The Pittsburgh Penguins trimmed their roster down to their season starting size today by trading Derrick Pouliot to the Vancouver Canucks for Andrey Pedan and Vancouver’s 4th pick in next year’s 2018 Draft.
Former first round pick Pouliot came to the Penguin’s organization with a lot of promise. In his NHL debut his offensive acumen caused me to gush to several friends that I though he would become one of the best defensemen the Penguins ever drafted. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Over the years Pouliot’s stock has dropped considerably and the young D man had become a flash point of criticism for many Penguins fans.
Hopefully, for Pouliot, the change of scenery may resurrect his career. Even though he was often criticized for his lack of defensive skill, Pouliot does own a 54.7% career CORSI stat over 67 NHL games.
To make their opening day roster numbers, the Penguins will be sending Pedan to the Wilkes – Barre Scranton Penguins. He is on a two way contract.
Pedan is a 6’-5”, 215lb left handed defenseman who was born in Kaunus, Lithuania. He played his amateur hockey for the Guelph Storm of the OHL. While playing for Guelph he compiled 26 goals and added 70 assists in 174 games. He was a -19 and accumulated 386 penalty minutes. Moving up to the AHL he potted 8 goals with 21 assists, in 84 games while improving his +/- to a + 5 and amassing 171 penalty minutes. He also has played 13 games in the NHL during the 2015-2016 season, not really getting on the scoring sheet but picking up 40 hits and blocking 8 shots over those handful of games. Other stats of note; he was a -3 in his brief NHL stint and collected 18 penalty minutes; his CORSI was 45.2%.
The scouts at Hockey Future said of Pedan skates well and loves the physical play. They also seemed to be impressed with his offensive skills but said it is his physical play that draws attention to him. If this is true, then maybe Jim Rutherford pulled off another coup, but even if it isn’t, Pouliot’s career would have seemed to have stalled here in Pittsburgh.
The 4th round choice in next year’s draft would also seem to be welcome considering how few picks our Penguins have had over the years.
Hawks 10- Pens 1 !!!
Says it all guys !
Hey all,
Switching subjects, a bit of a disappointing start to the season. We had our moments, for sure, but spent far too much time on our heels, a recurring theme from the playoffs.
A couple of impressions. I was quite pleased with Greg McKegg, who won 13 of 17 draws and played with energy and purpose. He made a real nice pass on Conor Sheary’s goal. Sid and the Kids looked great, too. And Olli Maatta skated like he did in his rookie season. A great sign.
On the down side, Matt Hunwick had a tough Penguins debut. Other Rick, I see what you mean about his reads. He and Cole showed little chemistry. If that’s what’s in store, play Ruhwedel instead of Hunwick and move Cole to his natural side.
Although I don’t think they played badly, the fourth line of Reaves, Wilson and Rowney was pretty much an afterthought. Barring some moves or a change in philosophy, I see us becoming a three (or two??) line team. Not good for the long haul.
Along those lines, Sid had 23+ minutes of ice time. Like to see that number reduced.
As much as I love Letang, he’s no power-play quarterback. Stop deferring to him and put Schultz on the top unit, where he belongs.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Good Assessment! I pretty much agree. I would like to add, it didn’t help when the refs were extremely liberal in their interpretation of kicking the puck into the net. It is really bad when you blow a call on the ice and then have too much arrogance to acknowledge you were wrong. Schenn deliberately kicked that puck, there was no need for him to more his skate at all, unless he was attempting to redirect that puck. There was no way that was incidental. Not that it really should have mattered, St Louis was somewhat depleted with injuries and the Pens failed.
Yes the Pens had moments of great pressure, particularly in the first period before the buffoon of a ref double blew that goal that should have been a no goal call. There were several times when the top two D pairings cycled in the O zone with the forwards in great fashion.
You are right McKegg did look pretty good out there and the team as a whole looked good in the FO circle, at least for one game. I still would think the team would be at its strongest with Johnson Centering Hagelin and Kessel, with McKegg on a 4th line of Wilson and Rowney, while Kuhnhackl moves up to flank Malkin with preferable Sprong, but failing that Rust.
To go with your discussion of Hunwick, not only was he a -1 for the evening his CORSI numbers were pretty bad too. He had the worst %, 42.9% and his CA/60min of 91.5 was worst among D men and doesn’t fill me with any confidence. It was only one game, but I do believe Ruhwedel is and upgrade over Hunwick.
