1 00:00:03,839 --> 00:00:12,439 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life, presented by fan Tracks, your 2 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,039 source of information and analysis to help you win your 3 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:16,280 fantasy hockey league. 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 2: Block Off has a step hit on staylock Block. 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: Here's your hosts, Jesse Severe and Victor Nuno Fantasy. 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 3: Hockey line back on the Handy Talks Fantasy Hockey Jesse Severe, 7 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,439 Band Tracks and Victor Noon you VP ring side. Victor. 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,960 I try to vary this every time. How you doing today? 9 00:00:37,119 --> 00:00:39,679 Speaker 4: I'm doing well? And actually when people ask me how 10 00:00:39,719 --> 00:00:42,320 to pronounce your name, I say, at twelve o'clock, Yes, 11 00:00:42,439 --> 00:00:43,039 what time it is? 12 00:00:43,039 --> 00:00:47,439 Speaker 3: It's nun yo there you go, oh wow, wow, Victor. 13 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,439 It's a shame the English. Frequently the till day is omitted. 14 00:00:51,679 --> 00:00:55,000 Victor is a till today heavy. Nuno is a till 15 00:00:55,039 --> 00:00:59,240 day heavy, A tildo inclusive. A tildo's safe space isn't. 16 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:01,479 Speaker 4: Then till the inclusive? 17 00:01:01,479 --> 00:01:02,759 Speaker 2: I like that. Yeah we should go with that. 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, till days. I love till Day's all right, Victor. 19 00:01:07,079 --> 00:01:09,359 I'll mention a couple of things as we get this 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,879 episode on the road. One of them is you can 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,959 join our discord where there's going to be an entire room. 22 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,959 I'm going to set up about till days and nothing 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,439 but till they talk in the near future. But more 24 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,760 to the point, it is mostly hockey talk. Let's face 25 00:01:23,799 --> 00:01:26,159 it is mostly hockey talk. That's what you're here for. Anyway, 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,359 People you don't want to hear my typography takes and 27 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,439 you can join that by hitting Victor or myself up 28 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,319 Victor Nuno twelve on X fan Hockey Life on X 29 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,400 Fantasy Hockeylife at gmail dot com. Victor. There are more 30 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,680 things Fantasy Hockey Life is here for. Tell people about them. 31 00:01:47,079 --> 00:01:49,319 Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely if you want to support the show, if 32 00:01:49,319 --> 00:01:51,799 you want some extra bonus content, there's lots of good stuff. 33 00:01:52,319 --> 00:01:56,159 Can help you copilot your fantasy drafts, if you're doing 34 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,400 a startup, any of that kind of stuff. Roster doctor, 35 00:01:58,439 --> 00:02:02,000 personalized attention. Having this conversation with someone recently, and it's 36 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,359 the ranks are one thing, but trying to pick guys 37 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,599 that makes sense for your team, for your context, for 38 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,639 your settings, that's sometimes different, and sometimes it isn't just 39 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,599 as simple as looking at the ranks and who's ahead. 40 00:02:12,759 --> 00:02:14,680 If you want a little bit more of that kind 41 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:17,280 of attention, then you can get it through Patreon dot com, 42 00:02:17,319 --> 00:02:19,159 slash Fantasy Hockey Life. You can also get in the 43 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,479 Tier dynasty and get patron casts other cool stuff like that, 44 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:24,439 So a lot of good stuff. If you want to 45 00:02:24,439 --> 00:02:27,240 contribute also to the average Draft Position project, send us 46 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,520 your rookie drafts. Your twenty twenty four drafts. CSV forum 47 00:02:30,599 --> 00:02:32,439 is best and we can collate that. You can see 48 00:02:32,439 --> 00:02:35,680 all that free on the website Fantasyhockeylife dot com, So 49 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:37,879 lots of good stuff to follow and check out. 50 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 3: And right after this you're going to have our special 51 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:52,120 guest to talk team preview. We'd like to welcome to 52 00:02:52,159 --> 00:02:55,919 the show today the man who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins 53 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,120 for the Athletic Josh Yoee, Josh, how you doing today? 54 00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:04,400 Good guys, how are you doing great? Doing great? Ready 55 00:03:04,479 --> 00:03:09,199 to talk some Pens and I some things about the team. 56 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,479 Puzzle me, So I'm gonna need your help here. Sixteen 57 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,800 straight years in the playoffs, but now the Pens have 58 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,400 been out of it for two years and some of 59 00:03:17,439 --> 00:03:20,639 the stats are not what you would expect from this 60 00:03:20,759 --> 00:03:25,680 Penguins team, this great Penguins team. As they age, their 61 00:03:25,719 --> 00:03:28,800 power play conversion percentage was the third lowest in the league. 62 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,199 They still get off a ton of shots, six most 63 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,560 in the NHL, and while sometimes in recent years the 64 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,120 goaltending has been the question, their goaltending was a respectable 65 00:03:38,199 --> 00:03:40,919 nine hundred save percentage last year, actually above the middle 66 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:45,599 of the league. Unlike the Rutherford years where they sensibly 67 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:48,800 threw in their chips every trade deadline to try to 68 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:54,240 maximize their championship window, this year they even as recently 69 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:55,840 as a year ago when they put it all in 70 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,520 for an aging defenseman we'll talk about later, but a 71 00:03:59,639 --> 00:04:03,560 former Norse winner and great defenseman. But this year they 72 00:04:03,599 --> 00:04:07,800 sold it the deadline. They moved the franchises of youngest 73 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,280 star member of the corps, probably Jake Ginsel, for a 74 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,120 nice package of prospects from a division rival. And now 75 00:04:14,159 --> 00:04:16,680 the question is can the Penguins adding up to their 76 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,720 longtime core to get back to the playoffs and make 77 00:04:19,759 --> 00:04:23,759 some noise down Josh. 78 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:24,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a strange couple of years. I've covered 79 00:04:24,759 --> 00:04:27,319 this team since two thousand and nine, and the Penguins 80 00:04:27,319 --> 00:04:29,560 making the playoffs has never really been in question until 81 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,639 the last couple of years. In particular last season you 82 00:04:32,759 --> 00:04:36,720 mentioned the power play, and that was the most puzzling 83 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,399 thing about these Penguins. If their power play would have 84 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,439 been league average, they would comfortably have made the playoffs. 85 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,879 And not only did they finish thirty first on the 86 00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:50,199 power play despite employing four future Hall of famers on it, 87 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,879 which is incredible, but they also led the league in 88 00:04:53,319 --> 00:04:58,079 shorthanded goals against. It was just an utter disaster on 89 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,279 the man advantage of cost. Trod Rarden, the assistant coaches job, 90 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,639 the personnel figures to be about the same next season. 91 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,920 They didn't really make any massive changes. There are no 92 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,720 big names coming in. It's going to be those same 93 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,279 future Hall of famers on the power play again. And 94 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,600 from a fantasy hockey perspective or simply a wins and 95 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,160 losses perspective, how the Penguins do on the power play, 96 00:05:21,199 --> 00:05:24,360 I think figures to tell the story. If they can 97 00:05:24,399 --> 00:05:27,240 be as good as they should be on the power play, 98 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,480 they could probably still sneak into a playoff spot. But 99 00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:32,000 if they're going to be this bad on the power 100 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,639 play again, and let's be honest, they didn't make the 101 00:05:34,639 --> 00:05:38,279 playoffs last season despite getting fairly good goaltending and despite 102 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,959 Crosby and Malkin being healthy all season, you don't know 103 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,319 that those things are going to happen again next year, 104 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,199 and so the power play is just unbelievably important for 105 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,959 the Penguins, and it's honestly a mystery moving forward. 106 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,639 Speaker 4: One thing that's not a mystery is that is how 107 00:05:53,639 --> 00:05:57,199 good Sidney Crosby is at hockey, because it's incredible. It 108 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,759 seems like he's defying all these aging curves too. We're 109 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,720 recording this just before his birthday eight seven. If you 110 00:06:04,759 --> 00:06:07,480 wonder why he wears eighty seven and the soon to 111 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,240 be thirty seven year old. There's rumors that his contract 112 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,920 extension will be announced on that date, August seventh. We'll see, 113 00:06:12,959 --> 00:06:15,040 you'll probably know by time this comes out. Despite all 114 00:06:15,079 --> 00:06:17,399 the decline of the players around him and talent leaving, 115 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,279 Crosby just continues to be awesome. Another ninety four point season. 116 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,680 I don't know what else we should expect from him. 117 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:26,680 He just seems like it doesn't matter who's around him, 118 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,439 it doesn't matter how old he is. Seems like he 119 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,439 could be fifty and he'll still put up nearly a 120 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,480 hundred point pace. Is that what we can expect from 121 00:06:33,519 --> 00:06:36,399 Crosby next season, that he'll still be above a point 122 00:06:36,399 --> 00:06:36,759 per game? 123 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 2: Josh, Yeah, until he doesn't I wouldn't expect otherwise. The 124 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,120 time will come when he will slow down. We all 125 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,759 know that. But he had ninety four points last season, 126 00:06:45,959 --> 00:06:48,360 and I'll go back to that power play. If it 127 00:06:48,399 --> 00:06:51,120 would have been even functional, he would have had one 128 00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:53,279 hundred and ten points latter. He was that good. I 129 00:06:53,319 --> 00:06:56,160 thought it was his best season in five or six 130 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,639 years probably, And he just does everything. It's not just 131 00:06:59,639 --> 00:07:02,720 a matter four points. He takes every big defensive zone draw. 132 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,639 He's always out there against the other team's best center. 133 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,399 And it's not like he's always surrounded by this ridiculous 134 00:07:09,439 --> 00:07:12,399 amount of talent. And he lost Jake Gensel but the 135 00:07:12,439 --> 00:07:16,360 trade deadline. This is probably his favorite winger ever, and 136 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,360 his production actually went up after Genseil left, which the 137 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,399 way Crosby finished the season was unbelievable. If the Penguins 138 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,279 had made the playoffs, and they almost did, he would 139 00:07:28,279 --> 00:07:30,920 have gotten plenty of MVP boats. I have no doubt, 140 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,959 just because of how dominant he was down the stretch. Yeah, 141 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,480 I wouldn't expect much different next season. One of my 142 00:07:37,519 --> 00:07:39,399 favorite things of the year is always the first day 143 00:07:39,439 --> 00:07:41,879 of training camp, when I get to see all the 144 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,120 Penguins after not having seen them skate in four or 145 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,240 five months, and I always laughed to myself because it 146 00:07:47,279 --> 00:07:50,319 takes guys a little while to get going usually. But 147 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,800 then you see Crosby on day one of training camp 148 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,360 every single year, and I always say to myself, God, 149 00:07:55,399 --> 00:07:57,959 I forgot how great he is. He always looks like 150 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000 he's ready to go from day one. Yeah, I would 151 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:03,480 expect somewhere between eighty five and one hundred points if 152 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,600 he's healthy, and that that's just who he is. 153 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,519 Speaker 3: One guy who would certainly benefit from that if Crosby 154 00:08:10,879 --> 00:08:14,160 returned to that form or was able to show that 155 00:08:14,279 --> 00:08:17,040 in the scoreesheet, would be Brian Rust. He had an 156 00:08:17,079 --> 00:08:19,879 injury March season. This year, he missed twenty games. That said, 157 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,000 he's still set a career high with twenty eight goals 158 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:24,879 in a year where he was on a mid seventies 159 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,399 point pace. Went on the ice, he took more than 160 00:08:27,439 --> 00:08:30,639 three shots per game. He had reasonable shot block, hit 161 00:08:30,759 --> 00:08:33,519 the bash for forward. For the last four years, he 162 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,559 has served as Crosberry's primary right wing. Do you expect 163 00:08:37,639 --> 00:08:40,679 him to say in that position line, one power play, 164 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,039 one point per game. What do you think we're going 165 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:44,440 to see from Brian Rust? This year. 166 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you can count on him having another 167 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,720 productive season. He was so good last year and he 168 00:08:49,759 --> 00:08:53,919 had three different injuries that really gave him fits and 169 00:08:53,919 --> 00:08:55,879 he I have a lot of respect for him. He 170 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,320 will play through just about anything. And now that Goenzel 171 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,120 is gone and the Penguins never really replaced him, I says, 172 00:09:03,399 --> 00:09:04,919 I'm sure we'll get to this later. It'll probably be 173 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,440 Drewe O'Connor again on Crosby's left wing. His things stand 174 00:09:07,519 --> 00:09:10,200 right now. Sid's really picky about who he plays with, 175 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:15,120 and he loves playing with Brian Rust, so he lost Gnsel. 176 00:09:15,519 --> 00:09:18,840 There's no way they're taking Brian Russ off of his line. 177 00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:22,159 Even though Ricard Roquel has been effective playing with Crosby, 178 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,960 Sid just likes playing with Rust more than Roquel, quite frankly, 179 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,559 So you're going to see Russ certainly score over twenty goals. 180 00:09:30,039 --> 00:09:32,240 The power play is interesting. I don't think it's a 181 00:09:32,279 --> 00:09:34,519 given that Rust will be on the top power play, 182 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,440 but I think it's likely even if he's not, he'll 183 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,600 still see some time there and he'll still score in 184 00:09:41,639 --> 00:09:44,080 the second unit. So I rest will score between twenty 185 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,720 and thirty goals if he's healthy and the thing about 186 00:09:46,759 --> 00:09:49,759 him too. When he came into the league a decade ago, 187 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,399 he was just a skate and shoot guy. There was 188 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,840 no creativity to his game. Over the years, he's really 189 00:09:55,919 --> 00:09:59,240 developed into something of a pretty good playmaker. The way 190 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,440 he sees the eye and passes the puck. Now, it's 191 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,320 incredible how much better he's gotten compared to where he 192 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:09,639 once was. So yeah, he is a reliably productive player 193 00:10:10,159 --> 00:10:12,240 and you always throw in if he's healthy. He is 194 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,159 healthy right now as far as I know, and I 195 00:10:15,279 --> 00:10:17,480 would expect twenty five plus goals. They're going to use 196 00:10:17,519 --> 00:10:17,960 him a lot. 197 00:10:19,039 --> 00:10:22,519 Speaker 3: And at Guinea Malcoln his production slowed a little bit 198 00:10:22,639 --> 00:10:26,039 last year. It was the lowest per sixty scoring rate 199 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,919 in nearly fifteen years for Malcoln. On the other hand, 200 00:10:29,159 --> 00:10:32,000 he played all eighty two games, and again the guy's 201 00:10:32,039 --> 00:10:35,200 thirty seven lost in the fact that he may not 202 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,639 be playing at the Hall of Fame clip that we've 203 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,399 looked at so many years out of this guy, he's 204 00:10:40,399 --> 00:10:44,440 still a ridiculous second line center. Is Malcoln? What do 205 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,600 you think about Malcolin's trajectory for this year and is 206 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:50,480 he going to be good for another seventy to eighty 207 00:10:50,519 --> 00:10:51,120 point season. 208 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,919 Speaker 2: I don't know about that many points. I will say, 209 00:10:54,919 --> 00:10:57,759 when you look at the Penguins, the big three, Crosby, 210 00:10:57,799 --> 00:11:01,679 Malkin and Latang Malkin, clearly he is on a steeper 211 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,360 decline than the other two. Like when I watch Crosby play, 212 00:11:06,039 --> 00:11:09,159 he doesn't really physically look any different to me than 213 00:11:09,159 --> 00:11:11,399 he did ten years ago. I think the rest of 214 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:13,840 the league might be a little faster and younger, but 215 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,320 he's still the same, which blows me away. When I 216 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:21,120 watch Malkin play, you can see the physical gifts starting 217 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,960 to decline. He does not have that burst anymore. He 218 00:11:25,039 --> 00:11:27,960 frankly looks slow at times. I don't think he has 219 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,639 the one timer that he once did. That said, we're 220 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,679 talking about an all time great player and those guys 221 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,480 just know how to put up points. I don't think 222 00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:40,679 he'll be any better than he was last season numbers wise, 223 00:11:41,159 --> 00:11:42,879 and I don't think he'll be worse. He turned thirty 224 00:11:42,919 --> 00:11:46,159 eight the other day. Maybe he'll begin continue to decline 225 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,200 a little bit. But when you consider he'll still be 226 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,000 on the top power play and that the probably has 227 00:11:52,039 --> 00:11:53,960 to be a little better than it was, it couldn't 228 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:56,600 be any worse. I don't think that should help him. 229 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,519 And also late in the season, the Penguins acquired Michael 230 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,840 Bunting in the Jake Denzel trade. Bonting and Malkan work 231 00:12:02,919 --> 00:12:05,919 great together. Bonting's one of those guys you don't always 232 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,360 need to be a ridiculously talented guy to be effective 233 00:12:09,919 --> 00:12:12,600 in a top six position. Bonting did all the little work, 234 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,840 used his speed. He really created a lot of space 235 00:12:14,879 --> 00:12:18,240 for Mulk, and Gino likes playing with him. So I 236 00:12:18,279 --> 00:12:21,080 would expect Mulkan to not be a point per game guy, 237 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,440 but I could see him put up twenty five goals, 238 00:12:24,799 --> 00:12:27,720 maybe sixty sixty five points in that range, I think 239 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,000 for where he is. You just turned thirty eight the 240 00:12:30,039 --> 00:12:32,679 other day. I think that's a reasonable expectation. 241 00:12:33,919 --> 00:12:34,919 Speaker 5: Nice. Good to hear that. 242 00:12:35,759 --> 00:12:39,039 Speaker 4: Let's talk about the aforementioned Michael Bunting. He just talks 243 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,679 about him. He came over at the trade deadline from 244 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,080 Carolina and the genst the trade. He started off playing 245 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,159 mainly with Crosby and Rust, but ended up mainly with 246 00:12:46,279 --> 00:12:48,759 Raquel and Malkin. As you were just mentioning, he had 247 00:12:48,759 --> 00:12:51,399 a fifty six point pace overall, but nineteen points in 248 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,159 twenty one games with Pittsburgh, So there's some optimism here 249 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,039 that he can get back to a career high sixty 250 00:12:56,039 --> 00:12:58,240 five point pace in Toronto. So, Jess, do you think 251 00:12:58,279 --> 00:13:00,720 that there's hope that Bunting can be hit that peak 252 00:13:00,759 --> 00:13:01,879 where he was in Toronto. 253 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 2: It's possible. Some guys just fit in with certain teams 254 00:13:06,799 --> 00:13:09,879 and you can't really explain it. It just happens. And 255 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,279 Bunting his first few games with the Penguins, he looked 256 00:13:12,279 --> 00:13:15,120 so good and I was talking with him. I said, 257 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,639 you look really comfortable. Can we expect to keep seeing 258 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:19,559 this that? He just shook his head. He said, I 259 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:20,960 really like it here. He said, I don't know what 260 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,720 it is. I just like from day one, I just 261 00:13:22,759 --> 00:13:25,720 feel like I fit and he and Malkan were great together. 262 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,039 The one thing Maulkin doesn't really bring to the table 263 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,720 is speed. Okay, So Mike Sullivan loves having Maulkan with 264 00:13:31,759 --> 00:13:34,720 at least one really fast winger, and that's one thing 265 00:13:34,799 --> 00:13:37,480 Bunting brings to the table. He's scrappy, he goes to 266 00:13:37,519 --> 00:13:40,440 the net and those two just had an instant chemistry. 267 00:13:40,919 --> 00:13:43,799 Whereas most of the season Malkin played with Riley Smith 268 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,919 and Riley Smith just wasn't very interested in Pete and Pittsburgh. 269 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,440 He never wanted to be traded from Vegas. He had 270 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,320 a great October with Malkin and then that just fell apart. 271 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,799 Malkin and Bunting were good together. I would expect Bunting 272 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,639 to score more than twenty goals. The point totals can 273 00:13:59,639 --> 00:14:01,600 be a little tough day. It's not like he's not 274 00:14:01,639 --> 00:14:03,600 going to be on the top power play at least 275 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,320 I'd be very surprised if he were. So he's not 276 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,919 going to get many cheap power play points, but I 277 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,240 think he'll put up plenty of even strength points. He's 278 00:14:10,279 --> 00:14:12,639 going to play with Malka, and there's no question they 279 00:14:12,639 --> 00:14:15,200 won't break those two ups. So I certainly think twenty 280 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,639 plus goals and I don't know fifty points would be 281 00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:21,279 my guests in that range. But if he stays healthy. 282 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,039 But no, there's definitely chemistry there and I expect him 283 00:14:24,039 --> 00:14:24,440 to be good. 284 00:14:26,519 --> 00:14:29,639 Speaker 3: Ricard Raquel you mentioned earlier he said he isn't effective 285 00:14:29,639 --> 00:14:32,720 forward for this team. His production dipped from his first 286 00:14:32,759 --> 00:14:36,639 full season in Pittsburgh, mainly because of a painfully slow start, 287 00:14:36,759 --> 00:14:39,240 started with no goals and four assists in his first 288 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:42,600 seventeen games. Then he missed a month twelve games with 289 00:14:42,639 --> 00:14:45,399 an upper body injury. He came back quarter to saying 290 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,440 he'd been in a dark place and he used the 291 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,879 time for a reset. But then he went on to 292 00:14:49,879 --> 00:14:53,320 post a very reasonable fifteen goals, eighteen assists thirty three 293 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,039 points in his remaining fifty three games. Should we expect 294 00:14:57,039 --> 00:15:00,159 that post injury Raquel, post comeback Raquel is good to 295 00:15:00,159 --> 00:15:02,000 be the real deal for the team in the new year, 296 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,320 and will he likely be paired again with either Crosby 297 00:15:05,399 --> 00:15:07,600 or malclin boy. 298 00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 2: He is a real X factor for this team. He 299 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,759 was so bad in the first two or three months, 300 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:17,559 and it was surprising because the year before he was terrific. 301 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,480 I think he was around thirty goals. It played very 302 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,559 well since joining the Penguins a few years back. And 303 00:15:24,679 --> 00:15:26,559 he was just so miffed. He had told me that 304 00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:28,919 the previous summer he never worked harder in his life. 305 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:30,639 He thought he was gonna have a really big season 306 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,840 and hockey can be a funny game, and he couldn't 307 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,799 buy a goal. You said it though. He was back 308 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,320 to himself in the second half. I would think of 309 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:42,240 all the Penguins. He would be one of the biggest 310 00:15:42,279 --> 00:15:47,200 candidates to really enhance his numbers from last season. He's 311 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,240 going to play with Malkin. The second line is going 312 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,519 to be Malkin, Bunting and Raquel, and Raquel is such 313 00:15:52,639 --> 00:15:56,240 a natural goal scorer. I think you'll see him back 314 00:15:56,279 --> 00:16:00,320 over twenty for sure. And one thing about Raquel, he 315 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,679 played so poorly at times last season that he was 316 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,600 off of the top power play completely. Yeah, there is 317 00:16:05,679 --> 00:16:07,960 a chance he could be back on that top unit. 318 00:16:08,039 --> 00:16:09,759 The way he can shoot the puck from the left 319 00:16:09,759 --> 00:16:12,600 wing circle, they would like to take advantage of that. 320 00:16:12,639 --> 00:16:14,600 It could be Raquel wore rust on the power play. 321 00:16:14,639 --> 00:16:16,559 I don't know that it will be both, but I 322 00:16:16,559 --> 00:16:18,720 wouldn't be shocked to see Raquel get a look there. 