gudbranson or JJ for cap space and playing Riikola and or Marino but let’s judge a player on how he does in our system. Using that measure Gudbranson has been a very pleasant surprise and has been worth his contract for how he has played since arriving.

To be fair to everyone else, he's #7 on the depth chart right now. JJ and Marino have outplayed him.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

To be fair to everyone else, he's #7 on the depth chart right now. JJ and Marino have outplayed him.

JJ hasn't outplayed anyone.

Possibly ever.

 

[WayneSid9987]

JJ hasn't outplayed anyone.

Possibly ever.

Well, Riiko hasn't been in a game yet so i'll say out of all the D thats played this season.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Well, Riiko hasn't been in a game yet so i'll say out of all the D thats played this season.

Stats don't support that either though. JJ's been as bad as ever, both in absolute and relative terms.

He's just shit.

 

[dogthateats]

Delete

 

[WayneSid9987]

Stats don't support that either though. JJ's been as bad as ever, both in absolute and relative terms.

He's just ****.

Guds has been worse. LUL

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Stats don't support that either though. JJ's been as bad as ever, both in absolute and relative terms.

He's just ****.

Well we arent gonna be able to trade him if you keep mentioning this

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

Guds has been worse. LUL

Didn't Sully bench Johnson over Guds in the playoffs last year

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

Get this JJ crap out of here.

I keep thinking there's prospect news only to click and

 

[Jacob]

Seems like both Q kids are off to meh starts so far, stats-wise. Though Baie-Comeau sucks and Poulin is shooting at like 3% so that’ll probably improve.

 

[Jacob]

Poulin must’ve read my post cuz he had 2 goals & 7 shots today, 1st star.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Poulin must’ve read my post cuz he had 2 goals & 7 shots today, 1st star.

Scores goals 3 and 4 here. 3 was nice!

Poulin gets the first star! Armada 0 Phœnix 5 – QMJHL

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Seems like both Q kids are off to meh starts so far, stats-wise. Though Baie-Comeau sucks and Poulin is shooting at like 3% so that’ll probably improve.

I know it's very early in the season, so things could change in a hurry. But it would be awesome if one of our prospects just blossomed into this mega-prospect, sort of like how you saw a guy like Anthony Mantha in junior go from a "solid" prospect to one that scored 60 goals and had the potential that he's showing this season.

 

[FreeBobbyFarnham]

Our defensemen are off to a hot start in the NCAA. Through 2 games, Jones has 3 pts (1+2), Reilly also 3 pts (1+2) and Phillips has 2 (0+2). I'm really excited about Reilly. I see real NHL potential there.

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

Didn't Sully bench Johnson over Guds in the playoffs last year

Fortunately we have 4 RD that are top 6 ready with the brilliant move of Rutherford to get Marino for a 6th round pick. Getting a 22 year old NHL ready defenseman for a 6th is incredible. Last year Rutherford added a 22 year old NHL ready defenseman for a waiver wire player. I think both of those players have late 1st round value and we got them both for literally nothing. Most people would be glad to have a late 1st round pick get regular duty by 22 years old. Rutherford makes many more great moves than he makes bad ones. Every GM makes bad moves but the great thing about Rutherford is when he does he is not afraid to move on.

The Pens are much younger and faster in a years time and the reset reminds me a lot of 2016. Pens just need to stay afloat while their whole 2nd line and 3rd line Center are out. This is a great chance for young fast players like Lafferty and Johnson to make a case to be regulars when everyone gets back. Players like ZAR better watch out because Lafferty looks like a keeper.

When everyone is back who makes the top 12?

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

Scary how Unknowledgeable some posters are. No Maatta was the defenseman that was benched. Gudbranson was awesome for the Pens last year and had some of the best metrics in the league during his time with the Pens. Even this year he would be fine on the RD spot but since the Pens have JJ on 3 LD then Marino is the much better fit. I always felt it had to be Riikola-Gudbranson or JJ-Marino as the best options due to what each of those defenseman bring.

Fortunately we have 4 RD that are top 6 ready with the brilliant move of Rutherford to get Marino for a 6th round pick. Getting a 22 year old NHL ready defenseman for a 6th is incredible. Last year Rutherford added a 22 year old NHL ready defenseman for a waiver wire player. I think both of those players have late 1st round value and we got them both for literally nothing. Most people would be glad to have a late 1st round pick get regular duty by 22 years old. Rutherford makes many more great moves than he makes bad ones. Every GM makes bad moves but the great thing about Rutherford is when he does he is not afraid to move on.

The Pens are much younger and faster in a years time and the reset reminds me a lot of 2016. Pens just need to stay afloat while their whole 2nd line and 3rd line Center are out. This is a great chance for young fast players like Lafferty and Johnson to make a case to be regulars when everyone gets back. Players like ZAR better watch out because Lafferty looks like a keeper.

When everyone is back who makes the top 12?

Relax man, Maatta played game 1, sorry i didn't commit to memory that awful series. Also My post you are quoting was actually me defending Guds pitted against JJ

 

[CrosbyMalkin]

Relax man, Maatta played game 1, sorry i didn't commit to memory that awful series. Also My post you are quoting was actually me defending Guds pitted against JJ

My bad, I apologize and as you can see I took that part down even before seeing your post. Sorry