I agree, with 4th liner only playing about 6 min doesn’t bode well for the team. I do differ in that I still haven’t seen anything from Reaves to suggest that he does fit on this team. I am also a little disappointed in Wilson. Their (Reaves and Wilson) CA/60 both were bad, 85.0 and 96.1 respectively. That could be a reason why that line received so little ice time; They weren’t getting the job done.
With so many games, and big games at that this early in the season, the Pens would seem to have precious little time figuring out who they are this year. There is no time to experiment.
Oh and again I agree, Schultz is the man on the PP. Don’t get me wrong, Letang’s escape ability seems to be completely back, but his PP decisions leave more than a little to be desired.
Hey Other Rick,
A mild pushback regarding the fourth line. I’m not suggesting they would have lit it up, mind you, but it’s tough for these guys to get any rhythm or feel if they don’t play. Kind of the “chicken or the egg” syndrome …
Plus, they hardly skated as a unit. Reaves was spotted next to Sid or Geno on a few of his shifts, and a fair chunk of Rowney’s time came on the PK. The fact that we trailed for a good bit of the game was a mitigating factor, too.
Still, the lack of ice time probably underscores the fact that Sullivan doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in them as a line. Any way you slice it, not an ideal situation.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Interesting thoughts but consider this;
Crosby’s and Malkin’s CORSI numbers were 48.8 and 51.7 respectively
Crosby’s line mates Guentzel and Sheary’s were 52.5 and 50.0
Malkin’s line mates Kessel and Rust were 57.1 and 54.8
Reaves who played several shifts with both of them had a CORSI% of 47.1
Now that doesn’t necessarily mean he is the weak link, but if I would start anywhere looking for the player that is the weak link for forwards, I would start there and Wilson wouldn’t be that far behind, especially after watching them both in the preseason. Reaves never really looked like he fit Sullivan’s mold and Wilson often times looked disinterested.
Sorry, to disagree here, but I do.
Interesting stats, Other Rick.
Again, I’m not suggesting that the fourth line would morph into Sid and the Kids with more ice time. But you’ve got to be on the ice with some degree of consistency to find your game.
Having said that, I honestly don’t know if Reaves will ever fit in. My instincts tell me he won’t, and that he’ll soon give way to Archibald, at least against skating teams.
I’m not ready to throw Wilson onto the scrap heap. If used properly, I think he can be effective.
Rick
Hey Rick,
I don’t know If I would totally scrap Wilson either, particularly considering how thin the team is on the left side, but I would put a little fear in him by benching him for a bit to light a fire under him. It isn’t like the Center position, there are a couple of options the Pens could use to get Wilson play a little more focused.
Howdy to All,
I didn’t have an opinion of Pouliot when he was drafted. The only thing I knew about him was what was written in the draft guide they handed us going in. I do remember, though, commenting to a friend, at one of the open practices that year, that he looked like a winger to me. That’s what I thought they might have done with him the past few years to try keeping him in the system. He doesn’t seem to enjoy being a defenseman.
Not to knock him, as I’m not in the hockey business, but I was never convinced that his head was in the game. I always felt he skated without purpose as often as he skated with purpose, and maybe a bit more of the former than the latter. I don’t know why that is. It may have been nothing more than confusion.
I do hope the change of scenery clears his head. He’ll get some playing time in Vancouver and maybe he’ll seize the opportunty. Right now, I’m looking at this as a trade of unknown quantities, though I think, for whatever it’s worth, we got the better of the deal because of Pedan’s size, and the draft pick. It gives us two chances at maybe finding a keeper.
– 55
Hey 55 on Point,
My thoughts exactly, at least we have a chance to get some level of contribution. And like you, I do love his size.
Hey Guys, A little history lesson…
I remember the day DP was drafted. He was rated something like 22 and Oli Maatta was rated about 10 th. They announce the big trade. Jordan S. was gone and we got back Suter, Dumo and Pouliot . I thought Shero was out right crazy picking him 7th. But I was more than pleased we got Maatta who fell to 20 something.In my mind we got the right 2 guys, just drafted them in the wrong order.
Fast forward to today. Dumo and Pedan are all that is left from the Jordan S. trade. Was it worth it ??? I do not know.
