I’ll begin this post with a caveat. I freely admit that I’m the least informed (and thus the least qualified) of our PenguinPoop contributors to write about our prospects. Indeed, when it comes to the kids, Other Rick and Caleb Di’Natale are far more knowledgeable than I.
However, for my own edification, I found myself poking into our prospects pool to see who might be of service in the not-too-distant future.
FYI: I’m excluding players like John Ludvig, Sam Poulin, Jesse Puljujärvi, Valtteri Puustinen and Jack St. Ivany who are currently with the team.
Forwards
The first prospect who comes to mind is last summer’s first-round pick, Brayden Yager. A right-handed shot a la a guy named Mario, the 19-year-old center enjoyed a strong season for Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League. In 57 games, Yager tallied 35 goals and 95 points, which tied him for 14th in the league in scoring.
Part of what makes Yager special…and what caught the Penguins’ attention…is his willingness to work on all aspects of his game at a young age. During the 2022-23 season he consciously shot the puck less in order to develop his playmaking skills. An admirable decision, albeit one that may have caused his draft stock to drop.
Patterning his game after Sidney Crosby (never a bad role model) the 6’0” 170-pounder takes pride in his defense as well.
“I think just making sure I’m taking care of the D-zone first, and then just letting the skill take over going the other way,” he said when describing his game. “I think just cleaning up the D-zone, being hard to play against, and using my skating ability to disrupt plays and stuff like that.”
Yager’s greatest strength? A wicked, NHL-ready wrist shot.
At age 19, could Yager be ready to step into the No. 2 center slot with the Pens next season? A move that would allow aging Evgeni Malkin to slide to wing.
Given the all-around nature of his game, not to mention his finishing ability, that’s not as far-fetched as it might seem. If Brayden’s not quite ready? He still has another season of junior eligibility.
A player who intrigues the heck out of me? Finnish forward Ville Koivunen (pictured). Acquired from Carolina as part of the return in the Jake Guentzel deal, Koivunen tore up the SM-liiga this season to the tune of 22 goals (second in the league) and 56 points (sixth best) in 59 games. Pretty darn impressive for a 20-year-old kid.
From what I can glean from scouting reports, he’s a pretty complete player who possesses lots of skill and vision. Versatile, too, with the ability to play all three forward slots.
“One of the things that you will instantly fall head over heels for is Koivunen’s compete level,” opined Josh Tessler of Smaht Scouting. “In the offensive zone, he’s shown that can be a dependable forechecker. There is a lot of aggression in his game.”
“Koivunen is very good,” seconded Pension Plan Puppets. “He gets such exceptional results for having a very effective mix of skill and smarts. He has talent, and he knows how to use it to impact the play at both ends of the ice.”
Sounds like the 6’0” 167-pounder might be tailor-made for the Pens’ preferred style of play. Alas, skating might be an issue. Which would explain why he was available.
Among the other players acquired in the Guentzel deal? Caleb is high on Vasily Ponomarev (loves his shot and overall skills) while Other Rick likes the look of Cruz Lucius (aggressive, finishes his checks).
As with Koivunen, speed might be an issue.
Honorable Mention: Tristan Broz, Cooper Foster, Jonathan Gruden, Mikhail Ilyin
Defense
On the blue line, the Pens like ‘em long and lean.
Listed at 6’4” and 181 pounds, Owen Pickering should fit right in with the likes of Marcus Pettersson, Ryan Graves, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and St. Ivany.
Our top pick in the 2022 draft, Pickering got off to a rocky start this season following an off-season injury before finishing with a flourish. In the process establishing career highs in assists (39) and points (46) while serving as captain for his junior team, the Swift Current Broncos.
“I feel like I’ve played really, really well,” said the gregarious defenseman when assessing his season. “I think I was just under a point per game in the second half, and I was really happy with that.”
Owen combines mobility and a Pterodactyl, gap-controlling wing span with a willingness and ability to jump into the play. As for other aspects of his game?
“I’ve just been trying to develop every facet of my game,” he said. “Talked to Pittsburgh a lot about kind of that defending down low and making sure that I’m playing strong and competing every single night, and I think I’ve taken steps in all those ways.”
As a general rule, defensemen take longer to develop, so it could be a couple of years before Pickering pushes for regular work at the big-league level.
Honorable Mention: Isaac Belliveau, Kalle Kangas, Emil Pieniniemi, Jack Rathbone, Dmitri Samorukov
Goaltending
If the Pens have a blue-chip prospect in the pipeline, it may well be goaltender Joel Blomqvist. Fitting in a way, since he was drafted with the second-round pick acquired from Ottawa in the Matt Murray deal.
Like Murray before him, the 22-year-old netminder’s enjoyed an outstanding first pro season with the Baby Pens, posting a microscopic 2.13 goals against average to go with a sparkling .920 save percentage. A performance that earned him an invitation to the AHL All-Star game.
He’s arguably been the Baby Pens’ best player.
“For a younger guy coming over here from Europe, his first season has been amazingly consistent,” said Wilkes-Barre coach J.D. Forrest. “I think that just goes along with his demeanor. One of the things he has gotten a lot better at with us is handling pucks, coming out playing pucks, even if it’s just stopping a rim or making a simple play to the team. He’s taken a lot of steps in that department, along with his steady, strong goaltending that he’s had from the start.”
As for Joel’s future with the Pens?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the 6’2” 183-pounder serving as our backup or 1A option next season.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Gauthier, Sergei Murashov
Hey TOR,
So I’m a big Musty fan as well, but I’m not so sure that a lot of his production is due in part to playing with David Goyette, rather then the other way around. And I think I’m more of a Goyette fan over Musty, not saying Musty isn’t great because he is but I’m not sure that Musty numbers aren’t inflated.
