Day 5: Tryout invite Konstantin Pushkarev has good first day

Forward Konstantin Pushkarev, 24, arrived to Penguins camp on Wednesday via tryout invite. The 24 year old winger was a former second round pick of the LA Kings in 2003. He has failed to reach his potential and spent last season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. At 6-0, 182 lbs, Pushkarev possess good speed and when drafted was regarded as having excellent “puck skills”. In his first practice with the Penguins on Wednesday, he had a good first day. Has a lot of velocity on his shot. That’s what caught my eye early with him. Above average speed and in a few drills accelerated out of the corner with the puck. Appears to be an aggressive player and I’m

Day 5 Practice Notes

The players went through about 30 minutes of practice drills before Saturday’s drills. One intriguing drill was a 1-on-1 drill where a defenseman would go up against three forwards in the course of one sequence. Drill Description: One forward would start in the right face-off circle with the puck and go 1-on-1 against a defender. Once the play was broken up or a goal was scored, a forward in the left face-off circle would go against the same defender. Once the play was broken up or a goal was scored, the defenseman would skate up to the closest blueline, pivot and a forward placed at the red line would go in 1-on-1 against the defender. 1-on-1 Notes *2009 1st round

Sneep, Despres excel on most important testing drill for defensemen

At age 17, it should be expected for a young player to be over-whelmed at times in his first NHL conditioning camp. That has been the case with 2009 1st round pick Simon Depres. He shown some glimpses of why the Penguins drafted him with the 30th overall pick and other times has shown that he has a ways to go in his development. In the most important testing drill today for defensemen, Despres was the top performer. The drill was clearly for defensemen as the players would skate full speed (forwards) up to a cone and pivot backwards around the cone. They were timed until they reached their starting point, after they went around the cone. The top three

Penguins prospect camp: Day 4

The Pittsburgh Penguins top prospects returned to the ice this afternoon as they went through their 4th day of conditioning. The first two ice sessions centered around drills, instruction, attention to details, while “On-ice testing” was conducted today.

Scouting Reports Day 1: Defensemen

Brian Strait, Age 21 Height: 6-1 Weight: 200 lbs 2006, 3rd round pick *Notes from today’s Skate – Among the most disappointing players on day 1 – Has below average speed – Struggled during the 1-on-1 drills; Was beat by Eric Tangradi and Nick Petersen consecutively – Relied too much on his upper body strength instead of moving his feet – In talking to David Quinn (few months ago) who was Boston University’s assistant coach last season, Strait is not a practice player by any means but David did mention to me that Brian must become more consistent in the defensive zone. Alex Grant, Age 20 Height: 6-2 Weight: 185lbs 2007, 4th round pick *Notes from Today’s Skate – Wasn’t

Prospect Nick Johnson among top performers on day 1

Prospect Nick Johnson (2004, 3rd round pick) has the look of a player ready to build off of what was a strong playoff run to end his first professional season. Top 5 Performers from Day 1 1. RW Nick Johnson (2004, 3rd round pick) *Notes from Today’s Skate – Beaming with confidence and looked a step above the rest – Shot the puck very well, good velocity, accuracy – Among the top performers in 1-on-1 drills – Used size, speed to beat defenders wide – Even though he’s going up against younger players, team insiders were raving about his play this afternoon 2. RW Kevin Veilleux (2007, 2nd round pick) * Notes From Today’s Skate – Showed good speed, acceleration