Penguins/NHL
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— Who is Garnering Buzz in the organization & Who Isn’t? The Latest Buzz from Penguins Camp —
Competition, Competition, Competition……. That’s been the theme of Penguins camp. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan early on in camp said this group ‘might be the most competitive group of players we have ever assembled.’ While the Penguins have had competitive camp and it’s a deeper group of NHL caliber players than past years, have many roster decisions with the NHL club already been made and in reality, were made before camp opened up?
Pittsburgh’s top 11 forwards penciled in are Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Drew O’Connor, Lars Eller, Jeff Carter, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto. Not to say O’Connor or Nieto won’t be on shorter leashes than others, but both are locked into spots to start the season as regulars. As for the final two forward spots? The coaching staff likes Vinnie Hinostroza, the front office likes Andreas Johnsson. Both went into camp with a slight leg up on others…………..
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— Who is looked at as a leading favorite to jump Hinostroza or Johnsson for a final forward spot? Most of the early buzz surrounds To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
— Defenseman PO Joseph went into camp a heavy favorite to win the third pairing spot and things are at the stage [hide] where’s he’s there’s no threat to Joseph to lose his spot on the third pair. Some disappointment among the Penguins brass Will Butcher is injured, while Joseph’s all-around game remains well ahead of Ty Smith……… #2 Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has turned heads in camp as the new management team via their evaluation metrics strongly believe the team upgraded the backup goaltender position over Casey DeSmith and that Nedeljkovic has the talent to play a starters role. [/hide]
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— 2023 1st round pick Brayden Yager has performed above expectations throughout camp and has had several moments of looking like the clear-cut top prospect in the organization. Compared to others who were still on the board, some scouts felt Yager was a bit of a reach where Pittsburgh selected him due to a view around Yager that he projects at the NHL level to be limited offensively to warrant a top-15 selection. Penguin coaches in particular have been impressed with Yagers offensive instincts and ability to create 1-on-1 offense
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— Because of what went on last season, understandably there were really low expectations for 2019 1st round pick Sam Poulin to push for an immediate roster spot on the NHL club. Poulin, though, continues to impress the new brass, sources say. Multiple members of the organization are suddenly looking at him To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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PTO BUZZ
Pittsburgh having four available contracts and one of the NHL’s oldest rosters was attractive to agents of players who came to camp on PTO’s. Buzz in the room is veteran defenseman To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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PRE-SEASON GAME #3 9.26.2023 @ 
Detroit
