Pens Prospect Thread

[Lionel Hutz]

Not much of a writer but as stated I'm a bit of a prospect nerd so I'll post what I know (Leaving out the likes of Farnham,DePo,Harrington, Dumoulin since they've already made/played in a good fair of NHL games)

 

Anthony Angello:  6-4 205 lbs RH C from Manlius, New York, Birthday: 4/6/1996

5th round pick, 145 overall in 2015. USHL(This past year)

 

Best assists: Big center man with a nasty streak, creates chaos and mayhem round the net, very strong on the puck, tough, Has some scoring touch all be it not very much, Ready and willing to drop em if need.

What he needs work in: Could need more muscle on his beanpole body, Will only be a freshmen at Cornell (A College not really know for developing professional hockey talent next year).

 

ETA: at least 4 in collage, Maybe 2-3 in the AHL before he's remotely close to NHL ready, Guys like him are a LONG term
project.

Long term potential: Big nasty physical 3rd/4th PK specialist capable of chipping in a bit here and there.

 

 

Josh Archibald: 5'10- 170 RH RW:, born in Regina, Sask, grew up in Brainerd, Minnesota, Birthday: 10/6/92 6th round pick( 174th overall) in 2011 WBS-AHL.

Best assists: Blazing speed, likes to get the puck off the boards and cut to the net,High compete level with a ton of heart, Loves to go to the dirty areas. Some say he plays like Ryan Callahan.

 

What he needs work in: Didnt have the greatest pro debut after a solid collage career at Nebraska-Omaha, Including stint of being demoted to Wheeling do to poor, or ineffective stints, but with all prospects it's pretty normal when their very green at the pro ranks.

 

ETA at least 2-3 more years.

 

Long term potential: Middle 6 net crasher/relentless ball of energy.

 

 

Teddy Blueger: 6'1 183 LH-C, from Riga,Latvia. Birthday: 8/15/1994 2nd Round pick ( 52nd overall) in 2012.  Mankato State-NCAA

 

Best assists: Decent size(At least by Pens prospects standards), Great stick handler, and set up guy, good in the corners.

 

Flaws: Skating isnt terrible but isnt great either,Needs to bulk up and get stronger.

 

ETA at least 2 more years in collage, then Let's see were he is.

 

Long term potential: top/middle 6 skilled 2 way forward.

 

 

Blaine Byron:  5-11 163 LH RW, Manotick, Ont. 6th round( 179 overall) in 2013. Maine- NCCA,

 

Best assist: Crafty slick playmaking winger, good anticipation and vision, can generate offensiveoff the rush or down low, Good speed.

 

What he needs to work on: Needs to add more strength, And develop a shooters mentality.

 

ETA: At least 3-4 more in the college ranks, and probably 2-3 in the AHL.

 

Long term potential: Crafty/Slick with the puck middle 6 forward.

 

 

Jean-Sebastien Dea: 5'11 176 Birthday: 2/8/1994 RH Center. Lapraire, Quebec. Undrafted, Signed as a Free Agent in 2013. WBS-AHL.

 

Best assist: Pure goal scorer, with great hands. Willing to take a beating down low to jab in rebounds or look for deflections/tips, or will just score off the rush. Good skater.

 

Flaws: One dimensional in terms of mind set and performance, Needs to iron out the other areas.

 

ETA: Needs at least another 2-3 in the AHL to work out his major flaws, No need to rush him up still very green.

 

Long term potential: Could be a decent middle six/Power play specialist, If he pans out. Low risk/High reward prospect.

 

 

Jake Guentzel: 5'9 153 Birthday: 10/6/1994, Woodbury, Minnesota, 3rd Round, 77th overall in 2013. Nebraska-Omaha-NCAA

Best Assist: By my own admission I don't know much about this kid so I'll wing this scouting report:

High skill level, speed and git. 

 

Flaws: Tiny, Lack of strength,

 

ETA: At least a good 4-5.

 

 

Kasperi Kapanen: 5'10 165 RH RW, Kuopio, Finland. 7/23/1996, 1st round, 22nd overall, in 2014. KalPa-Fin/WBS-AHL(Current)

 

Best assists: Just like his daddy and former NHLer Sami, He can flat out fly and leave opponents in the dust, amazing playmaking talent and vision, Has a incredible all around talent. Could legitimately crack next years opening night roster, since his contract in Finland is expired.

 

Flaws: Like all young talent looking to break into the show in any sport Kapanen is VERY streaky and somewhat inconsistent, Needs to iron out his work in his own zone a bit, He didnt blow the lights out in Finland so that could be why he slipped in the draft after being pegged as a potential top 5-15 pick, but multiple reasons makeup for this, KalPa for majority of his career in Finland were flat out terrible, Even this year when they just barely made the playoffs had almost 0 scoring depth as they were the lowest scoring team qualified going into the playoffs, and near the bottom in the regular season. If he adds some more muscle after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's playoff run ends in the summer, There's a very good change he'll be on the opening night roster or make his debut at some point at only 19 years old.