323 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,159 And if that's the case, he could certainly pad those numbers. 324 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,159 So I don't think he's on some steep decline. I 325 00:16:25,159 --> 00:16:27,039 still think he's a good player, just happened to have 326 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,519 an off year. He's a pretty good bounced back candidate. 327 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,399 Speaker 3: All right, A bit of a smuggle a points pick 328 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,960 them three different guys here, Drew O'Connor. You mentioned he's 329 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,399 been playing the Crosby, some Lars Eller, a solid veteran 330 00:16:41,919 --> 00:16:45,559 down line centnerman, and Kevin Hayes, who last year had 331 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,279 twenty nine points in seventy nine games. Which one of 332 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,320 these guys you think is going to have the best 333 00:16:50,399 --> 00:16:52,320 year for the penns. 334 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 2: Oh I would say Drew O'Connor first and foremost. I 335 00:16:55,679 --> 00:16:58,559 think there's a real chance that he begins the season 336 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,399 on Sidney Crosby's left way. He played really well with 337 00:17:02,519 --> 00:17:05,160 him in the last month of the season. Nice net 338 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,000 front presence. O connor is one of those guys if 339 00:17:08,039 --> 00:17:10,559 you're building somebody on a video game like he would 340 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:14,839 have all the physical attributes. He's big, he's fast, really 341 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,000 shoot the puck. He's one of those guys in training 342 00:17:18,039 --> 00:17:19,960 camp you watch him play every year it's like, why 343 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,599 isn't this guy a star? And he never really put 344 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:25,119 it all together. But last year he finally started to 345 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:27,880 first in a bottom six roll. He just kept getting 346 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,559 better and better, and after the Denzil trade he got 347 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,640 the chance to play with sid and man that he 348 00:17:32,759 --> 00:17:35,480 take off. He made the most of it. I'm pretty 349 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,359 bullish on him this season. I've always liked him. You 350 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:42,200 could just see the talent. Assuming he plays with Crosby 351 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:44,720 throughout most of the season, which I think he might. 352 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,279 He's certainly a guy who can exceed twenty goals, and 353 00:17:48,319 --> 00:17:51,000 I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Compared to Hayes 354 00:17:51,079 --> 00:17:53,799 and Eller, Boy Hayes, I don't know what to expect. 355 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,519 I was really surprised by that trade. He certainly has 356 00:17:58,039 --> 00:18:00,720 a good resume and talent, but he also seems like 357 00:18:00,759 --> 00:18:03,279 a guy who's on the back nine of his career 358 00:18:03,319 --> 00:18:06,359 all of a sudden. And Eller's such of a good 359 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,759 defensive player and he was really good for the Penguins, 360 00:18:08,759 --> 00:18:11,279 but I also feel like he's a guy with a ceiling. 361 00:18:11,759 --> 00:18:14,160 I don't see him scoring more than twelve to fourteen 362 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,079 goals in that range. But if you're looking for a 363 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,680 guy between those three to take a chance on, I 364 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,160 think Drew O'Connor, just because of a lack of depth 365 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,000 in their lineup. I think he plays with Crosby and 366 00:18:25,039 --> 00:18:27,400 he might stick there, and you know what that means. 367 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,039 If you're playing with him all the time, you're gonna 368 00:18:29,039 --> 00:18:31,160 get your looks. So I think he's a real twenty 369 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:32,880 goal candidate for them. 370 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 3: And one last catch all here is Jesse pool Yarvey 371 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,119 maybe gonna be relevant or is there anybody else on 372 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,119 this forward core who get more and half a point 373 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:41,519 per game? 374 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:46,559 Speaker 2: Jesse Cooleyarvey, boy, he was as advertised when he came 375 00:18:46,599 --> 00:18:49,160 to He always as the fuck he does, and he 376 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:51,519 scored a couple of goals. I don't know that I 377 00:18:51,519 --> 00:18:55,079 would expect a ton of offense from him. He wasn't terrible, 378 00:18:55,079 --> 00:18:58,440 but I wasn't really blown away by anything that I 379 00:18:58,559 --> 00:19:01,680 saw from him. The Penguins have had so many issues 380 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,240 on their bottom six for years. One guy I'll throw 381 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,599 out there, well, Terry Poostain is a guy he had 382 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:09,640 a handful of think he had five or six goals. 383 00:19:09,839 --> 00:19:12,680 I don't have the numbers in front of me. Poostinen 384 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,799 can really shoot the puck. He only had a few goals, 385 00:19:16,799 --> 00:19:20,519 but they were all pretty I could see him elevating 386 00:19:20,599 --> 00:19:24,119 that number just because of his goal scoring talent. I 387 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,400 don't know how much ice time he will get. I 388 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,279 think it's hard for him to crack into the top 389 00:19:28,319 --> 00:19:32,200 six unless there are injuries, but postin and has upside. 390 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 4: Let's move over to the defense now, and of course 391 00:19:35,039 --> 00:19:37,559 we're going to talk about Eric Carlson first. Thirteen percent 392 00:19:37,599 --> 00:19:40,000 retained but still ten million cap hit for three more 393 00:19:40,039 --> 00:19:43,599 seasons and after some questionable years with injury, EK sixty 394 00:19:43,599 --> 00:19:46,279 five played all sixty two games in the last two seasons, 395 00:19:46,599 --> 00:19:48,680 this year being the fifth time playing every game in 396 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,680 his fifteen year career. His point pace was low fifty six, 397 00:19:52,599 --> 00:19:56,079 where the three previous seasons he had paid seventy points, 398 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,119 there above his career average of about eighty two game 399 00:19:59,319 --> 00:20:03,920 point pass sixty seven. He's definitely still under that as mentioned. 400 00:20:04,039 --> 00:20:06,279 As you mentioned previously in a couple of times, the 401 00:20:06,319 --> 00:20:09,119 power play being so bad was probably a big part 402 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:11,599 of that, and you already mentioned you think it can't 403 00:20:11,599 --> 00:20:13,599 get much worse. So do you think we see Carlson 404 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,160 get back to a sixty five point pacer above? 405 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 2: I do, And he was another one that was so 406 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,359 puzzling to me last season. He did not play poorly, 407 00:20:25,039 --> 00:20:27,599 but you could certainly see the brilliance with the puck, 408 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,599 all the talent. As advertised. He makes his defensive mistakes too, 409 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,880 but he actually wasn't that bad defensively most of the season. 410 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,680 But I can tell you the coaching staff was frustrated 411 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,720 with him. They just think there's another gear for him. 412 00:20:40,759 --> 00:20:43,960 That he didn't hit last season, and I think he 413 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,599 was a little too hesitant. We've seen this over the 414 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,799 years when you play with Crosby and Balkin, even great players. 415 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,680 Jerome mcginlow was the ultimate example in twenty thirteen, which 416 00:20:53,759 --> 00:20:56,759 is constantly defer to them. And I think they want 417 00:20:56,839 --> 00:21:00,559 Eric Carlson just to be Eric Carlson's UND's crazy. He 418 00:21:00,599 --> 00:21:02,400 usually coaches want him to slam on the brakes a 419 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,480 little bit. I actually think they just want him to 420 00:21:04,519 --> 00:21:07,359 go for it and do what he does. Go freelance, 421 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,359 go shoot the puck. The last game of the season, 422 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,319 the Penguins lost a meaningless game to the Islanders, and 423 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,480 I was standing right behind the bench when the game 424 00:21:15,599 --> 00:21:19,079 ended and Mike Sullivan went on an absolute tie rade 425 00:21:19,079 --> 00:21:21,440 back to the locker room because Eric Carlson didn't shoot 426 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:23,480 the puck in the last ten seconds of the game. 427 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,039 They want him to shoot the puck first and foremost, 428 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:28,559 so I think his point totals will go up more 429 00:21:28,599 --> 00:21:30,799 than anything. I think his goal totals will go up. 430 00:21:30,839 --> 00:21:33,160 I really think they want him to be more of 431 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,680 a shot first guy, almost to play a selfish game 432 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,519 in a way, because they think that's really when his 433 00:21:38,599 --> 00:21:41,200 talents are at their best. Yes, the power play hurt 434 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,000 his totals. Maybe he was part of that problem, though 435 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:46,279 I would argue he wasn't as good on the point 436 00:21:46,279 --> 00:21:49,559 as I thought he would be. But physically he still 437 00:21:49,559 --> 00:21:52,559 looks like he's the same guy. And I know he 438 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,480 was really unhappy with how last season went. So I 439 00:21:55,519 --> 00:21:57,240 don't think we're ever going to see him score one 440 00:21:57,279 --> 00:22:00,559 hundred points again because that was the That was just 441 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:02,599 literally him trying to see how many points he could 442 00:22:02,599 --> 00:22:05,079 score on a terrible Statos eight team a couple of 443 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,200 years ago. But if he were to get back up 444 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,880 to seventy or eighty points, I honestly wouldn't be surprised 445 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,839 because the talent is all there, and again he's going 446 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:14,759 to be on that power play, and I have to 447 00:22:14,759 --> 00:22:16,559 think the power play is going to be better, and 448 00:22:16,599 --> 00:22:17,720 I think he'll play a role in that. 449 00:22:18,799 --> 00:22:21,880 Speaker 3: We talked about him earlier, Chris Letank part of that 450 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,720 Hall of Fame corps of this team. He played eighty 451 00:22:24,759 --> 00:22:28,440 two games again last year. After course the issues with 452 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,000 blood clots that are not too far back in his past. 453 00:22:31,079 --> 00:22:35,440 Still excellent in block shots and hits, good scoring defenseman, 454 00:22:35,599 --> 00:22:38,279 even with the power play. Not having the year that 455 00:22:38,319 --> 00:22:41,039 they expected. He was tied for seventh in the NHL 456 00:22:41,519 --> 00:22:44,480 in total time on ice, So even at thirty seven, 457 00:22:44,839 --> 00:22:47,680 he is hogging minutes out there. And if you look 458 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,079 at the other I had to go all the way 459 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,480 down to thirty eighth place to find a guy who 460 00:22:54,559 --> 00:22:57,400 was as old as him who was that many minutes 461 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,200 on the ice. So it's he's an anomaly for sure. 462 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,039 Latang is similar to some other defenseman who play a 463 00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:05,880 ton of minutes as goes the team, so he goes 464 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,279 and vice versa. So if you look at some of 465 00:23:08,319 --> 00:23:11,599 the advanced stats, it's pretty close to what Latang's stats 466 00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:15,519 look like. But anyway, is Latang do for another vintage 467 00:23:15,599 --> 00:23:16,720 Latang type here? 468 00:23:17,759 --> 00:23:21,079 Speaker 2: Boy, that's a fair question. I'm not sure. Here's the 469 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,799 problem with Chris, and this is my concern. I thought 470 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,880 in the first three months last season that was some 471 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:29,720 of the best hockey you I've seen him play in 472 00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:33,599 many years. He was unbelievably good. And to his credit, 473 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,119 that was the first time since twenty ten when Sergei 474 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,599 Gonchar was here that he was taken off of the 475 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,799 top power play. They put Eric Carlson there. He didn't 476 00:23:41,799 --> 00:23:44,759 complain about it. He didn't mope about it, and they 477 00:23:44,839 --> 00:23:47,720 told Chris, hey, your your roles changing a little bit, 478 00:23:47,839 --> 00:23:51,200 and in particular, he became the focal point of their 479 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,319 penalty kill. His penalty killing in the first three months 480 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:58,279 was superb. He played just a wonderful two way game. 481 00:23:59,079 --> 00:24:01,799 Something happened to him in the last couple of months 482 00:24:01,839 --> 00:24:03,599 of the year, and I know he had a hand injury. 