I apologize, I was really busy yesterday and I didn’t have time to write up my Prospect Update. Fortunately, today I have a moment. However, before I do, I want to pat us at Penguin Poop, on the back. Just a couple of days ago, some other website, Pittsburgh Hockey Now, finally caught up with us, at least in some respects.

It was our friend and sometimes contributor, Jim Arthurs, who first pointed out the decaying state of our Pittsburgh Penguins farm system several years back. And yours truly, at the beginning of this campaign noted that not a single player drafted during the Mike Sullivan reign has made it to the Penguins big league roster. In Fact, with Sam Poulin on a leave of absence, only last year’s first round pick Owen Pickering is the only first round pick in our favorite flightless fowl’s system. Furthermore, Filip Hållander is the player in the first three Sullivan Era drafts still in the system.

Finally, after we here at Penguin Poop pointed out the pathetic state our Penguins Pipeline is in, Dan Kingerski finally caught up with us, in his January 31, 2023 post “Penguins One-Timers: Internal Frustrations Grow, Dumoulin Rebound”. Kingerski acknowledged that it has been 9 years since a Penguins draft pick made their own big-league roster. (Of course, eventually put the rose colored glasses back on and tried to ignore the truth about the Penguins ability to identify talent – but more on that in my next post).

Forwards

In the Minor Leagues

Unfortunately, for our AHL affiliate, baby Penguins, across the state in Wilkes Barre – Scranton (WBS), former 2^nd round pick, Hållander was injured for the entire month of January. In his absence, Drake Caggiula finally started to get on the score sheet. The Free Agent (FA) forward doubled his Point (Pts.) production in one month. Caggiula had picked up 15 Pts in 24 games leading up to January, but notched 15 more in the 12 Games Played (GP) the past month. The Winger moved up to 2^nd on the roster in scoring, 9 Goals (G), 21 Assists (A), for his 30 Pts.

Jonathan Gruden was also having a strong month in January before being called up to the injury riddled NHL roster. Gruden had scored 5 G and 2 A in the only 5 GP before being called up. Had he played the full month he would have challenged Caggiula for the top Pts for the month. However, over the entire season he only has 16 Pts in 32 GP. Xavier Ouellet, a Defenseman in WBS has 17 Pts in 29 GP. Therefore, Gruden’s season is not really impressing me.

Overall, Alexander Nylander and Valterri Puustenin are still leading the team with 34 Pts. To keep perspective, our 2 top guns were barely in the top 50 in scoring in the AHL. Perhaps if there was more talent to surround Nylander and Puustenin, they could be sitting higher in the scoring race, but alas the team doesn’t have the supporting cast.

Skater	Po	S	Age	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	(+/-)
Andonovski, Corey	RW	R	23	WBS Penguins	AHL	36	7	6	13	50	-4
Ansons, Raivis	RW/LW	L	20	WBS Penguins	AHL	29	1	2	3	16	-8
Caggiula, Drake	C/LW	L	28	WBS Penguins	AHL	36	9	21	30	27	8
Frasca, Jordan	C/LW	L	21	WBS Penguins	AHL	3	0	0	0	14	-1
Frasca, Jordan	C/LW	L	21	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL	14	0	2	2	0	-2
Glover, Ty	C/LW	L	22	WBS Penguins	AHL	26	2	2	4	7	-1
Gruden, Jonathan	LW	L	22	WBS Penguins	AHL	32	11	5	16	30	2
Hallander, Filip	LW/C	L	22	WBS Penguins	AHL	26	8	17	25	8	12
Légaré, Nathan	RW	R	21	WBS Penguins	AHL	40	5	5	10	23	-5
Nylander, Alexander	W/C	R	24	WBS Penguins	AHL	40	17	17	34	8	2
O’Connor, Drew	LW	L	24	WBS Penguins	AHL	20	8	14	22	18	9
Poulin, Sam	W	L	21	WBS Penguins	AHL	13	4	0	4	6	-1
Puustinen, Valterri	RW/LW	R	23	WBS Penguins	AHL	41	16	18	34	20	9
Švejkovský, Lukáš	C/RW	R	20	WBS Penguins	AHL	26	2	6	8	6	-6

In the Juniors, Colleges, and Europe

Tristan Broz had the best month, during January, among the Forwards Prospects, outside of the AHL and ECHL. Broz had 4G, 3A, and 7 Pts in 7 GP, for the University of Denver in the NCAA. However, Luke Devlin still has the most points this season among forwards in the Juniors with 7 G, 17 A, and 24 Pts in 34 GP. Devlin’s 34 Pts has him tied for 80^th in BCHL.