ETA: Anywhere from opening night- 1/2 year.

 

Long term potential: Top six playmaking speedster.

 

 

Jaden Lindo: Branton Ont. 6'1 205 RH RW, Birthday: 1/11/1996 6th round pick 173rd overall in 2014.

 

Best assists: Big,tough, thickly built winger, Good speed, Loves to play crash and bang hockey, Thrives on belligerent pest in front of the net, Good board battler/corner man. Wins more puck battles then he loses.

 

Flaws: Not a natural point producer. Long term offensive potential is a large question mark.

 

ETA: Still has junior eligibility next season. Maybe 2/3 years after that away from being mentioned for bottom six duty,

 

Long Term Potential: Speedy, Pesky, Annoying to play against bottom six, Might have some scoring upside.

 

 

Reid McNeil: 6'4 204 LH D London, Ont. Birthday: 4/29/1992 6th round 170th overall in 2010. WBS-AHL

 

Best assist: Big, mobile, Hard hitting shutdown defense-first defender .Tireless work ethic, Constant drive and desire to better himself game in game out, year by year. Handles the puck alright for the type of game he plays. Will run over demolish anything in his line of sight.

 

Flaws:Skating is average at best could use work on backward and lateral movement. 

 

ETA: Could be a dark horse call up next year if injuries hit.

 

​Long term potential: Will never be noted for his offensive out bursts, Will be a rough and tumble stiff hard hitting S.O.B.

 

 

Harrison Ruopp: 6'3 205 RH D, Zeher, Sask. 3rd round 84th overall in 2011 by the then Phoenix Coyotes. (Acquired for Zybnek Michalek right after the 1st round of the 2012 draft was going off the air). Wheeling-ECHL/WBS-AHL

Best assists: You wanna talk about abrasiveness,in your face, and will more then likely punch your skull in if you breathe at him the wrong way?, That's Harrison Ruopp in a nutshell, Big, mean, temperamental, and tough as nails. He does one or two, and sometimes even both, Will either ram your skull into the end glass, or send you into lunar orbit. Absolute without question the hardest hitting prospect in the system.

 

Flaws: Very limited skill set, All be it a skill set on the blue line that's drastically needed, Like Tag-Team partner Reid McNeil, decent skater. Some what limited in his skill with the puck on his stick. Seems to be making a habit out of backpacking between Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling the past few years.

 

ETA: Same with McNeil, if injuries hit hard on the blueline, Could see him a jersey sooner or later.

 

Long term Potential: Bottom pairing/Crease clearing human wrecking ball. 

 

 

Oscar Sundqvist: 6-3 206 RH Forward(Has played Left,Right,and Center sine being drafted) Borden, Sweden. 3rd round, 81st overall. Skelleftea-Sweden.

 

Best assists: Along with Kapanen, He might be the most pro ready of the prospects and a guy I really like, Big, Nasty, and a bit skilled to boot. Strong in the corners, quick hands on loose pucks around the net. Can play all three forward positions and be comfortable , Good faceoff man, Good skater for a big man. Kinda of reminds me a bit of Johan Franzan when he first joined the Red Wings.

 

Flaws: While his skating is good not great but good for a big man and potential checking line grinder/net front,lose puck garbage guy, He could use about a half year in WBS to gain a few steps/Adjust to North American rinks, Long term upside is an unknown, Is a a grinder, is he a net front man, a garbage man, a power forward or the Swedish Dave Roche/Joe Dziedic?

[nossagog]

Good writeup.  I like the sounds of Angello and Sundqvist.   Put about 15-20 lbs of muscle on them and you "could" have a decent power forward. I'm really hoping that Kapanen is on the roster at the beginning of next year.  Let's take some young talent and push it to get the most out of it.  He can learn a lot from our current stars.

[Lionel Hutz]

Good writeup.  I like the sounds of Angello and Sundqvist.   Put about 15-20 lbs of muscle on them and you "could" have a decent power forward. I'm really hoping that Kapanen is on the roster at the beginning of next year.  Let's take some young talent and push it to get the most out of it.  He can learn a lot from our current stars.

Yep, Loved Sundqvist ever since he was drafted, I like any guy that says the one thing he needs to work on is controlling his temper and not blowing off the handle as much in his post ddraft media scrum I see him anywhere from a solid 3rd/4th line tough to play against shutdown defensive specialist, or a top 6 power forward, That's very uncommon for a Swedish player, Swedes for the most part are cerebral and master chess players and 2 way types, Fins are the gritty hard nosed and tough to play against, Another thing he has in his favor, Since 2013, his draft year, His team has absolutely obliterated their league en route to 2 straight titles and gunning for their 3 ,Currently trail 2-1 in their final series after once again leading their league in goals for,wins, and the best defensive team 3 straight years, He's a big part of them just shutting teams down, Also recently stated once their out, He's coming over to join WBS for their run.

