Just a quickie post to tie up loose ends.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry cleared waivers today and has been assigned to our Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club. As anticipated, 23-year-old Joel Blomqvist has been promoted from the Baby Pens to replace him.
The former second-round pick (52nd overall in 2020) made quite a splash last season with the Baby Pens, posting a sparkling 2.16 goals against average and .921 save percentage. A performance that earned him an AHL All-Star Game appearance.
This season Blomqvist has split time between the Pens and Baby Pens. The 6’3” 200-pounder registered a 3.60 goals against average in eight games and flashed his potential while recording a team-best .904 save percentage. In Wilkes, his numbers were solid but not dazzling (2.93 GAA, .912 SV%).
Ludvig Too
Another player with black-and-gold ties hit and cleared the waiver wire.
Defenseman John Ludvig, claimed on waivers from the Pens by Colorado on October 5, was waived by the Avs yesterday.
I confess to having an affinity for the rugged 24-year-old rearguard, who skated in 33 games for us last season. One of the very few Pens in recent memory who employed a genuinely physical style, Ludvig wouldn’t hesitate to drop the gloves to stand up for the team or defend a teammate.
As much as I would like to have put in a claim for him…we have far too few (if any) players of his ilk in the pipeline…even I can admit the former third-round pick of the Panthers is a borderline big-leaguer at best (-16 in 41 NHL games).
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Rick,
As of this morning our Penguins are 25th in the league in terms of Pts%. At 25th in the standings, that would give them a top 10 pick in this summer’s entry draft. I have no respect what-so-ever for Jarry’s goaltending ability, or lack thereof.
Having said that, part of me is a little disappointed that the team is finally making the smart move (if you want to try your best to make the playoffs) a going with Blomqvist. I could have been content with getting a top 10 draft pick.
As for Blomqvist, he is the best Goalie in the system when it comes to technique. Unlike the man he is replacing, the young Finn actually knows how to play the position. Furthermore, when you look at his track record, he always plays better playing up rather than down. In 20-21 while still in his home country, playing in their top league (Liiga) he posted an unreal Sv% of 0.940 in the regular season and 0.950 in the playoffs, but when he was lent to Finland’s second tier league (Mestis) his Sv% was only 0.882.
Playing down, in inferior leagues causes players to get lazy and learn bad habits. And when their stats aren’t as good as they should be it is usually because they player in question is reading the plays at a level their opponents can’t and are anticipating a better play, a play that their opponent can’t execute and the puck sneaks in the backside.
Not saying that Blomqvist will take this team to the Cup like Murray did. Overall, this team is a far weaker team with a ridiculously deep hole to dig out of, but the kid is better than any Penguin goalie in a long time. Probably not as good athletically as MAF, but potentially the most technically sound to don the sweater.
If Murashov proves to be a close athletic equal to Fleury (which he has shown signs of being) the combo of Blomqvist and Murashov will be far and away better than Fleury – Murray.
Hey Rick,
One more quick note, the fact that no one claimed Jarry is really telling about how low he is regarded.