483 00:24:04,279 --> 00:24:06,440 He had surgery on the hand this summer and he's 484 00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:09,039 fine for the start of the season. Maybe that's all 485 00:24:09,039 --> 00:24:10,839 it was, but he was not good in the last 486 00:24:10,839 --> 00:24:14,039 two months. He really fell off, and who knows what. 487 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,799 Chris is one of those guys, like I always say, 488 00:24:16,839 --> 00:24:18,920 we always call them tanger games. He has about five 489 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,000 games a year when he just looks awful and you 490 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:23,839 can see it from the first ship. There's just something 491 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,119 not right and he's out of sorts. He only has 492 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,200 a few of those games a year, but he has them, 493 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,839 and we don't know why. He just has these mental lapses. 494 00:24:31,079 --> 00:24:33,559 But the other seventy five games, he's great. So I'm 495 00:24:33,599 --> 00:24:35,160 going to keep an eye on him at the beginning 496 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,759 of next season, just because he is at the age 497 00:24:37,799 --> 00:24:40,240 even though he's an incredible condition where you can see 498 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,839 it fall off, and maybe that's what we were seeing 499 00:24:43,839 --> 00:24:46,319 in the second half last season. I don't know, but 500 00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:48,960 I don't think we're going to see a huge production 501 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,799 wise season from him, just because I don't think he'll 502 00:24:51,799 --> 00:24:54,160 be on the top power play just in terms of 503 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,680 his overall level play. I'm curious to see if that 504 00:24:56,799 --> 00:25:00,359 drop was just just an injury or something was little 505 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,359 off whatever, Because you said it, the Penguins go as 506 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,920 Crystal Tang goes. It's been that way for fifteen years, 507 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,359 and he's one of those guys. He plays better the 508 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,079 more minutes he gets. He's like a running back in football. 509 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,079 The more carries he gets, the better. And the best 510 00:25:13,079 --> 00:25:15,039 games I've seen Crystal Tang play was when he played 511 00:25:15,079 --> 00:25:18,640 thirty minutes and he never looks tired. So I'm curious 512 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:20,799 to see how he bounces back, But I wouldn't expect 513 00:25:20,839 --> 00:25:22,799 a huge season in terms of points. 514 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,920 Speaker 3: When you have Carlson and Latang. How many more defensemen 515 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,880 do we need to talk about? But I will bring 516 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,759 up one more, and that's Marcus Petterson. One of the 517 00:25:31,839 --> 00:25:34,680 nice things with Betterson is if he's not playing with Carlson. 518 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:36,359 He seems to be playing with La Tang, so he 519 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,079 gets some pretty nice deployment out there. He was somewhat 520 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:42,519 more prolific when he was out there with La Tang 521 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,240 than when he was with Carlson, But he played all 522 00:25:45,279 --> 00:25:48,119 eighty two games last year. He chips in a reasonable 523 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,160 profile of statistics, lots of blocks. For example, is this 524 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,000 a guy if things fell through, if things started to 525 00:25:55,039 --> 00:25:57,640 go south, that maybe could get some power play time, 526 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,240 you know again, maybe third in line to the throne, 527 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,559 that type of a thing if some veterans were out. 528 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,519 And is he going to continue to have fairly similar 529 00:26:06,599 --> 00:26:09,000 type production to what we've seen from him in the past. 530 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would expect him to be on the second 531 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,039 power play with latag in fact, and Marcus is one 532 00:26:14,079 --> 00:26:17,799 of those guys. He's a defense first guy, and he's 533 00:26:17,839 --> 00:26:21,319 a very good defenseman. He had his best season last year. Boy, 534 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:23,319 I don't know where that team would have been without him. 535 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:27,880 He is just so steady and he has a ceiling offensively, 536 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,680 he's not an overly gifted guide is them for a 537 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,839 hard shot, But I will say he gets better with 538 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,640 the puck every season. And Mike Sullivan always notes that 539 00:26:37,079 --> 00:26:39,559 he just makes these clever little passes a lot like 540 00:26:39,599 --> 00:26:41,720 Brian Doomlun used to when he was with the Penguins. 541 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,319 He'll put up some points just because of who he's 542 00:26:44,319 --> 00:26:48,079 surrounded with on the ice, and he's been durable. He's 543 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:52,480 their most dependable defensive player frankly, and I absolutely expect 544 00:26:52,559 --> 00:26:55,400 him to play with Eric Carlson next season. He's good 545 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,640 with latag or Carlson, but the two Swedes, Peterson and Carlson, 546 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,640 they've really got a connection. It's not easy to play 547 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,799 with Eric Carlson. You need the right personality. And Marcus 548 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,680 is so laid back you just you ask him about 549 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:11,759 playing with Carlson, he just smiles and he says, I 550 00:27:11,799 --> 00:27:13,799 know er it's gonna go freelance most of the game. 551 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,000 That's okay, that's my job, just to take care of 552 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,680 the two on ones when they cup it. He's very 553 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,680 much at ease with it. They have a lot of chemistry, 554 00:27:20,759 --> 00:27:23,160 so he'll brack up a lot of assists, there's no 555 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,319 doubt about that. And he just like I said, he 556 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:27,799 gets a little better offensively every year. He's only twenty 557 00:27:27,799 --> 00:27:30,559 seven still, so I still think there's room for improvement. 558 00:27:30,839 --> 00:27:32,880 Only is one year left on his contract. You can 559 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,839 expect the Penguins Silakiam up very soon. Really good player. 560 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 5: All right. 561 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 4: Let's move over to the goalies now, and the Penguins 562 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,839 are ranked twenty seventh and expected goals against p sixty 563 00:27:42,839 --> 00:27:46,319 at five y five per Involving Hockey, but conceded the 564 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,319 twenty second ranked actual goals per sixty, So that means 565 00:27:49,319 --> 00:27:51,240 the goalies did a little bit better than expected. The 566 00:27:51,279 --> 00:27:55,720 team collectively blue some substantial leads, though early in the season. 567 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,599 They also didn't close out enough games in the extra frames. 568 00:27:58,599 --> 00:28:01,680 They only earned four overtime win versus twelve losses. They 569 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,640 would have made the playoffs that they just converted a 570 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,119 couple more of those. But let's talk about the goalies. 571 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,799 Tristan Jarry of course, first goal save above expected nine 572 00:28:08,839 --> 00:28:11,240 point three delta Fenway point five to five those that's 573 00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:14,039 pretty nice. Year two of a five point three seventy 574 00:28:14,079 --> 00:28:19,759 five million twelve team no trade list in the quality 575 00:28:19,759 --> 00:28:23,480 start at fifty five percent, really decent record. There's some 576 00:28:23,559 --> 00:28:26,759 competing narratives here amongst the fans, and one version, despite 577 00:28:26,799 --> 00:28:28,960 having the twelve team no trade list, Jarry should be 578 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,440 traded to help the retool, or he could be part 579 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,480 of another playoff run. So I guess we're not really 580 00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:35,960 sure what's going to happen, but it does seem like 581 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,839 the team wants to keep competing and go for the 582 00:28:38,839 --> 00:28:41,400 playoff spot. Can Jari help him get there? What do 583 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,680 you think we can expect from jarr this season, Josh with. 584 00:28:44,759 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 2: Tristan Jarry, we always see him start the season well, 585 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,000 but if you look at his splits first half and 586 00:28:51,079 --> 00:28:54,200 second half, they are dramatic. He's great in the first half. 587 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,160 Those are reason he's made two All Star games, because 588 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,359 his numbers always look great January. For whatever reason, in 589 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,960 the second half this season he struggles. He got to start, 590 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,559 believe it was March twenty sixth, I want to say, 591 00:29:06,559 --> 00:29:10,960 in Dallas and he gave Marcus Petterson a dirty look 592 00:29:11,599 --> 00:29:14,160 after a shot deflected off Petterson and went in the net. 593 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,680 Mike Sullivan didn't give him another start the rest of 594 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,440 the season. Alex da Helkovich started every single game down 595 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,079 the stretch. Coaching staff was not happy with Jari. I 596 00:29:24,279 --> 00:29:27,720 think Jari in terms of physical talent, is maybe a 597 00:29:27,799 --> 00:29:31,119 top ten goalie. He has all the tools, he's big, 598 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,480 he's athletic, he really handles the puck, He's never quite 599 00:29:34,599 --> 00:29:38,799 put it all together, irritates coaches, He's got some maybe 600 00:29:38,839 --> 00:29:41,480 bad practice habits when he was younger, stuff like that. 601 00:29:41,839 --> 00:29:44,759 Whereas Nadalkovich might not be quite the physical talent of 602 00:29:44,839 --> 00:29:47,880 Jari is but everybody loves net one of those guys. 603 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:52,880 So my concern for Jari I don't know what percentage 604 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,119 of the starts he's going to get. They brought the 605 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,759 Dalkovich back, which I wasn't really expecting he was a 606 00:29:57,799 --> 00:30:00,240 free agent. I thought he would probably get a little 607 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,039 bit of a raise somewhere else. Instead, the Penguins bring 608 00:30:03,079 --> 00:30:05,559 him back on a two year deal. I think Jarry 609 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,519 probably gets the majority of the starts, but this could 610 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,000 very much be like a sixty forty situation. They really 611 00:30:12,079 --> 00:30:15,880 liked Dalkovich, and I just feel like Jari did some 612 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,559 damage and loss and trust from the coaching staff next year, 613 00:30:18,599 --> 00:30:21,240 So he could have a really good year. He's got 614 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,119 the talent to do it, but I'm just not sure 615 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:26,119 how much he's going to play, And I know that 616 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,839 can be a concern when you're talking about a goaltender's 617 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:30,160 numbers and wins. 618 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 3: All Right, this has been some great information on the 619 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,400 Pittsburgh Penguins. Why don't you let everybody know how they 620 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:37,359 can follow your work. 621 00:30:38,319 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I just come to the Athletic. I know 622 00:30:40,599 --> 00:30:43,039 everybody probably knows the Athletic, but now just come to 623 00:30:43,079 --> 00:30:45,960 the Athletic dot Com. I cover the Penguins, and of course, 624 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,200 no matter who your team of choice is, we cover 625 00:30:49,359 --> 00:30:52,160 just about everything. And I'm on Twitter not as much 626 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:53,960 in the summer. I have to get away from social 627 00:30:54,039 --> 00:30:55,720 media a little bit. I find it's good for the 628 00:30:55,759 --> 00:30:57,720 soul in the summer. But you can find me on 629 00:30:57,759 --> 00:30:59,799 Twitter or the Athletic. 630 00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:03,759 Speaker 3: Indispensable the Athletic. We'll definitely look forward to your coverage. 631 00:31:03,759 --> 00:31:05,079 Thanks for coming on, Josh. 632 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:17,599 Speaker 5: Oh my pleasure guys any times. Then that's good. 633 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 2: Fire passed off. 634 00:31:18,559 --> 00:31:25,839 Speaker 4: Oh my goodness, long with a quick gram. 635 00:31:26,599 --> 00:31:30,839 Speaker 3: Now it's your weekly goalie talk. But Cat Silverman, Cat's Instincts. 