(Video) First NHL Goal: Sprong notches goal in Penguins win

[Zen Arcade]

I'd be fine with him staying if I was convinced that he'd be used properly, I'm not.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

It really comes down to competing with BB for that top 9 RW spot. With everyone healthy aside from BB (which seems a more likely scenario than some) you can go to the 3A and 3B lines, or offensive and defensive 3rd lines like:

Plotnikov Bonino Sprong
Cullen Fehr Dupuis

Man, that looks good to me.

 

[themethod7]

Is "Sprong" Dutch for largemouth bass, because the resemblance is uncanny:

at least in my own head, Daniel Sprong shall now be known as LB.

 

[Shockmaster]

It really comes down to competing with BB for that top 9 RW spot. With everyone healthy aside from BB (which seems a more likely scenario than some) you can go to the 3A and 3B lines, or offensive and defensive 3rd lines like:

Plotnikov Bonino Sprong
Cullen Fehr Dupuis

Man, that looks good to me.

And that's part of the problem. Your idea suggests Kunitz should be safe on the top line.

 

[Sjoelbak]

Is "Sprong" Dutch for largemouth bass, because the resemblance is uncanny:

at least in my own head, Daniel Sprong shall now be known as LB.

Sadly, it just means either the noun "jump" or the past tense of the verb "to jump". I like your translation better though.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

And that's part of the problem. Your idea suggests Kunitz should be safe on the top line.

That is indeed problematic, and something we seem to be stuck with for the time being. Our only hope there for an actual good fit seems to be if Plotnikov can progress well this season and can take that spot somewhere along the line. At which point we should just get rid of Kunitz entirely.

I'm not a fan of Sprong opposite Kessel.

 

[Shockmaster]

That is indeed problematic, and something we seem to be stuck with for the time being. Our only hope there for an actual good fit seems to be if Plotnikov can progress well this season and can take that spot somewhere along the line. At which point we should just get rid of Kunitz entirely.

I'm not a fan of Sprong opposite Kessel.

I'm a fan of finding out if it can or can't work. We already know Kunitz is a bottom 6 player at this point in his career.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Maybe a swap to LW helps Sprong's shooting ability as well. Neal talked at length about it in an article on the Players' Tribune a few weeks ago. A change in shooting angles and the way goalies see your release turned Neal into a 40g scorer.

And to be honest, while I don't really think Sprong opposite Kessel works for the same reasons Plotnikov opposite Hornqvist didn't work (same style, tendencies), I think Sprong opposite Hornqvist or Plotnikov could be great.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

I'd be fine with him staying if I was convinced that he'd be used properly, I'm not.

This is pretty much it for me. His offensive game can still be developed more going back to juniors. He'll take what he knows about the NHL now, and add it to his bag of tricks and experiment and work on stuff more. Compare that to if he stays here, he knows if he turns over the puck too much he'll be riding the pine, so he's less likely to take as many chances and explore and build his own tool-set since he just wants to do whatever is necessary to stay in the lineup and play meaningful minutes.

They're not comparable players, but you can take a player like Sean Couturier, who was even more of a prolific point producer than Sprong in juniors, but his offensive game never developed because his role as an 18 year-old in Philly was to focus on getting even better on the defensive side of the puck, and now that's all he's really good for.