I do know according to my Canuck friends they think they won the Lottery with DP and we got fleeced. My Canuck friends say this guy, Pedan will never play in the NHL. So I guess time will tell. To me DP was just another wasted first round pick by the Pens that they failed to develop properly.
It frustrates me to no end guys. But at least the AHL Pens will be a little better.
Hope i am wrong and Pedan plays every night in the NHL.
Cheers..
Hey Jim,
Interesting thoughts to tie all this back to the Jordan Staal trade. Who knows what Staal’s career would have looked like if he had remained the 3rd line guy behind Crosby and Malkin, getting to face opponents who exhausted their best checkers chasing those top two guys around.
I am never a fan of defensemen under 6′ tall in the modern NHL and was not at all happy at the Pens drafting Pouliot in the first round. However, after I saw him play the first time several years back, I bought into the hype. Over the last couple of years, I really did feel that the Pens failed him more than he failed the Pens. They tried to make him over into something he wasn’t and yo-yoed him around too much. For what ever reason, whether the Pens failed him or not, it really looks like he would never have made it here in the ‘burgh. Hopefully, for his sake, Vancouver and a new start will bring back those flashes we saw of him when he first came up into the NHL.
As for Pedan and the 4th round pick, who knows if they will make anything of their time here. One thing about it though, they represent a better chance of contributing than Pouliot did. What is the old saying about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? At least Pedan and the 4th round pick will be trying something different to get those different results. And Pedan is 6’5 215lbs and likes to hit, now that is really different, for a Penguin D man.
Hey Other Rick,
Thanks for the great trade recap! I can honestly say I read about it first on PenguinPoop … 🙂
Like you, I was initially very impressed with Pouliot’s offensive instincts and pedigree. But it seems the burden of having to develop the defensive side of his game at the pro level really detracted from his flair and creativity as time went on.
Hopefully, the trade will provide him a fresh start. In the meantime, Pedan sounds intriguing, to say the least. It’s no secret that I covet big, physical d-men.
Rick
Thanks Rick,
I love not only the size but his apparent good use of that size. If he really does have the O upside that he displayed in the juniors and that I read about from some of the scouting report sites, then maybe I won’t be complaining too much about the D in the future. I don’t want to see any injuries, but I really want to see him play.
Remember a past Lithuanian born Penguins D man, Darius Kasparaitis?
Hey Other Rick,
Do I remember “Kaspar”? Of course.
There was one hit in particular that I’ll never forget. Petr Nedved had two terrific seasons for us, then wound up sitting out the entire ’97-98 season over a contract dispute.
Early the following season we traded him to the Rangers as part of a deal for Alex Kovalev. I think it was Nedved’s first game back in the ‘Burgh. He was fishing for a loose puck in the corner (with his head down) and Kasparaitis just destroyed him. Nothing dirty … just a straight-up body check. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get hit that hard in my life, and I’ve watched a lot of hockey.
Nedved went down like a ton of bricks … and was understandably slow to get up. The hit literally shook him to his core. (Me, too, and I was just watching on TV.) I actually felt sorry for him.
Lord, could Kaspar hit.
Rick
I’m with both of you in that I thought he was going to be great. I may have drank the koolaid hype. In actually watching him play, I don’t understand why the coaches are so down on him. I don’t see anything horrible in his play. I should also mention that I do not see anything great in his play either.
The team won two cups in a row, it is really hard to complain about their views on any particular players skills. If Sullivan doesn’t like what he sees in a player he benches them.
Hey Phil,
I hear that. Unfortunately my ego sometimes gets the best of me and I complain anyway but my Zero Cups to Sully’s 2 and JR’s 3 brings me back to reality eventually.
Hey guys,
In fairness to Pouliot, I don’t think he played all that badly in 2015-16. But last year he had that disastrous game against Columbus, where guys were just blowing past him, and I don’t think he ever recovered.
Agree with your assessment of his recent play, Phil. I think he had to work so hard at being defensively responsible at this level, that it took all the starch out of his offensive game. He looked very ordinary to me.
Again, here’s hoping the move to Vancouver will help. He gets a fresh start with a new team, closer to home. Canucks coach, Travis Green, was an assistant with Portland, where Pouliot played junior. It sounds like a good opportunity for him.
Rick