636 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,279 Speaker 4: Time once again for Cat's Instincts With Kat Silverman and 637 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,559 Ingold mag we're talking Penguins goalies, so we get to 638 00:31:37,599 --> 00:31:42,559 start with you. Ol Blumquist, Pittsburgh's twenty twenty second round 639 00:31:42,599 --> 00:31:46,359 pick before they took Kelli Klang and before they traded 640 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,559 him away. But Bloomquist is who we're focusing on here. 641 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:51,480 He's six foot, two hundred and eighty three pounds. Came 642 00:31:51,559 --> 00:31:53,960 up in the car Pot system, which we know is 643 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,839 good for goalies and a good system overall. He was 644 00:31:56,839 --> 00:31:59,799 in the AHL all season for the Wilkesbury Scrand Penguins 645 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,599 last season and it went pretty good. I would say 646 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,519 nine to twenty one save percentage, two to one six GAA. 647 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:08,839 It didn't go as great in the playoffs. He had 648 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,039 a couple of rough games and it looks like he 649 00:32:11,079 --> 00:32:15,519 got benched after that. But overall, he has a pretty 650 00:32:15,519 --> 00:32:18,640 good hockey prospecting. He's basically trended up just about every 651 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,880 season and now he's up to forty three percent chance 652 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,559 of being an NHLR. He's got a bunch of really 653 00:32:23,559 --> 00:32:26,079 good comps. Took A Rask is one that he looks 654 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,599 like a lot of Yeah, fellow finn I like to 655 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,599 do that sort of thing, and yeah, he looks overall 656 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,839 really good. He's not the only comp. There's some other 657 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,920 guys in there. But Kat, what do your instincts tell 658 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,400 us about Blumfisz. Is he the next starter for the Penguins. 659 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 6: You'd gotta be I think when they traded Kelly playing 660 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,319 to the Anaheim Ducks. 661 00:32:45,359 --> 00:32:45,759 Speaker 2: That was. 662 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 6: More or less putting their faith in After watching playing 663 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,359 in Blomquist developed for a year or two after getting drafted, 664 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,039 saying we think that Blomquist is who we would like 665 00:32:59,119 --> 00:33:02,400 to go with moving forward while getting some really good 666 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:06,319 assets back. It'll be cool if they both make the NHL, 667 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,720 but I think Blanqus has a much clearer path there. 668 00:33:11,759 --> 00:33:13,920 I think he absolutely needed to have that good year 669 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,079 last year. That was huge for him because that is 670 00:33:17,119 --> 00:33:20,319 a big jump going from playing in Finland, where he 671 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,559 really does play a strong technical game. You've got good positioning, 672 00:33:24,599 --> 00:33:27,880 he's got good depth management. He makes really good decisions, 673 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,160 but sometimes occasionally would look a little rattled once he 674 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:36,279 started playing more frequently at the higher level, and I 675 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,559 just I wanted to see him have a nice smooth 676 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:43,279 year in the AHL, just to show that he's developing 677 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,319 and feeling confident about his development. Because he had the 678 00:33:46,359 --> 00:33:47,799 tool kid there, I just wanted to see that he 679 00:33:47,839 --> 00:33:48,759 was confident with it. 680 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:50,240 Speaker 2: And it looks like he does. 681 00:33:50,559 --> 00:33:54,279 Speaker 6: Looks like he feels pretty good about it. So I 682 00:33:54,319 --> 00:33:57,359 don't know, it's going to be fun seeing when Pittsburgh 683 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,359 decides its time to bring him up, because they're in 684 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,319 a little bit of a weird state right now where 685 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,319 they have a couple lesser known good guys on their team. 686 00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:08,400 I think Sidney Crosby is one of them who are 687 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:11,840 aging right now, and so they're in this weird holding 688 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,639 pattern where I don't know if they expect to still 689 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:17,719 have any kind of window open for the next couple 690 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,079 of years, or if they're really looking towards making that 691 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:26,119 overhaul to try and avoid plummeting before heading back up again. 692 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,599 And I think that'll depend on when Blumquist is brought 693 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:32,159 up to the NHL full time. Is going to be 694 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,760 what they want to do with him and with his contract, 695 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,199 But it's nice that they have that ability. It's good 696 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:40,880 to see a team that has a guy who looks 697 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,800 like he's ready to start getting his NHL action. Looks 698 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,840 like they could bring him up this year, but they 699 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:51,000 don't to. They could afford to leave him developing, maybe 700 00:34:51,039 --> 00:34:54,639 even splitting next year between the NHL and the AHL 701 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,559 give him a chance to feel confident against NHL is 702 00:34:59,599 --> 00:35:03,159 without leaving him their distinctreas win. But I do think 703 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:06,320 that he's the future of their goaltending, which is a 704 00:35:06,599 --> 00:35:09,320 bold thing to say and means he's probably about to 705 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:13,039 get traded. But I think he is the future goaltender 706 00:35:13,159 --> 00:35:16,679 for a number of years to come. It just did 707 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:18,639 the matter when they feel like it's time to make 708 00:35:18,679 --> 00:35:19,039 that move. 709 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 4: Yeah, they got four more years of Jari at five 710 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,599 point three seventy five and two more years in Adelkovic 711 00:35:26,679 --> 00:35:29,960 at two point five million, and for his to his 712 00:35:30,079 --> 00:35:32,719 credit bloom quiz, he has two more years at league 713 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,639 men or eight eighty. So no decision needs to be 714 00:35:36,639 --> 00:35:39,280 made anytime soon. But if he pulls an Ascar off, 715 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,360 who just demand as reporting this just demanded a trade 716 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:44,800 out of Nashville, You never know. Maybe we'll see him 717 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,840 in another jersey sooner than that. Let's move on to 718 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,000 the other guy. Sergei Muroshov twenty twenty two to fourth 719 00:35:51,119 --> 00:35:53,159 round pick six ' to one. Actually he's listed at 720 00:35:53,199 --> 00:35:55,280 six to two on Elite Prospects now one hundred and 721 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,360 seventy pounds. He's in the Locomotive system. Last season played 722 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,760 almost entirely in the MHL and the Actually that was 723 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,039 a previous season. I know you mentioned I would look 724 00:36:04,079 --> 00:36:06,079 like he was out playing that level and this season 725 00:36:06,119 --> 00:36:09,239 he played all but six games in the MHL, and 726 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,400 with those six KHL games they went very well. But 727 00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:16,159 unfortunately he was back dominating the MHL again and last 728 00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:19,000 season he had ten playoff games. This season he had 729 00:36:19,039 --> 00:36:21,559 nineteen playoff games. Actually I didn't write down if they 730 00:36:21,599 --> 00:36:23,039 won or how far they went, but it looks like 731 00:36:23,079 --> 00:36:24,800 he played a lot of playoff games and he did 732 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:28,880 very well. Unfortunately not as much of an opportunity. It 733 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:30,920 sounds like, though. The big news is that he is 734 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:32,960 coming to North America and he'll be in the HL 735 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:36,039 this season, so that could be really good competition between 736 00:36:36,119 --> 00:36:39,880 him and Blunkfist, although it might mean fewer games for either. 737 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,280 His hockey prospecting has has him trend down a little bit. 738 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,320 He's been that thirty to forty percent range of being 739 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,159 an NHL or There's a bunch of ok comps. The 740 00:36:49,199 --> 00:36:52,960 one is Nicholas Backstrom, not the forward but the goalie 741 00:36:53,199 --> 00:36:56,199 of course, and he was more. He was a pretty 742 00:36:56,199 --> 00:36:58,920 good starter in his day. So what are your instincts, 743 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:00,559 Kat tell us about Mershov. 744 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:06,719 Speaker 6: I'm really excited to see essentially what Pittsburgh does with 745 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:11,199 that system, because in all honesty, I think the weakest 746 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:15,599 looking the goaltenderdrive the most questions about, and that system 747 00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:19,039 is Alex Ndelkovitch, and that's a pretty If that's the 748 00:37:19,079 --> 00:37:21,679 goaltender you're the most uncertain about, that's a really good 749 00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:27,079 system to have. I think Myshov has such good speed. 750 00:37:27,119 --> 00:37:29,840 He plays such a different game from Bonquist, so that'll 751 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,480 be interesting to see if they do spend the year splitting, 752 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,760 essentially splitting those starts in the AHL for wilkes Bury, 753 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,519 I think it'll be fun to see how the system 754 00:37:38,519 --> 00:37:42,199 in front of them handles that. Because Blonquist is a 755 00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:45,760 little bit more conservative with his movement, stays a little 756 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,800 bit higher up in the blue paint, that makes more 757 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:54,559 movement depth wise than he does latterly, and watching Mirshov 758 00:37:54,599 --> 00:37:58,000 move he's such a fluid skater, almost like a Marc 759 00:37:58,039 --> 00:38:01,199 Andre Fleury when it comes to being able to essentially 760 00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:05,000 change direction on a dime, but without looking like he 761 00:38:05,119 --> 00:38:08,599 has to do it because he's not reading the play well. 762 00:38:08,639 --> 00:38:11,280 He just has that extra little gear too. If he 763 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:13,559 does need to make a really quick transition, he's able 764 00:38:13,599 --> 00:38:16,840 to do it. And that's just such a different game 765 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,719 from what Walmquist plays, So I'm excited to see how 766 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:24,039 that goes for both of them. Ideally, we see them 767 00:38:24,079 --> 00:38:26,000 play off each other really well, learn a little bit 768 00:38:26,039 --> 00:38:29,519 from each other. Gives the team a lot of a 769 00:38:29,559 --> 00:38:33,559 lot of versatility when it comes to practicing different situations 770 00:38:33,599 --> 00:38:38,679 at the AHL level for all their prospects. But I 771 00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:42,239 do think that eventually, based on how he's been playing, 772 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:49,400 he and Blomquist are both likely NHL as in my eyes. 773 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,639 And I know for a while there we were joking 774 00:38:52,679 --> 00:38:55,239 that Pittsburgh was doing what bitch Korn used to do 775 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,800 with Washington and holding on to as many goalie prospects 776 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,800 as they could to dangle them as care for teams 777 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:04,159 that don't know how to draft goalies like Dallas. 778 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:05,000 Speaker 3: Oh. 779 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:09,079 Speaker 6: I know that there's a chance that one of them 780 00:39:09,119 --> 00:39:11,760 would get moved. My guesses it would be Mirushov, just 781 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,639 because they've put a little bit more development into Bunkfast. 782 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,119 But I don't think that move is something that they 783 00:39:18,119 --> 00:39:19,840 would need to make this year, and I don't think 784 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:21,480 it's one that they would make this year. So I 785 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,360 think it's just one to keep an eye on because 786 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:28,199 if they both look NHL ready super quickly, like you 787 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:30,559 said with Yer Slavaskarov, that could put them in a 788 00:39:30,639 --> 00:39:33,760 really tough spot if they try to keep one of 789 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:36,480 them at the AHL level when they very clearly don't 790 00:39:36,519 --> 00:39:40,239 need to be there, because I think both Myrishov and 791 00:39:40,519 --> 00:39:45,000 Blonquist play games that look like as long as Mirshov 792 00:39:45,079 --> 00:39:47,960 makes a good transition to North America, they're both going 793 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,719 to be NHL raised in the next year or two. 794 00:39:50,719 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 4: I love it, but yeah, I definitely keep an eye 795 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,480 on Myrshov. Don't be so disappointed that he's behind Blunkfist 796 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,559 because you never know, and he's definitely an exciting goalie. 797 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:02,119 Thanks so much, Kat forgive me instincts on these Penguins goalies. 798 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:19,159 Speaker 3: Digs the Dynasty Dig the Third Penguin Edition. Oh it's 799 00:40:19,239 --> 00:40:22,679 not so great here, not so great twenty seventh rank system. 