Where as Yager had the best shot in the draft outside of Bedard and Michkov. Yager’s best linemate was Firkus, who I like but I believe his numbers are from playing with Yager. I still believe the Penguins took the best player at their spot.
Cheers.
Hey Caleb,
Unlike Pickering, I do think Yager has talent and truly belong in the first round. He does have a great shot. Why I like Musty more is that he is bigger (6’2″, 201 lbs vs 6’0″ 170 lbs), is a better skater in open ice and in traffic, and although his shot isn’t as good as Yager, but still has a strong accurate one. A player can have a great shot, but he has to consistently get himself in a position to use the shot.
And that is why, since we have Yager, I want him to get TOI with Crosby, so that he will have the opportunity to use that shot. If our ersatz Coach would get his way, Sully would bury Yager on the 4th line asking him to plow the fields and defend the goal rather than use his God given shot to best use.
Among Sullivan’s problems is that he thinks players are completely interchangeable, clones of one another, rather than complimentary to each other.
Hey Rick,
A quick 2 cents on my part;
I would have rather the Dubas had drafted Musty, but Yager does have a strong shot so I do think that if the Pens rid themselves of the Millstone known as Sullivan, Yager could bring a spark to the Penguins’ top 6; Crosby could see a serious jump in his Assist totals.
I loved everything I saw from Koivunen, but the question is, how will he respond to coming to North America. Koivunen also has a wicked shot,; quick release and deadly accurate. I do believe he is the gem of the trade and has the highest upside of the trade.
I also liked what I saw of Lucius. He went hard to the net and forechecked like a guided missile in the games I watched. If he plays like that at the NHL level, then I think he will at least become a favorite of yours.
As for Pickering, everyone here knows my thoughts on him. He is far from a blue chipper. He was more of a 3rd round pick than a 1st round pick. If he ever becomes truly an NHL level Defensemen on anything but a bottom feeder, it will be 7 to 8 more years from now. His 46 Pts is only tied for 111th in the WHL – a far cry from the offensive force he was supposed to be and only 2 points above his totals last season in almost as many games. His +/- has improved, he is +18, significantly better than last season but still only good enough to tie him for 66th in that department. If Pickering was still only 17, I would almost be impressed but at age 20, he is about to age out; most of that league is far younger than him but better.
The defensemen I am keeping my eye on are Belliveau, who is trapped in Wheeling when he should be getting TOI in WBS, Nickl who like Belliveau is playing in a league well below his skill set and Pieniemi.
As for Blomqvist, again everyone, I believe knows my thoughts. Before JR pulled of the trade for the draft pick that plucked this gem, I was pushing for it. As a former Goalie, this kid truly impresses me. My only fear about him is that when he starts winning games for the Penguins, many self proclaimed talking heads will shift the credit of those victories to the Coach, when that Finn is stealing games for a poor Coach. I pray, Sullivan is gone before that kid comes up.
Ned is winning games and no one is giving credit to the coaches so that’s a horrible take on your part. Also, Sullivan isn’t even a bad coach. Pens didn’t have a great season and everyone wants him fired, but yet he’s still the coach and they have been on fire. Another L take. He’s not going anywhere so give up on the whole Sully fired thing already. It’s not his fault Dubas brought in people like Harkins and Acciari.
Hello Jamie,
I don’t know if this is your first time posting to PenguinPoop, but if so welcome to our blog.
A couple of ground rules. I have absolutely no problem with folks expressing their thoughts and opinions and/or disagreeing with another commenter’s remarks. We’re all passionate about our Pens and that’s what a blog is for.
However, if you disagree I do ask that you refrain from saying things like “loser take” that are meant as a put down. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion whether we agree or disagree.
As for Mike Sullivan, it’s difficult to judge how much of the team’s uneven performance rests on his shoulders and how much lies with the players and perhaps even Kyle Dubas. I’m sure Sully and the coaching staff are preaching the right things. It’s just that, until very recently, the message doesn’t seem to have gotten through.
I will give him credit…a ton actually…for refusing to give up on this team and this season when just about everyone was screaming for him to do so. Somehow he’s kept them in the hunt, and his decision to ride Nedeljkovic as you noted took a lot of guts and has really paid off.
Getting us into the playoffs after we’ve stumbled virtually all season long would perhaps be his greatest coaching achievement yet.
Rick
Jamie,
First, sorry I just got back to this.
Second, Yes Ned is winning, I have always said he was the by far the better of the 2 Goalies on the team.
Third, you do realize that even though the Penguins are winning right now, they still do not control their own destiny. Despite the current hot streak, the Penguins are still out of the playoff hunt. On March 25th, right before Ned was given the net, while Jarry, the Goalie Sullivan said this team needed to sign at all costs, was still the team’s number one net minder – by Sullivan’s edict, this team was 24th in the league, in the league. The team record was 30 – 30 – 10. The team’s Pts% was 0.500, which really isn’t 0.500 anymore considering that hockey games can now be 3 point affairs. Modern 0.500 hockey is really ~0.551.
Do you really consider a Coach that took 70 Games to bench a sieve a good Coach?
i listed my arguments ad nauseum, I won’t do it again. Suffice to say, I have countered every single defense of Sullivan a dozen times over with significant doses of facts and reality. Argue if you it makes you feel better. Name call too. Simply put, despite the current hot streak, the team is still on the outside looking in, yet it boasts Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson.