Pens World Championships Participants and Some Notes
The World Championships have allowed the Pittsburgh Penguins to show off some of their most talented players and prospects. Sidney Crosby is tied for the tournament lead in scoring and Evgeni Malkin is right behind him. Both have been spectacular in the preliminary round.
Sidney Crosby is playing on a line with Boston Bruin forwards, Brad Boyes and Patrice Bergeron. Together they have made up one of Canada's most dangerous lines. Sidney has posted 4 goals to go with his 3 assists giving him 7 points in the 3 games he has played. That stat line doesn't do him justice either. He has been a force for Canada and easily could have posted a few more points. Sid is also wearing an "A" for team Canada, which should be enough to dispel all criticisms of his being awarded an alternate captaincy in Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Evgeni Malkin is playing well beyond his years in the tournament as well. He is leading his team in scoring, a team that features super rookie Alexander Ovechkin. Malkin has posted 2 goals and 3 assists giving him 5 points in the 3 games he has played. Malkin has also scored what might be the most impressive goal of the tournament thus far. Malkin steals the puck and enters the zone short handed, the opposing goaltender dives forward knocking the puck away, Malkin dives over the sprawled goaltender and knocks the bouncing puck out of the air and in. Check out the video below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0kVEVUR6T4
Tomas Surovy has been a leader for his Slovakian team. Hopefully being used in a top 6 role with his national team will translate into more scoring at the NHL level next season. He has posted 2 goals and 1 assist through the first 3 games of the tournament.
Notes:
Two Penguins will not be back next season. Jani Rita has signed a contract to return to Jokerit of the Finnish Elite league and Niklas Nordgren has signed a two year contract with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in Switzerland. Rita seemed to figure into the Pens plans slightly more than Nordgren, but neither will be missed much considering that the team needs more proven scorers on the wing, and neither filled that role with the team.
The Latest Red Line Report rankings have been made available. This is how the top 5 prospects for this year's NHL entry draft shake out:
1. Eric Johnson - D U.S. NTDP U-18
2. Phil Kessel - C University of Minnesota
3. Jonathan Toews - C North Dakota University
4. Peter Mueller - C Everett
5. Nicklas Backstrom - RW Brynas
It is assumed that the Penguins covet Johnson to help solidify a defense that looks to be high on skill, but light on grit. Johnson is thought to be NHL ready and isn't afraid to lay a big hit. He is very sound positionally and can be counted on to clean up the front of the net. He would look great in Black and Vegas Gold.
Rumors have circulated via talk radio that the Blues and Penguins have discussed swapping picks. This is hard to fathom based on the fact that the Pens currently have no GM. If the Blues know the Penguins want Johnson and would be content picking number 2, why not keep their position and select their man, who is thought to be Phil Kessel.
The Penguins GM search has been very quiet. There have been no interviews announced, but the list of potential candidates seems to grow weekly. Many names have been thrown around, either by the media or by the people themselves. Some potential candidates are as follows: Pat Brisson - IMG Super Agent to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Craig Button - Former GM of the Calgary Flames, Jim Nill - Assistant GM with the Detroit Redwings, Neil Smith - Former GM of the New York Rangers. Hopefully we will see some movement on this front soon. It would be a good move to get a new GM in place sooner rather than later. That would give him a chance to get familiar with the organization and it's assets before going into the NHL Entry Draft on June 24-25.
Sidney Crosby is playing on a line with Boston Bruin forwards, Brad Boyes and Patrice Bergeron. Together they have made up one of Canada's most dangerous lines. Sidney has posted 4 goals to go with his 3 assists giving him 7 points in the 3 games he has played. That stat line doesn't do him justice either. He has been a force for Canada and easily could have posted a few more points. Sid is also wearing an "A" for team Canada, which should be enough to dispel all criticisms of his being awarded an alternate captaincy in Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Evgeni Malkin is playing well beyond his years in the tournament as well. He is leading his team in scoring, a team that features super rookie Alexander Ovechkin. Malkin has posted 2 goals and 3 assists giving him 5 points in the 3 games he has played. Malkin has also scored what might be the most impressive goal of the tournament thus far. Malkin steals the puck and enters the zone short handed, the opposing goaltender dives forward knocking the puck away, Malkin dives over the sprawled goaltender and knocks the bouncing puck out of the air and in. Check out the video below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0kVEVUR6T4
Tomas Surovy has been a leader for his Slovakian team. Hopefully being used in a top 6 role with his national team will translate into more scoring at the NHL level next season. He has posted 2 goals and 1 assist through the first 3 games of the tournament.
Notes:
Two Penguins will not be back next season. Jani Rita has signed a contract to return to Jokerit of the Finnish Elite league and Niklas Nordgren has signed a two year contract with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in Switzerland. Rita seemed to figure into the Pens plans slightly more than Nordgren, but neither will be missed much considering that the team needs more proven scorers on the wing, and neither filled that role with the team.
The Latest Red Line Report rankings have been made available. This is how the top 5 prospects for this year's NHL entry draft shake out:
1. Eric Johnson - D U.S. NTDP U-18
2. Phil Kessel - C University of Minnesota
3. Jonathan Toews - C North Dakota University
4. Peter Mueller - C Everett
5. Nicklas Backstrom - RW Brynas
It is assumed that the Penguins covet Johnson to help solidify a defense that looks to be high on skill, but light on grit. Johnson is thought to be NHL ready and isn't afraid to lay a big hit. He is very sound positionally and can be counted on to clean up the front of the net. He would look great in Black and Vegas Gold.
Rumors have circulated via talk radio that the Blues and Penguins have discussed swapping picks. This is hard to fathom based on the fact that the Pens currently have no GM. If the Blues know the Penguins want Johnson and would be content picking number 2, why not keep their position and select their man, who is thought to be Phil Kessel.
The Penguins GM search has been very quiet. There have been no interviews announced, but the list of potential candidates seems to grow weekly. Many names have been thrown around, either by the media or by the people themselves. Some potential candidates are as follows: Pat Brisson - IMG Super Agent to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Craig Button - Former GM of the Calgary Flames, Jim Nill - Assistant GM with the Detroit Redwings, Neil Smith - Former GM of the New York Rangers. Hopefully we will see some movement on this front soon. It would be a good move to get a new GM in place sooner rather than later. That would give him a chance to get familiar with the organization and it's assets before going into the NHL Entry Draft on June 24-25.
posted by Bmetzer66 at 10:45 AM
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