800 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:25,639 But there are still prospects, Victor that we want to 801 00:40:25,679 --> 00:40:27,119 talk about. It starts with a no brainer. 802 00:40:27,119 --> 00:40:29,519 Speaker 2: Who is Jesse. 803 00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:33,920 Speaker 4: That's Rutger McGarty and he was a twenty twenty two 804 00:40:34,079 --> 00:40:36,760 fourteenth overall pick, six foot one, two hundred and five 805 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,880 pounds left wing, obviously recently traded from the Winnipeg Jets 806 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:44,760 over to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he had requested a 807 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:48,159 trade didn't hear any clear reasons as to why it 808 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:49,960 sounded like it just they didn't think it was the 809 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,679 right fit or whatever the case may be. But he 810 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:55,559 wanted out of Winnipeg and he got it, and now 811 00:40:55,599 --> 00:40:59,920 he's clearly the top prospect in Pittsburgh. I think part 812 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:01,880 of the reason Pittsburgh wanted this is him being a 813 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,519 little bit more NH already, and that's pretty exciting that 814 00:41:04,639 --> 00:41:08,440 he is most likely going to play for the Penguins 815 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,639 this season, and that's super exciting. Obviously, someone you want 816 00:41:11,639 --> 00:41:15,559 to target in your leagues and dynasty leagues if you're 817 00:41:15,559 --> 00:41:17,840 going to be competitive this season, as he could get 818 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,519 a role with some of those aging top stars. He 819 00:41:20,559 --> 00:41:25,320 had two stellar seasons at Michigan, and he was over 820 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,039 a point per game or at a point per game 821 00:41:27,039 --> 00:41:29,559 in his first season with Michigan fifty two points and 822 00:41:29,639 --> 00:41:32,159 thirty six games, last season well over a point per game. 823 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:36,360 He was part of the Team USA World Junior Championship 824 00:41:36,639 --> 00:41:39,719 for the UA teens twice and the U twenties twice, 825 00:41:40,159 --> 00:41:43,519 and this past season captained them to the gold medal 826 00:41:43,599 --> 00:41:46,159 nine points in seven games. Was really the emotional leader there. 827 00:41:46,199 --> 00:41:48,760 If you remember he was coming off an injury and 828 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,239 they weren't really sure how he would fare, but he played, 829 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,800 and he played a significant role, and it was it 830 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:57,679 was pretty impressive to see him out there. I pulled 831 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,360 up his Mitch Brown tracking data, which is always interesting, 832 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:04,519 all the way back from his U seventeen season, where 833 00:42:04,559 --> 00:42:08,440 it's interesting because that he's actually a little bit more 834 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:11,159 defensively deficient than you might think about. Even from back 835 00:42:11,199 --> 00:42:13,840 in his U seventeen days, the corsi against is pretty 836 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:17,000 pretty poor, and that has maintained all the way through 837 00:42:17,519 --> 00:42:20,199 his most recent season at Michigan. You might think of 838 00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:22,880 him more as a stout two way player. He's certainly physical, 839 00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:27,800 but I'm not sure that the defensive metrics are exactly there, 840 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,960 at least based on his USHL and days at Michigan. 841 00:42:32,119 --> 00:42:35,440 But the transition has always been pretty good up until 842 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:37,400 this past season, where it actually dipped a little bit, 843 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:41,039 which was interesting, and the offense has maintained strong. Even 844 00:42:41,079 --> 00:42:43,199 in his D minus one season, he was seventy ninth 845 00:42:43,239 --> 00:42:46,840 percentile for offense, which is pretty incredible. That bumped up 846 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:50,519 to the nineties in his subsequent seasons and his most 847 00:42:50,559 --> 00:42:53,760 recent season, which was a little bit marred by injuries 848 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,079 and just the nine game sample size may have been 849 00:42:56,119 --> 00:42:59,239 a little bit skewed here, but I wasn't quite so 850 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:02,119 good in terms of expected goals and assists, but previously 851 00:43:02,159 --> 00:43:05,400 those have all been really great. His overall impact boards 852 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:08,119 to the middle, all these things have been overall really 853 00:43:08,159 --> 00:43:11,159 strong for McGroarty. Looking at his track data from the 854 00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:15,440 U twenty, his defensive game was incredible ninety fifth percentiles, 855 00:43:15,519 --> 00:43:18,639 so again a small sample size, but that suggests that 856 00:43:18,679 --> 00:43:20,880 he actually can be a really strong two way forward, 857 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:23,280 and his expected goals were off the charge, some of 858 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,960 the best in the tournament. Looking at the FHL player card, 859 00:43:27,119 --> 00:43:29,360 you can see that his shots are ten out of 860 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:32,000 ten hundred percent tile. Not many people are shooting more 861 00:43:32,039 --> 00:43:34,840 than the NCAA. His hit some blocks are right around 862 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:38,239 fiftieth percentile, so overall his bash is really strong. He 863 00:43:38,239 --> 00:43:40,320 doesn't take a whole lot of minor penalties, so in 864 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:42,960 our metrics that's a good thing. And his goals and 865 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,760 assists are really strong as well, so overall pretty decent 866 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:49,719 peripheral floor. More shots than hit some blocks, but those 867 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:54,079 are still about average, and overall pretty decent peripheral floor 868 00:43:54,119 --> 00:43:55,960 from McGroarty. But let's hear a little bit more about 869 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,800 what makes McGroarty interesting. From our officil scout, Jesse. 870 00:44:00,079 --> 00:44:03,519 Speaker 3: Scout Patrick has this to say about Rutger. McGroarty skating 871 00:44:04,119 --> 00:44:07,800 average is slightly above average, and Patrick believes it has 872 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,000 improved somewhat since his draft here. He isn't the swiftest, 873 00:44:11,199 --> 00:44:13,960 but he skates hard and he keeps moving on the cycle. 874 00:44:14,199 --> 00:44:17,039 Passing and handling they are a strength. He's able to 875 00:44:17,079 --> 00:44:19,519 hold onto the puck in traffic, can make quick and 876 00:44:19,559 --> 00:44:23,280 accurate passes or pause to find the best pass. Shooting, 877 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:26,280 he has a plus shot that is most lethal in 878 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:28,159 close to the net, where he scores a lot of 879 00:44:28,159 --> 00:44:32,599 his goals IQ. Very good hockey IQ. He puts into 880 00:44:32,599 --> 00:44:34,880 good use to get back on defense at the right time. 881 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,719 Reading the play on the offensive zone for checking. Hockey 882 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:41,519 IQ and hard work serve him well. On the fore check, 883 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:44,480 he moves to get in good position, steals the pucker, 884 00:44:44,519 --> 00:44:48,360 maintains possession on the boards to keep the cycle going. Defense. 885 00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:51,639 McGroarty is dedicated to defense. He reads the play to 886 00:44:51,639 --> 00:44:55,280 get back quickly and can help stop turning the puck 887 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:58,400 back toward offense. His best asset is his hockey IQ. 888 00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:01,920 His off puck play will be instrumental in his success 889 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,960 in the NHL. The biggest concern it would either be 890 00:45:05,039 --> 00:45:08,360 the lack of dynamic play or the lack of play driving. 891 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,039 McGarty will need to be in line with somebody who 892 00:45:11,039 --> 00:45:14,360 can get the play into the offensive zone. Top tier role. 893 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,960 It's possible that McGarty tops out first line sixty to 894 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,719 seventy points because of this hockey IQ. Because of this 895 00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:24,199 work ethic and the passing that helped facilitate the play 896 00:45:24,599 --> 00:45:28,920 of a very skilled playmaker the median outcome. McGarty has 897 00:45:29,039 --> 00:45:31,440 enough skill to at least be a low and second 898 00:45:31,519 --> 00:45:34,559 line wing Sirspatrick. While he may lack the elite skill, 899 00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:37,320 some of his parts can play an important part on 900 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:41,360 a scoring the line and a stylistic comparable. Patrick's going 901 00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:43,960 to go with Blake Coleman. He'll play a valuable part. 902 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,800 Maybe score won't score the most points, but be a 903 00:45:48,079 --> 00:45:52,280 value for the hockey team. Mason Black puts Rutger McGroarty 904 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:56,440 up against this year draftde Tichi Ginla and I don't know, 905 00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:59,199 maybe it's maybe it's the sour on McGroarty, but tich 906 00:45:59,199 --> 00:46:02,480 Akinla is you won a route seventy six to twenty 907 00:46:02,519 --> 00:46:05,480 four boy, I'm surprised. I think i'd take her. But 908 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:06,960 what do you think of this one, Victor. 909 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:09,840 Speaker 4: It's hard not to want the guy who's going to 910 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:13,360 be playing in the NHL this season, so obviously proximity 911 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:17,159 to the NHL and NHL readiness might make you lean McGroarty. 912 00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:19,000 I could see this being a win kind of trade. 913 00:46:19,039 --> 00:46:21,639 If you're in a compete now mode and someone is 914 00:46:22,079 --> 00:46:24,400 competing in a two three years, this could be a 915 00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:27,360 pretty even swap, I would say, potentially. I think the 916 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,880 upside for t is still a little bit plus minus 917 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,119 in my mind, but I think he has at least 918 00:46:33,119 --> 00:46:36,840 as much upside as McGroarty, and maybe a little less 919 00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:39,119 security just in terms of McGroarty already being there. But 920 00:46:39,159 --> 00:46:40,639 I have no doubt that Tach is going to be 921 00:46:40,639 --> 00:46:43,079 an NHL or as well. I think that there may 922 00:46:43,119 --> 00:46:45,199 be a little bit more upside for Ts from what 923 00:46:45,239 --> 00:46:47,920 we've seen. He's still so young, and he's still growing 924 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:50,280 and developing, and his trajectory has been so linear. But 925 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:51,920 at some point that's going to flatten out, and we 926 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,760 just don't know exactly when it's going to flatten out 927 00:46:54,239 --> 00:46:57,599 and how much it's going to so I understand that 928 00:46:57,840 --> 00:46:59,559 I could see this. I could see this going the 929 00:46:59,559 --> 00:47:01,440 way to pay on the context of the team. If 930 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,320 you're looking at just pure upside, though, I would definitely 931 00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:08,199 take Ts's That's where I stand on that pnhrle for 932 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:13,400 T McGroarty eighty both really high. You see the ascension 933 00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:17,039 for T is basically almost straight up, and for McGroarty 934 00:47:17,079 --> 00:47:18,519 it's getting a little bit up and down, but right 935 00:47:18,559 --> 00:47:21,559 now it's pretty up, and even his low point is 936 00:47:21,599 --> 00:47:24,519 more like in the fifty sixty range, So it's not terrible, 937 00:47:24,599 --> 00:47:28,159 especially with that bash and looking at the hockey prospecting. 938 00:47:28,199 --> 00:47:30,400 Between these two, T's just twenty one percent chance of 939 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:34,280 being in a star. But remember that was a big 940 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,960 change throughout the season. It was pretty big trend upward, 941 00:47:37,199 --> 00:47:38,519 so if you just looked at the back half of 942 00:47:38,519 --> 00:47:41,320 the season, it would be higher. McGroarty has bumped up 943 00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:43,519 to forty seven percent chance of being a star based 944 00:47:43,519 --> 00:47:47,639 on his strong based on his strong production in the NCAA, 945 00:47:47,679 --> 00:47:49,719 and eighty seven percent chance of being an NHLO. That 946 00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:52,280 seems like all but a lock at this point. Looking 947 00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:55,400 at some other comps from McGroarty, there's some interesting ones here. 948 00:47:55,599 --> 00:47:58,119 Jack Quinn we haven't fully seen from him. Tyler Ennis. 949 00:47:58,119 --> 00:48:02,159 I think he's probably better than that Dimitra Thomas Hurdle. 950 00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:05,119 I think that's probably pretty accurate, like sixty seventy point 951 00:48:05,159 --> 00:48:07,159 guy with decent bash. Although I don't think McGarty is 952 00:48:07,159 --> 00:48:09,960 the center. I think he's definitely a winger and Claude 953 00:48:10,039 --> 00:48:11,880 Drew is another one that he looks a bit alike, 954 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:14,719 and I think he could be similar to that, maybe 955 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:17,320 not hit the highs that Drew hit as a superstar, 956 00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,360 but maybe a little bit lower upside. And the J 957 00:48:21,519 --> 00:48:24,119 Fresh card has him has McGroarty at just fifteen percent 958 00:48:24,199 --> 00:48:26,320 chance of being a star, eighty percent chance of being 959 00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,639 an NHL R, So that's pretty good. Thirty nine in 960 00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:35,039 the data set for the J freshcard, Jesse pretty good 961 00:48:35,039 --> 00:48:38,360 at the pictor. Next up, who's our need to know prospect? 962 00:48:39,159 --> 00:48:41,639 The need to know is going to be Owen Pickering 963 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:44,800 and Pickering twenty twenty two to twenty first overall pick 964 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:46,960 six foot, five hundred and eighty five pounds left handed, 965 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:50,480 d wore the C the Captain C last two seasons 966 00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:53,840 for Swift Current of the WHL. His offensive production showed 967 00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,800 just modest improvement, finishing forty six points in fifty nine 968 00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:59,239 games after forty five points in sixty one games the 969 00:48:59,239 --> 00:49:02,760 previous season. Also pitched in seven points and nine WHL 970 00:49:02,760 --> 00:49:06,400 playoff games. Looking at his tracking data, it looks really 971 00:49:07,119 --> 00:49:11,280 much different than Jigger's. The defensive impact was really good 972 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:13,960 even in his Draft minus one season it was seventy percentile. 973 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,280 Now his trended all the way up to ninety eighth percentile. 974 00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:19,639 His offense trended up from seventy nine to ninety seven percentile. 975 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,599 This is what you want to see, like positive trends 976 00:49:22,599 --> 00:49:25,400 in the right direction. His transition game looks like it 977 00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:27,000 maybe took a little bit of step back, but some 978 00:49:27,039 --> 00:49:30,440 of the features are still really good there and overall, 979 00:49:30,639 --> 00:49:34,639 offensive involvement, game score, expected points, all these kinds of 980 00:49:34,639 --> 00:49:37,400 things look really high for Owen Pickering. Looking at his 981 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,280 FHL player card, the bash isn't going to be something 982 00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:43,960 that Pickering is super good at. His shots just sixtieth percentile, 983 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:47,159 and hits and blocks both sub fifty, so it looks 984 00:49:47,199 --> 00:49:49,800 like more of a points only option. The question is 985 00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:51,840 how likely are those points to come. I'm not really 986 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:54,480 sure about that. He was ninetieth percentile for assists in 987 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:57,079 the WHL but I'm not sure how much that's going 988 00:49:57,159 --> 00:50:01,360 to continue. Looking at his play driving and analytics from 989 00:50:01,639 --> 00:50:05,119 the FHL player card, really good transition game, good high danger, 990 00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:07,920 good puck work, but his play driving not so good 991 00:50:08,039 --> 00:50:09,760 so far. But let's hear a little bit more from 992 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:10,679 our FHL scout. 993 00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:15,760 Speaker 3: Wisdom from our FHL scout Chris Owen pickering skating great 994 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,719 good skater, especially for the size, Very agile, quick to 995 00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:23,599 accelerate and accelerate, good on his edges, and an impressive 996 00:50:23,679 --> 00:50:27,760 headfake that routinely beats tricks' his opponent backward skating could 997 00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:30,079 still use a little work, as his speed and agility 998 00:50:30,159 --> 00:50:34,760 or slightly lacking. Passing and handling elite excellent passing, especially 999 00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:38,400 for a defenceman. Really excels at handling the puck when 1000 00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:41,440 regrouping behind the net and starting the breakout. Smart use 1001 00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:44,679 of size to protect the puck from oncoming four checkers, 1002 00:50:44,679 --> 00:50:47,800 and often exploits the weakness of a team when sending 1003 00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:50,519 too many four checkers by making stretch passes through the 1004 00:50:50,559 --> 00:50:54,400 neutral zone. Shooting average, Owen's got an average shot for 1005 00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,719 a defenseman, shooting only about six percent to juniors. Maybe 1006 00:50:57,719 --> 00:51:00,239 we could hope for more because of his height that 1007 00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,280 has yet to be seen. Pickering does have a quick 1008 00:51:03,360 --> 00:51:05,599 release for his size, but he's often just shooting for 1009 00:51:05,639 --> 00:51:09,280 tips or rebounds, inaccurate even when close to the net. 1010 00:51:09,599 --> 00:51:13,440 IQ great, very good under pressure, always poised to make 1011 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:15,800 a breakout pass or a smart dump off to his 1012 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:18,840 deep partner, something that has gotten much better since his 1013 00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:22,920 draft season. Actually, Chris says he's great at anticipating shots. 1014 00:51:23,159 --> 00:51:25,599 Pickering can often put his body or stick in for 1015 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:29,000 the shot to make timely blocks, especially good at the 1016 00:51:29,039 --> 00:51:31,960 type of stick block that ramps the shot off his 1017 00:51:32,039 --> 00:51:36,000 stick and out of play. For checking, Pickering stays as 1018 00:51:36,039 --> 00:51:38,159 a stay at home defender most of the time, so 1019 00:51:38,239 --> 00:51:41,000 for checking isn't really applicable. Often he's already his blue 1020 00:51:41,000 --> 00:51:44,440 lined before any breakout's been made. Defense good, great at 1021 00:51:44,519 --> 00:51:47,559 using his size to win puck battles. Often boxes out 1022 00:51:47,559 --> 00:51:50,599 opponents and uses his length advantage to take control of 1023 00:51:50,639 --> 00:51:53,920 the puck. Also, Owen will defer to tying up his 1024 00:51:53,960 --> 00:51:57,400 opponent if teammate is near and in better position, good 1025 00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:00,559 positioning while on d and in transition. He's going to 1026 00:52:00,599 --> 00:52:02,880 need to get stronger for the NHL, though, despite being 1027 00:52:02,920 --> 00:52:06,039 six to five there's not a lot of physicality in Pickering, 1028 00:52:06,079 --> 00:52:08,880 per Chris. Chris can see him getting bullied in the 1029 00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:11,719 pros a little bit until he does bulk up, but 1030 00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:14,800 the height kept him from getting exposed, especially on the 1031 00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:18,719 boards and in net front battles. Best asset is the passing. 1032 00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:21,519 Then his ability to set up and read a breakout 1033 00:52:21,559 --> 00:52:23,679 from behind the net will help him in the transition 1034 00:52:24,159 --> 00:52:27,280 game at a pro level, and the concern lack of 1035 00:52:27,280 --> 00:52:30,559 physicality's got to get stronger or will be completely ineffective 1036 00:52:30,599 --> 00:52:34,039 on the defensive end. The top tier outcome for Owen 1037 00:52:34,079 --> 00:52:38,000 Pickering Tier two top pair power play one quarterback, ten 1038 00:52:38,079 --> 00:52:41,519 goal thirty five assists, low hit totals, but upside for blocks. 1039 00:52:42,159 --> 00:52:44,400 If he adds physicality to his game, that's how he 1040 00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:47,360 gets there. He could become a team's foundational two way defender. 1041 00:52:47,559 --> 00:52:50,920 Passing and skating ability open up the possibility of becoming 1042 00:52:50,960 --> 00:52:53,400 a power play one quarterback on a team without a 1043 00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:58,440 strong offensive scoring defenseman. The median outcome second or third 1044 00:52:58,519 --> 00:53:02,639 pair power play two quarterback five goals twenty five assists, 1045 00:53:02,639 --> 00:53:06,440 low hits, maybe some blocks. His playmaking will keep him 1046 00:53:06,480 --> 00:53:08,840 relevant on the power play in that scenario. Keeping him 1047 00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:11,000 as a power play two quarterback. If you could learn 1048 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:14,480 to be serviceable as a non physical defender who uses 1049 00:53:14,519 --> 00:53:17,239 his length as a separator, he'd be valuable as a 1050 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:20,079 second or third pairing defenseman, depending on how his two 1051 00:53:20,119 --> 00:53:25,440 way game develops. Stylistic comparable Damon Severson, how about that. 1052 00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:33,159 We'll see how that comes out and the NHL ranking. 1053 00:53:33,239 --> 00:53:36,679 Mason Black has set up a poll Owen pickering Mikhil 1054 00:53:36,719 --> 00:53:42,000 Gulaiev of the Colorado Avalanche and Gliaiev in a route 1055 00:53:42,039 --> 00:53:46,400 in a ROMP seventy three to twenty Sevictor, Is it 1056 00:53:46,480 --> 00:53:48,559 also Glaiev over pickering for you? 1057 00:53:50,119 --> 00:53:52,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely. I think that's probably not surprising for those 1058 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:55,360 of you that heard our AVS episode. I do Gliaiev. 1059 00:53:55,679 --> 00:53:58,239 I think he has some really good opportunity to be 1060 00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:01,239 a positive point producer. Even though he didn't score a 1061 00:54:01,239 --> 00:54:03,760 ton in the KHL. He's in a really difficult league, 1062 00:54:03,760 --> 00:54:06,360 and I think he's showing his all around skill set 1063 00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:09,880 and pickering. As you've probably heard, as I was alluding to, 1064 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:11,760 seems like he's going to be more of a shutdown 1065 00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:15,199 defensive kind of guy, and he has really high likelyood 1066 00:54:15,199 --> 00:54:16,840 to make the NHL. Both these guys, do I think 1067 00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:18,679 pick Pickering is going to be in the NHL for sure? 1068 00:54:18,719 --> 00:54:21,320 His size and mobility, his defensive game, but I'm not 1069 00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:23,719 sure he's going to score a lot. Gliaev is a 1070 00:54:23,719 --> 00:54:25,480 little bit smaller, but I think he has a little 1071 00:54:25,480 --> 00:54:28,320 bit more offensive upside, so I would definitely take him. 1072 00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:30,400 The PNX League for these two is a little bit similar, 1073 00:54:30,440 --> 00:54:32,760 a little bit higher for Pickering, but I think it's 1074 00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:36,719 much more realistic and there's more upside here for Guliayev 1075 00:54:36,719 --> 00:54:39,159 in terms of him reaching that ceiling. Looking at the 1076 00:54:39,159 --> 00:54:42,480 hockey prospecting is pretty clear Guliayev eighty four to seventy 1077 00:54:42,519 --> 00:54:46,480 seven percent chance of being a star. Pickering has stayed 1078 00:54:46,480 --> 00:54:49,400 consistent in the sub ten percent the last three seasons, 1079 00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:53,800 so a lot more pessimistic on him reaching his star potential. 1080 00:54:53,880 --> 00:54:57,519 Some of the other comps that seem reasonable for Pickering 1081 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:00,719 someone like a Darnell Nurse, but without the bash because 1082 00:55:00,760 --> 00:55:03,239 he doesn't really bash that much as we saw from 1083 00:55:03,239 --> 00:55:07,119 the player card. That's basically what you're hoping for. Maybe 1084 00:55:07,119 --> 00:55:08,960 someone who gets a lot of minutes, maybe gets some 1085 00:55:09,039 --> 00:55:11,480 decent amount of points, but you might not have the 1086 00:55:11,480 --> 00:55:15,199 peripheral floor there from Pickering looking at the j fresh card, 1087 00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:17,440 just one percent chance of being a star, seventeen percent 1088 00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:20,840 chance of being an NHLer, and I think that's probably 1089 00:55:20,880 --> 00:55:23,000 pretty realistic. I don't think there's a huge chance that 1090 00:55:23,039 --> 00:55:25,559 Pickering is a big point producer, but someone who will 1091 00:55:25,599 --> 00:55:27,800 play games. If you want someone on chry level contract 1092 00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:30,280 who could turn things around, and it seems pretty sure 1093 00:55:30,320 --> 00:55:32,119 bet to play in the NHL, then he could be 1094 00:55:32,159 --> 00:55:32,480 your guy. 1095 00:55:33,679 --> 00:55:36,519 Speaker 3: Very good and victor who's to keep your eye on prospect? 1096 00:55:37,840 --> 00:55:40,199 Speaker 4: Yeah, so this is going to be val Terry pustin 1097 00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:45,239 In and pustin In is was a twenty nineteen twenty 1098 00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:48,719 nineteen seventh ro out pick two hundred and third overall, 1099 00:55:49,039 --> 00:55:52,480 five foot nine, one hundred and eighty three pounds, right shot, 1100 00:55:52,559 --> 00:55:55,360 right wing, so he's definitely a bit on the older side. 1101 00:55:55,440 --> 00:55:58,079 Twenty five year old managed fifty two games with a 1102 00:55:58,079 --> 00:56:00,039 big club this past season, five goals of fifty and 1103 00:56:00,119 --> 00:56:03,199 assists with the Pens while averaging eleven forty five time 1104 00:56:03,199 --> 00:56:05,760 on ice not so much and about a minute a 1105 00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:07,639 half on power play two. 1106 00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:08,880 Speaker 2: So overall, he. 1107 00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:12,039 Speaker 4: Was pretty good in the AHL the past couple seasons 1108 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:15,679 and finally got his shot with the big club. Looking 1109 00:56:15,719 --> 00:56:19,280 at his FHL player card, he doesn't really shoot, block 1110 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:21,519 or hit a lot either, so the perperle floor here 1111 00:56:21,559 --> 00:56:23,719 is pretty low, and he doesn't really take any pims 1112 00:56:24,199 --> 00:56:26,800 and the points you're looking for points only mainly assist 1113 00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:30,719 from postin In, So that's a little bit hard to justify. 