Latest Penguins Buzz: Tangradi to join Penguins in 2010
Eric Tangradi maybe in a Penguins uniform at some point in the upcoming season but it won’t be in October or November. Tangradi will begin the 2009-2010 season in Wilkes Barre and any talk that Tangradi will be given an opportunity to earn a roster spot out of training camp is not true. In fact, Tangradi will likely be among the first cuts like Luca Caputi was last season. Tangradi is still recovering from hand surgery and Pittsburgh has absolutely no plans to rush his development. The original plan is for Tangradi to spend a full season in Wilkes Barre, but things could change at a later time and he will likely get a call-up to get his feet wet,
3-4 prospects will be pushing for top 9 forward spots by 2010-2011 season
Day 2 Prospects Report The top three performers through the first two days of the Penguins conditioning camp have been Keven Veilleux (2007, 2nd round pick), Eric Tangradi (2007, 2nd round) and Nick Johnson (2004, 3rd round pick) Johnson, 23, is a late bloomer who was among the most improved players at last years conditioning camp. After having a strong playoff run in to end first professional season (10 pts in 12 games) for Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Johnson’s game continues to evolve. At 6-2, 200 lbs, Johnson uses his size very well and has speed to beat defenders wide. Plays a strong two-way game, has an above average shot and a quick
Penguins Prospect Camp: Day 2
The Penguins prospects went through their second skating session this afternoon, which had a strong emphasis on instruction, attention to details as head coach Dan Bylsma ran the practice. Scouting Report From Day 2
Day 1: Penguins Prospect Camp
Day 1 of Penguins Prospect Camp is in the books as the Penguins prospects went through conditioning tests in the morning, met the media in the afternoon, and just concluded their first skating session.
Caputi will be pushed by incoming talent
Pittsburgh wants to see Caputi dominate With Max Talbot likely sidelined until mid-November, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding winger Luca Caputi pushing for a roster spot out of camp Caputi, who is one of the Penguins top 4 prospects, had 18 goals in 66 games played for Wilkes Barre/Scranton last season, the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate. Solid numbers for a player going through his first professional season but not exactly dominating numbers. The growing consensus in the organization is that Caputi needs to start in the season in Wilkes Barre. The Talbot injury won’t rush Caputi’s timetable to the National Hockey League, sources tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports. What Pittsburgh wants to see from Caputi is for
Team not in a rush to sign or trade for a winger
Team exploring all options Max Talbot under going surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder did not come as a surprise for the organization as Talbot played through the injury for months. Fans who aren’t behind the scenes would have never known as Talbot scored 8 goals, 13 points in 24 playoff games including the game winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. With Talbot likely out until mid-November, Bill Guerin nearing age 39, and other questions regarding their top 6 wingers, there are some concerns in league circles that Pittsburgh could be in the same situation they were last year. Ray Shero who learned under David Poile, will not make any rush judgements
The Latest Penguins Buzz
The City of Pittsburgh had an amazing turnout this afternoon for the Penguins victory parade, honoring the Stanley Cup Champions. Estimates had the crowd at 375,000 which surpassed the amount of fans for the Steelers victory parade in early February. Watching the players, it is clear how close of a group they are. In the realm of things, the NHL is a business and the love affair will wear off as the Penguins impending free agents will have to start thinking about what is best for them no matter how much they would like to return. The same for the Penguins front office which has 14 players signed for a total cap hit of $46.85 million. Updated Penguins Free Agent
Penguins re-assign Luca Caputi
The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-assigned forward Luca Caputi to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League Caputi the organization’s top prospect, played in five games with Pittsburgh, including his NHL debut Feb. 3 at Montreal. Caputi notched his first career goal in the NHL 2:30 into the first period of his first NHL game Inside Analysis
Penguins/Blue Jackets Lineup News
The Penguins will go with basically the same lineup tonight that played against the Lightning on Wednesday. Chris Minard will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. Alex Goligoski and Philippe Boucher will be the Penguins scratches on the blue line. Only way Goligoski gets in the lineup tonight is if Therrien decides to use him at wing on the fourth line and sit Eric Godard, which Therrien is believed to be considering. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be on seperate lines tonight. From what I’ve been told Luca Caputi will likely see his ice time increase tonight and will move around a bit from the third line to one of the top two lines in certain
Canadiens hand Penguins third straight loss; Post-Game Buzz
Montreal 4 – Pittsburgh 2 Despite a strong performance from Luca Caputi who opened the scoring 2:30 into the game, the Penguins gave up three unanswered goals and lost for the third straight game Tuesday night against the Monteal Canadiens. Caputi appearing in his first NHL game scored in his first NHL shift. Caputi started the game on the fourth line with Bill Thomas and Eric Godard but was rewarded with minutes on the first power play unit and saw some ice time with the 2nd line. Roman Hamrlik scored a 1st period goal for the Canadiens. Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre scored second-period goals and Andrei Kostitsyn scored with 4:15 left to seal the Canadiens 4-2 win. Goaltender Carey