 

Angello is a nice long term project but still incredibly raw and a bean pole seen him listed anywhere from 190-205 which is a bit light for his style of play but going the college route he could bulk up by less games and more focus on studying and off ice weight training I guess. If I can find Cornell streams or luck out and find em on the TV will post what I see from him.

[hf101]

Nice Post @Lionel Hutz!

 

I joined into a SIM league a few months ago and went through an agonizing 45 player draft.  This prompted me to research into players I hadn't had much interest in.  I drafted both Bleuger and Guenzel. both have summer birthdays and were drafted near the end of the cuttoff.  

 

Guenzel has progressed well a Omah Nebraska, the kid is a point per game player and plays on the top line.  Omaha played well against RIT and then lost to Providence to get into the Frozen Four.  I highly expect this team to play in the Frozen Four next year.  Guenzel is currently listed as 5-10 175lb, granted he isn't big but he is fast and does well digging pucks out of the corners.

 

Blueger has one more year at Mankato State which was ranked the #1 team in the country most of the season I believe he is staying for his senior season playing on the first line also.

[Lionel Hutz]

Nice Post @Lionel Hutz!

 

I joined into a SIM league a few months ago and went through an agonizing 45 player draft.  This prompted me to research into players I hadn't had much interest in.  I drafted both Bleuger and Guenzel. both have summer birthdays and were drafted near the end of the cuttoff.  

 

Guenzel has progressed well a Omah Nebraska, the kid is a point per game player and plays on the top line.  Omaha played well against RIT and then lost to Providence to get into the Frozen Four.  I highly expect this team to play in the Frozen Four next year.  Guenzel is currently listed as 5-10 175lb, granted he isn't big but he is fast and does well digging pucks out of the corners.

 

Blueger has one more year at Mankato State which was ranked the #1 team in the country most of the season I believe he is staying for his senior season playing on the first line also.

Wouldn't doubt if some of the height/weights are a bit off, going mostly by scouting reports from either their draft cards or the only ones I've been able to find, Believe Archibald is around the 185-188ish area now,Also some of these guys come from are guilty of rounding up so you never really know, I'm around 5'6ish and I'm pretty sure I'm a few inches taller then Martin St. Louis.

[Lionel Hutz]

Update:  Skelleftea eliminated in 3rd OT, Sundqvist also took a puck to the head from his own teammate, laughed it off at the bench with the guy, Could be in WBS by Game 2 or 3. 

[Lionel Hutz]

Kapanen already with 3 goals in round 1 for WBS and looks dangerous every time he's on the ice. Baby pens up 2-0 Murray with his 1st AHL playoff shutout tonight.

[nossagog]

Hummm, I'm gonna have to see if I can pick up the Baby Pens on the internet next game. I'd like to see what he's got.

[notfondajane]

Hummm, I'm gonna have to see if I can pick up the Baby Pens on the internet next game. I'd like to see what he's got.

did you get the baby Pens game? And what is your analyses?

[Lionel Hutz]

did you get the baby Pens game? And what is your analyses?

Radio feed, video recap clips, sometimes I find the odd stream, AHL is awfully tough to find streams for.

 

Also Sundqvist officially sent to WBS. Dunno if he'll be in uniform for the next game but 5 more bodies for the minor league teams playoff run aint bad.

[notfondajane]

Any am up dates here?

[B21]

At present, maybe a "Pens Prospects" thread should be move to "Shortest Books Ever Written"? 

[notfondajane]

On 2/26/2016 at 2:19 PM, B21 said:

At present, maybe a "Pens Prospects" thread should be move to "Shortest Books Ever Written"? 

Lol!

[jammer2]

 Almost 2 full years later, Kapanen was dealt to the Leafs, has not been a factor yet, but still has promise, but Jake Guentzel has played some nice hockey. Looking back, surprised that Connor Sheary was not on this list of prospects.

[nossagog]

On 1/12/2017 at 2:41 AM, jammer2 said:

 Almost 2 full years later, Kapanen was dealt to the Leafs, has not been a factor yet, but still has promise, but Jake Guentzel has played some nice hockey. Looking back, surprised that Connor Sheary was not on this list of prospects.

I don't think that at the time, Connor Sheary was looked at as a top prospect.  He's a small guy with decent by not outstanding individual skills.  His play has been a case of meshing with Crosby.  If you moved him off of Sid's line, I don't think he'd have nearly the numbers.