1114 00:56:30,920 --> 00:56:34,159 But one thing that we know that the Penguins need 1115 00:56:34,199 --> 00:56:36,239 as they're trying to extend this window is they need 1116 00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:40,280 guys who can perform for relatively cheap and he can 1117 00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:42,719 do that. He's got two more years this year and 1118 00:56:42,760 --> 00:56:44,840 next year at seven hundred and seventy five thousands, so 1119 00:56:44,880 --> 00:56:47,960 that should give him some opportunity potentially to play with 1120 00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:51,360 these aging bets. But let's hear a little bit more 1121 00:56:51,400 --> 00:56:53,480 about pustin In. From our FHL scout. 1122 00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:56,599 Speaker 3: Chris says this to say about val Terry Pustinen. He 1123 00:56:56,960 --> 00:57:00,719 is good skater, hits stop speed very quickly, average top 1124 00:57:00,719 --> 00:57:04,880 speed overall quick, nimble, incredibly high motor, never stops moving 1125 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:07,159 in the offensive zone, and it's tough to keep up 1126 00:57:07,199 --> 00:57:10,719 with as a defender. If you make his skating distance 1127 00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:13,800 into a rate stat he's in the seventy seventh percentile 1128 00:57:13,800 --> 00:57:17,960 of distance traveled per sixty. That's an interesting stat. Passing 1129 00:57:17,960 --> 00:57:21,199 and handling well, that one's below average. He rushes to 1130 00:57:21,199 --> 00:57:23,920 get the puck off his stick. He passes the puck 1131 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:27,679 before surveying his options and makes some questionable decisions. Therefore, 1132 00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:31,239 at the AHL level he's completely different. Though with the 1133 00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:34,400 added time and space the AHL allows, he always looks 1134 00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:36,920 calm and composed. He needs to adjust the speed and 1135 00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:39,599 pacing of the game in the NHL before we see 1136 00:57:39,679 --> 00:57:43,239 any of his playmaking abilities show in a meaningful way. 1137 00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:47,280 Shooting his average great shot when given time and space, 1138 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:50,480 but struggles with accuracy when rushed. Has a great one 1139 00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:53,679 timer that he loves to wait backdoor to receive, but 1140 00:57:53,719 --> 00:57:56,639 he needs to shoot for rebounds more often. Val Terry 1141 00:57:56,679 --> 00:57:59,559 aims his shots at the top corners, which often results 1142 00:57:59,559 --> 00:58:01,719 in the puck going out of play where he misses 1143 00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:04,360 the net entirely. Chris says he needs to be a 1144 00:58:04,400 --> 00:58:07,920 more intentional, cerebral shooter to improve his goal scoring and 1145 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,559 finishing abilities. Can sometimes shoot seemingly just to get the 1146 00:58:11,559 --> 00:58:14,800 puck off his stick and avoid a turnover. The IQ 1147 00:58:15,039 --> 00:58:18,800 good high hides and low lows. He's an elite off 1148 00:58:18,840 --> 00:58:22,320 puck player, constantly moving and pulling defenders out of position. 1149 00:58:22,599 --> 00:58:25,960 Pustinen is a true waterbug type of hockey player. Without 1150 00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:30,000 proper communication from his opponents, he exploits the spaces to 1151 00:58:30,039 --> 00:58:32,800 set himself up for one timers for a quick slat 1152 00:58:32,840 --> 00:58:36,760 pass across the crease. Excellent positioning defensively, gets all he 1153 00:58:36,840 --> 00:58:39,920 can for his five to nine size, and is often 1154 00:58:39,960 --> 00:58:45,280 pressuring getting puck handlers in poor positions. He anticipates rebounds 1155 00:58:45,360 --> 00:58:48,800 quite well, but Chris says that Pustinen has poor poise 1156 00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:52,119 when puck handling and being pressured. He needs to see 1157 00:58:52,159 --> 00:58:54,880 better decision making and a willingness to handle the puck 1158 00:58:54,960 --> 00:58:58,239 near defenders on a consistent basis before taking the next 1159 00:58:58,239 --> 00:59:02,719 step Offensively, for checking is good. Val Teri's extremely high 1160 00:59:02,760 --> 00:59:05,400 motor helps make him a great four checker, good at 1161 00:59:05,440 --> 00:59:08,840 positioning himself on the fore check as the weak side attacker. 1162 00:59:09,079 --> 00:59:11,440 If his opponent attempts a dump pass or a pass 1163 00:59:11,480 --> 00:59:15,079 along the boards, Pustinen is always there to force the turnover. 1164 00:59:15,599 --> 00:59:20,159 On defense, Chris says Pustinen is good handles defensive responsibilities, 1165 00:59:20,199 --> 00:59:23,800 great at rotating with his defenseman when needed. He communicates 1166 00:59:24,320 --> 00:59:28,360 and has very predictable movements and positioning while defending almost 1167 00:59:28,400 --> 00:59:30,960 never leaves teammates in a tough spot by puck chasing 1168 00:59:31,079 --> 00:59:34,599 or getting pulled out of position, So the best asset 1169 00:59:34,639 --> 00:59:37,119 was the high motor he moves around the ice with 1170 00:59:37,159 --> 00:59:40,559 such pays, it's invaluable as a forward to force creativity 1171 00:59:40,639 --> 00:59:44,480 into an offense and cause havoc for defenders. The biggest 1172 00:59:44,480 --> 00:59:47,679 concern the poison while puck handlane. Without growing his game 1173 00:59:47,719 --> 00:59:51,119 to become a more comfortable put carrier, Chris doesn't see 1174 00:59:51,159 --> 00:59:53,519 coaches having the patients to keep him in the NHL. 1175 00:59:54,519 --> 00:59:57,519 The top tier outcome tier three wings, So like a 1176 00:59:57,599 --> 01:00:01,559 second third liner may be powerplay one twenty goal twenty 1177 01:00:01,559 --> 01:00:04,880 five assists low Bash, and that's because of the poor 1178 01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:07,719 playmaking ability panic on the puck that sets a hard 1179 01:00:07,719 --> 01:00:10,440 ceiling in his place in the lineup. Second line power 1180 01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:14,239 play one is obtainable if he has a playmaker center 1181 01:00:14,280 --> 01:00:16,679 and he can grow comfortable with the speed and pacing 1182 01:00:16,880 --> 01:00:20,639 of the NHL. The meeting outcome though a third or 1183 01:00:20,719 --> 01:00:23,960 fourth line power play two type wing fifteen goals twenty 1184 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:27,599 assists low Bash. That's because he's already capable in the 1185 01:00:27,599 --> 01:00:30,920 power play with the extra time and space which would 1186 01:00:31,039 --> 01:00:32,840 be a reason to put him on a power play two. 1187 01:00:33,239 --> 01:00:37,519 Very sound bottom six winger who's defensively responsible with some 1188 01:00:37,719 --> 01:00:43,199 offensive upside. Connor Sheary is the comp that Chris offers 1189 01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:46,480 for this one, and overall Boosting is an amazing story, 1190 01:00:46,599 --> 01:00:49,360 unlikely success. A seventh round pick all the way back 1191 01:00:49,360 --> 01:00:52,559 in twenty nineteen, It's great to see his talent realized 1192 01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:55,159 and for him to get his chance in the NHL. 1193 01:00:55,239 --> 01:00:58,920 He's exactly the kind of bottom six players all fans love. 1194 01:01:00,039 --> 01:01:02,760 In the NHL ranking, Mason Black puts up a poll, 1195 01:01:02,920 --> 01:01:06,360 I think this is a first Victor Jack Divine of 1196 01:01:06,519 --> 01:01:09,679 the University of Denver and the Florida Panther system up 1197 01:01:09,719 --> 01:01:14,920 against val Terry Pustinen fifty to fifty dead even tie. Victor. 1198 01:01:15,559 --> 01:01:17,400 Are either one of these better than the other, or 1199 01:01:17,480 --> 01:01:19,639 these actually wins separated at birth. 1200 01:01:20,639 --> 01:01:23,039 Speaker 4: I cannot confirm it, deny they were twins, but they 1201 01:01:23,039 --> 01:01:26,519 don't look anything alike. That nothing that necessarily matters. It's 1202 01:01:26,519 --> 01:01:28,599 interesting these are. I think this is great that this 1203 01:01:28,679 --> 01:01:30,320 is a tie, because it really depends on what you want. 1204 01:01:30,360 --> 01:01:32,639 If you want the kind of more for sure NHLer 1205 01:01:32,840 --> 01:01:35,760 that has probably not the highest upside, then go with 1206 01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:38,440 Poussin in. If you want the guy that has a 1207 01:01:38,599 --> 01:01:42,719 much bigger upside but a lower floor and is less 1208 01:01:42,760 --> 01:01:44,440 likely to reach it than go with Jack Divine. I 1209 01:01:44,480 --> 01:01:47,480 probably would go with Divine just because he does have 1210 01:01:47,639 --> 01:01:51,880 that higher potential, that probability for Florida. But I hit 1211 01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:55,400 his prowess at the NCAA level has been incredible, but 1212 01:01:55,880 --> 01:01:58,039 that's been a really good system for him the entire 1213 01:01:58,079 --> 01:02:01,000 time he's been there with Denver, and I just don't 1214 01:02:01,000 --> 01:02:02,840 know that he's going to be able to translate the 1215 01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:04,880 skill set that he has. And I've watched him a 1216 01:02:04,960 --> 01:02:06,519 bit and what he does at the incident of a 1217 01:02:06,559 --> 01:02:08,519 label is really good, but I'm just not sure that's 1218 01:02:08,519 --> 01:02:10,480 going to work at the NHL level. I'm a little 1219 01:02:10,519 --> 01:02:13,280 bit more pessimistic. But if you want the big upside swing, 1220 01:02:13,400 --> 01:02:15,599 take Divine. If you want the security, take posting in. 1221 01:02:16,039 --> 01:02:19,239 Both these guys are pretty low in the Hockey Prospecting Model. 1222 01:02:19,400 --> 01:02:22,320 Zero percent star potential for possing in two percent for 1223 01:02:22,400 --> 01:02:25,119 Jack Divine, Both of them pretty low chance of being 1224 01:02:25,159 --> 01:02:27,559 in NHLers. Although we've already seen posted in the NHL, 1225 01:02:27,679 --> 01:02:31,639 so's that's that. Looking at the other comps for posting, in. 1226 01:02:31,639 --> 01:02:35,400 They're pretty much all just replacement level guys. I could 1227 01:02:35,440 --> 01:02:37,079 list a bunch of them, but they're none of the 1228 01:02:37,079 --> 01:02:39,360 guys that you've really heard of. I guess the best 1229 01:02:39,400 --> 01:02:43,199 one is probably E two loose terrain in, but that's 1230 01:02:43,280 --> 01:02:46,840 that's pretty much it. So not too much in terms 1231 01:02:46,880 --> 01:02:50,000 of excitement there. And there isn't a j freshcard here. 1232 01:02:50,079 --> 01:02:53,440 I think we covered poosin in. He's someone who is playing. 1233 01:02:53,480 --> 01:02:55,760 He's getting the opportunity now. I don't think the upside 1234 01:02:55,800 --> 01:02:58,960 is huge, but he's there. So if you want someone 1235 01:02:58,960 --> 01:03:01,079 in the NHL on a cheap contract, there you go. 1236 01:03:01,639 --> 01:03:04,519 If that for the Pictsburgh Penguins dig. If you're a 1237 01:03:04,519 --> 01:03:06,639 patreon you can listen to my top ten prospect recap 1238 01:03:06,719 --> 01:03:08,880 on Patreon. And if you're just into some scouting suit 1239 01:03:08,920 --> 01:03:11,159 me a damn on Twitter, Discord, or email uss. 1240 01:03:12,119 --> 01:03:23,639 Speaker 3: We'll be right back to close out the show. A 1241 01:03:23,960 --> 01:03:26,559 reminder our show's pride to you by fan tracks. You 1242 01:03:26,559 --> 01:03:29,880 can move leagues over, start new leagues, ten different sports 1243 01:03:29,880 --> 01:03:31,679 to play. We're about a month and a half out 1244 01:03:31,719 --> 01:03:34,639 from the hockey season, so you could be setting up 1245 01:03:34,719 --> 01:03:37,639 leagues right now and starting your slow drafts with your friends. 1246 01:03:37,639 --> 01:03:40,079 That's right slow drafts. You could set your draft to 1247 01:03:40,119 --> 01:03:42,599 have a four hour clock, an eight hour clock. You 1248 01:03:42,599 --> 01:03:45,840 can have an overnight timer, so maybe it's four hours 1249 01:03:45,880 --> 01:03:49,000 by day, but between ten at night and eight in 1250 01:03:49,000 --> 01:03:51,119 the morning, it doesn't move at all, and then the 1251 01:03:51,159 --> 01:03:53,119 clock starts again. You could still pick in the middle 1252 01:03:53,119 --> 01:03:56,119 of the night, but the clock doesn't tick on anybody. 1253 01:03:56,199 --> 01:03:58,280 That's just so cool doing a slow draft. It's the 1254 01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:00,920 only way to do it in minor and age where 1255 01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:03,920 you can't get everybody online at the same time. Fantrac's 1256 01:04:04,039 --> 01:04:07,280 HQ has lots of fantasy content articles on fantasy hockey 1257 01:04:07,679 --> 01:04:11,960 and all the other fantasy sports. FHL is a whole team. 1258 01:04:12,159 --> 01:04:15,920 There's many people in our crew. We think. Content curator 1259 01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:19,199 Kevin Adams puts a lot into the show prep for 1260 01:04:19,360 --> 01:04:22,800 the shows you've been hearing today. The tidy leagues are 1261 01:04:23,079 --> 01:04:26,000 a whole thing, and thank goodness, we have a commission 1262 01:04:26,039 --> 01:04:30,920 team of Craftzer, Tim Simone, and Ryan who keep up 1263 01:04:30,960 --> 01:04:33,079 with all of that. Jeremy v is our lead scout. 1264 01:04:33,559 --> 01:04:36,400 He's been wrangling all of these scouting reports you hear 1265 01:04:36,599 --> 01:04:40,880 on the team previews. Jason helps with our prospect ranks. 1266 01:04:40,960 --> 01:04:43,719 Brandon is our website guru and a scout and is 1267 01:04:43,760 --> 01:04:47,480 helping with the prospect ranks and visualizations. If you have 1268 01:04:47,559 --> 01:04:49,519 skills you'd like to lend the show, hit Victor up 1269 01:04:49,519 --> 01:04:52,920 in the discord, email or on x We're also brought 1270 01:04:52,920 --> 01:04:55,280 to you by Dauber Hockey and Dauber Prospects. Victors and 1271 01:04:55,400 --> 01:04:58,599 editor there follow us work as well as his other podcast, 1272 01:04:58,719 --> 01:05:01,800 Daber Prospects Report. Peter Harlan. I even wrote an article 1273 01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:04,599 on Dauber Prospects see if you can find it. Be 1274 01:05:04,719 --> 01:05:08,199 sure to also check out Victor's articles at ep rnkside. 1275 01:05:08,239 --> 01:05:10,519 He's part of the fantasy team with Cam Robinson and 1276 01:05:10,639 --> 01:05:13,320 Mike Clifford. Over there, I do a solo show called 1277 01:05:13,360 --> 01:05:18,119 Dynasty Sports Life. I talk four different Dynasty sports sometimes overlapping. 1278 01:05:18,199 --> 01:05:21,400 This week, myself and Matt Cooper of the Couch Scouts 1279 01:05:21,440 --> 01:05:25,800 podcast decided to do a show about the NFL teams 1280 01:05:25,920 --> 01:05:29,039 whose fantasy football situations were most curious to see how 1281 01:05:29,039 --> 01:05:31,800 it plays out. You just never know what an offense 1282 01:05:31,920 --> 01:05:33,920 is going to look like until it goes out there 1283 01:05:33,960 --> 01:05:35,880 on the field, and with just a few days to 1284 01:05:35,880 --> 01:05:38,679 go for the NFL season, that was a interesting topic 1285 01:05:38,719 --> 01:05:42,960 for us. Follow Victor and myself on x Victor Nuno 1286 01:05:43,039 --> 01:05:47,039 twelve is Victor Fan Hockey Life is me? Rate and 1287 01:05:47,079 --> 01:05:50,039 review this pod Spotify, Apple Pods, wherever else you get 1288 01:05:50,079 --> 01:05:52,920 your podcast. Thank you for listening to everybody. I hope 1289 01:05:52,920 --> 01:05:55,719 you enjoyed this talk on the Pittsburgh Penguins and until 1290 01:05:55,719 --> 01:06:10,880 next time, keep living that fantasy hockey life.