Skaters	Po	S	Age	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	(+/-)
Bjorkqvist, Kasper	W	L	25	Kärpät	Liiga	34	4	4	8	37	3
Broz, Tristan	C	L	20	Univ of Denver	NCAA	27	9	11	20	12	12
Caulfield, Judd	RW	R	21	Univ of North Dakota	NCAA	27	8	7	15	10	7
Devlin, Luke	C	L	18	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	34	7	17	24	11	0
Plante, Zam	C	L	18	Univ of Minn-Duluth	NCAA	24	3	11	14	2	-3
Tankov, Kirill	C	L	20	SKA-Neva St.Petersburg	VHL	1	0	0	0	0	0
Yoder, Chase	C	L	20	Providence College	NCAA	27	5	6	11	12	2

Defensemen

In the Minor Leagues

In terms of Defensemen in the Penguins Organization. During the month of January, FA Jack St. Ivany led WBS with a grand total of 4 Pts (all assists). In terms of the season so far, Ouellet has the most Pts, 17 Pts, 3 more Pts than Ty Smith in just 1 more GP and a +/- 11 Pts higher. Unfortunately for Ouellet he wasn’t given a call up during the recent rash of injuries.

Injuries gave Josh Maniscalco an opportunity to come back up to WBS. The Defenseman had 8 G and 20 A in 31 GP before his call up from the Wheeling Nailers. In WBS he picked up 1 A in 8 GP.

Defensemen	Po	S	Age	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	(+/-)
Fedun, Taylor	D	R	34	WBS Penguins	AHL	34	0	3	3	14	3
Freidman, Mark	D	R	26	WBS Penguins	AHL	19	1	4	5	12	5
Maniscalco, Joshua	D	R	23	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL	31	8	20	28	42	0
Maniscalco, Joshua	D	R	23	WBS Penguins	ECHL	8	0	1	1	5	2
Ouellet, Xavier	D	L	29	WBS Penguins	AHL	29	2	15	17	21	9
Smith, Ty	D	L	22	WBS Penguins	AHL	28	4	10	14	10	-2
St. Ivany, Jack	D	R	23	WBS Penguins	AHL	33	0	5	5	18	-2
Swoyer, Colin	D	R	24	WBS Penguins	AHL	14	0	4	4	4	2
Swoyer, Colin	D	R	24	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL	6	0	1	1	4	0

In the Juniors, Colleges, and Europe

Outside of the North American minor leagues, Isaac Belliveau and Ryan McCleary had the best Pts totals in January with 8 Pts each. Belliveau was also a +10 over the course of the month; McCleary was a +5. This past Years 1^st round pick Owen Pickering finished the month of January with 5 Pts but was a -6.

Overall Belliveau has 33 Pts, which is tied for 67^th in scoring in the QMJHL. Belliveau is also a +24 which is tied for 19^th in that league.

Overall Pickering has 27 Pts in the WHL and is a -4. Pickering’s 27 Pts ties him for 121^st in scoring and his -4 ties him for 377^th.

Ryan McCleary’s 25 Pts is only 2 Pts less than Pickering, but McCleary has 11 Gs, 5 Gs more than Pickering and McCleary’s +1 is 5 points better than our latest first round pick (or will it be bust). McCleary was a 7^th round pick in 2021 but is only 4 months younger than Pickering, yet we used a 1^st round pick on Pickering.

