2011-12 Pittsburgh Penguin Prospect Thread

[Tomahawk27]

Ahh thanks for clearing that up. I knew was a free agent of some sort after this season but I didn't know Kennedy was signed through next year as well. I wouldn't mind them trying to ship Kennedy somewhere for a pick or avergae prospect just to clear some cap. With that money, make an offer to Neal and see if he stays. The open roster spot could go to Tangradi, Williams, Park, or even Jeffrey when he returns

[burgh_fan66]

Information is tough to come by here I thought I might be able to post some things this year but I have come up basically empty. Hockey's Future did update the list from the beginning of the season though.

1.Joe Morrow, D
2.Simon Despres, D
3.Beau Bennett, RW
4.Eric Tangradi, LW
5.Scott Harrington, D
6.Tom Kühnhackl, RW
7.Robert Bortuzzo, D
8.Brian Strait, D
9.Ben Hanowski, LW
10.Ken Agostino, LW
11.Brad Thiessen, G
12.Paul Thompson, LW
13.Scott Wilson, LW
14.Brian Gibbons, C
15.Carl Sneep, D
16.Nick D'Agostino, D
17.Bryan Rust, RW
18.Josh Archibald, RW
19.Dominik Uher, RW
20.Philip Samuelsson, D

Tangradi that high surprised me at first but I undertsand it more looking at how they are rated. Hockeys Futurte uses a hybrid rating system based on talent and likelyhood to reach that talent. The 3 players above Tangradi are rated with more talent but no one else in the system is. There are 11 players rated right with him at 7.0 but they consider Tangradi the likeliest to reach his potential and I can't really argue against that.

For the record Tangradi is rated a 7.0 which means they see him as having the potential to be:

7. Second-Line Forward/ No. 3-4 Defenseman / Journeyman No. 1 Goaltender - players not quite good enough to play on the top line or pairing on a regular basis, but still possessing enough talent to contribute offensively, defend with some authority, or competently play the goaltender's position for long stretches.

Defense: Filip Kuba, Christian Ehrhoff, Henrik Tallinder
Forward: Rene Bourque, Andy McDonald, Ryan Malone
Goaltender: Chris Mason, Dwayne Roloson, Mike Smith

Thier confidence in him reaching that is a B which means they see his floor as:

6. Third-Line Forward/ No. 5-6 Defenseman / Backup Goaltender - generally speaking, players whose game is defensively-oriented, or whose abilities aren't quite good enough to land full-time duty on the 2nd line, top two defensive pairings, or the No. 1 goaltending position.

Defense: Jordan Leopold, Chris Campoli, Shane O'Brien
Forward: Trent Hunter, Manny Malhotra, Matt Cooke
Goaltender: Scott Clemmensen, Ty Conklin, Alex Auld

[Tomahawk27]

I would say the list is pretty accurate, though Thiessen may be a bit low considering he has NHL experience and performed pretty well when called upon.

It will be interesting to see how Morrow does in the AHL in a year or two. He has always put up more points than the previous year and could be a good offensive defenseman to compliment Letang in a few years time

Like I've said before, I would keep my eye on Ben Hanowski. He's still in college but he scored the most points in Minnesota high school history

[burgh_fan66]

OK, good news time. The Penguins have agreed to a three year entry level contract with 2010 first round draft pick Beau Bennett. For those who may not know Bennett is widely considered one of the Pens top 3 prospects (along with Despres and Morrow) and is almost universally considered their best forward prospect.

[Tomahawk27]

Honestly didn't even know we hadn't signed him to a contract yet. Certainly good news. It will be interesting to see what he can do facing AHL competition

[burgh_fan66]

Honestly didn't even know we hadn't signed him to a contract yet. Certainly good news. It will be interesting to see what he can do facing AHL competition

It was only a function of the strange hockey rules. You can draft a player, control his rights while he is in college and then sign him a few years later. Not sure on the specific rules but it always seemed strange to me.

[burgh_fan66]

The WBS Penguins seem to be doing fairly well this season but strangely enough the key player appears to be Jeff Zatkoff. Zatkoff was I assume supposed to be the backup to Thiessen but has started 15 of the 20 games posting a 1.81 GAA and .930 SV%.

The rest of the team has been rather mediocre. Beau Bennet is having a decent first year and leads the team with 16 points but that doesn't even put him in the league top 40. Tangradi is tied for 5th on the team in points but leads the way with 9 goals. It is tough to tell just how well the defensemen are doing just from the basic stats but Despres has posted only 6 points but that is good for second on the team for defenseman behind Dylan Reese who is at 11.

Looking at the shot total Ben Ferriero leads the way with 72 but has only scored twice, second is Tangradi at 69 (9 goals) followed by Philippe Dupuis at 63 (2 goals) and Paul Thompson at 54 (7 goals). Trevor Smith is the only other above 40 shots at 42 with 6 goals.

Also of note Bobby Farnham, a 5' 10", 180 lb LW leads the team with 51 penalty minutes in just 11 games. Second on the list is another LW but this one with much more size in the 6'5", 250 lb Steve MacIntyre who has 33 penalty minutes in 11 games.

[Tomahawk27]

Here's an article talking about the Pens top 10 prospects with a little insight on each:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...efense-667744/

A lot of defense there as would be expected

[penguins2946]

I'm happy to see that Pouliot is ranked so high, there are a lot of people out to get him because they wanted either Grigs or Forsberg. I'm glad that he could account for something good.

I got kicked off of HF boards for calling someone stupid and using a meme, so I flipped on the moderator and came back to the better website. Feels good to be back.

[jrm2054]

I'm happy to see that Pouliot is ranked so high, there are a lot of people out to get him because they wanted either Grigs or Forsberg. I'm glad that he could account for something good.

I got kicked off of HF boards for calling someone stupid and using a meme, so I flipped on the moderator and came back to the better website. Feels good to be back.

Good this is better lol

[t2a2e9j12]

I'm happy to see that Pouliot is ranked so high, there are a lot of people out to get him because they wanted either Grigs or Forsberg. I'm glad that he could account for something good.

I got kicked off of HF boards for calling someone stupid and using a meme, so I flipped on the moderator and came back to the better website. Feels good to be back.

I like pouliot and think he will be good. I think most peoples issue with the pick was the depth we have at d on all levels and we are weak at winger. I really wated foresberg with that pick.

[penguins2946]

I like pouliot and think he will be good. I think most peoples issue with the pick was the depth we have at d on all levels and we are weak at winger. I really wated foresberg with that pick.

I'm not gonna lie, Forsberg was my 1st choice definitely. A lot of people wanted Grigs, but that wouldn't have worked, because he's a center and he had a ton of issues coming into the draft (his actual age, work ethic, ect). I like the Pouliot pick, but I would have liked the Forsberg pick more.

[t2a2e9j12]

I'm not gonna lie, Forsberg was my 1st choice definitely. A lot of people wanted Grigs, but that wouldn't have worked, because he's a center and he had a ton of issues coming into the draft (his actual age, work ethic, ect). I like the Pouliot pick, but I would have liked the Forsberg pick more.

Agree 100 % I actullay said to my buddy and my wife that they had to take forsberg when the trade for pick happened. I was really amazed bye the Pouliot pick. Shero sems to like drafting d men and has a decent history of drafting them between pitt and nashville.

[joba2007]

Good Q&A with Beau Bennett: http://nhl.si.com/2013/01/24/getting...?sct=uk_bf2_a4