	Po	S	Age	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	(+/-)
Belliveau, Isaac	D	L	19	Gatineau Olympiques “A”	QMJHL	34	6	27	33	18	25
Collins, Nolan	D	R	18	Sudbury Wolves	OHL	39	5	8	13	39	-2
Laatsch, Daniel	D	L	20	Univ Wisconsin	NCAA	26	0	5	5	4	-1
McCleary, Ryan	D	R	19	Portland Winterhawks	WHL	43	11	14	25	29	1
Pickering, Owen	D	L	18	Swift Current Broncos	WHL	37	6	21	27	12	-2

Goalies

In the Minor Leagues

It is kind of funny how our friend Rick Buker can use reverse psychology on our Penguins. It was only a couple of days ago Rick was dissing Taylor Gauthier, By the time January ended Gauthier has ended up with a Save Percentage Sv% only a few points below old man Dustin Tokarski’s Sv%.

Keep talking smack Rick. You may be able to sneak our Penguins in the playoffs and maybe turn a prospect or two into NHLers.

	Po	C	Age	Hgt	Wgt	Team	League	GP	GAA	Sv%	SO	W	L	T
Gauthier, Taylor	G	R	21	74″	207lbs	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL	16	3.1	0.896	1	8	7	1
Gauthier, Taylor	G	R	21	74”	207lbs	WBS Penguins	AHL	8	2.2	0.919	0	5	1	0
Lindberg, Filip	G	L	23	73″	194lbs	WBS Penguins	AHL	17	2.93	0.901	0	6	9	1
Tokarski, Dustin	G	L	33	72″	198lbs	WBS Penguins	AHL	20	2.32	0.923	1	9	6	4

In the Juniors, Colleges, and Europe

Joel Blomqvist, like Hållander missed the entire month of January, so there was not change in his stats. Sergei Murashov continues to impress. The young netminder tops the MHL in all categories Sv%, Goals Against Average (GAA), Wins (W), and Shut Outs (SO).

I have watched Blomqvist play, and he has all the tools. I need to find video of Murashov to see if his stats reflect his play.

	Po	C	Age	Hgt	Wgt	Team	League	GP	GAA	Sv%	SO	W	L	T
Blomqvist, Joel	G	L	20	74″	183lbs	Kärpät	Liiga	20	2.36	0.903	2	6	5	8
Murashov, Sergei	G	R	18	73″	170lbs	Loko Yaroslavl	MHL	31	1.18	0.954	11	21	6	3
Murashov, Sergei	G	R	18	73″/186cm	170lbs	Loko Yaroslavl-76	MHL	5	2.04	0.932	0	2	2	1
Murashov, Sergei	G	R	18	73″/186cm	170lbs	Loko Yaroslavl	KHL	1	1	0.947	0	1	0	0

Conclusion

Well, there it is, the current state of our Penguins Prospects. There isn’t a lot down there, but I still would like to see Puustenin and Hållander replace some dead wood at the NHL level.

Odds and Sods

• I wonder if our Penguins will eventually be able to bring Murashov over here? If he develops the way he is tracking, I hope so.
• Speaking of Murashov, GM Ron Hextall may not be good at evaluating top end talent, judging by Pickering’s season so far, but he may be able to dig up nuggets in the later rounds. Murashov looks like a gem.
• Our friend Mike suggested that our Penguins draft Rutger McGroarty with their first pick. Unfortunately, he was drafted 7 places before the Penguins pick. During our discussions, Mike’s suggestion was not greeted very courteously by one reader. So, I decided to check and see how McGroarty was doing; in 26 GP for the University of Michigan, the Left-Handed Winger has 10 G, 12 A, 22 Pts, 4 PIM, and is -1. He had an additional 7 Pts (1 G and 6 A) for the USA U-20 team in the World Junior Tournament. McGroarty’s 22 Pts ties him for 63^rd in scoring in the NCAA. It may still be too soon to be sure, but you certainly look the better scout, Mike.
• If anyone recalls, I wanted the team to draft 6’-7” 198 lbs, Maveric Lamoureux. Lamoureux was still available by the time the Penguins draft selection. Lamoureux didn’t start the season right away. He was injured early on. Since joining his team in Drummondville, in 13 GP he has 1 G, 6 A, 7 Pts, 28 PIM, and is a -6. It is hard to say how Lamoureux would have fared had he started the season on time. Drummondville is struggling. Only 4 players are on the + side of the +/- for that team. I will keep an eye on him. I loved the physical play I saw from him in his game films.