Penguins/NHL
Sidney Crosby was in the building today. He was at the South Point Complex for a taping with FSN’s Dan Potash. As expected Crosby looks to be in great shape and ready to go for the season
The rookies went through about an hour and fifteen minute workout.
Today’s practice saw a lot of flow drills with an emphasis on positioning. The team first worked on some breakouts with a neutral zone regroup. The next drill was a cycling drill which would then lead to a 3-2 situation. Team also went through some 1-on-1 drills and 2-on1 drills. Near the end of the practice the coaching staff ran a controlled scrimmage. During the controlled scrimmage the coaching staff had an strong emphasis on D-Zone coverage.
Kevin Veilleux is a very smart player. He was always in the right position during the teams breakouts and neutral zone re-groups. Veilleux lacks great speed but he has the tools to become an complete player. Above average shot but what might keep him back for the next year or so is his speed. He needs to work on his acceleration.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski stood out just as expected. This is not an exact count but from the times I watched he was 5-5 on the one-on-one drills. He appears to have added some muscle from last year.
There appears to be a major difference in Goligoski’s game compared to even last January. He is stronger on his skates and he looks much more confident with the puck and cleans up his own end very well. You‚Äôre not going to see him make too many mistakes with the puck in the defensive zone. He moves the puck to the right man with crisp accurate passes
The Penguins 2008 4th round pick Nathan Moon needs to add some muscle. He was getting knocked off the puck a bit in the cycling and D-zone drills.
Just by watching the drills you could see the scoring ability in Luca Caputi. He has a very accurate shot and loves to go 5-hole and pick corners. The difference between him and the others is his quick release. Young players come into camp and hold on to the puck too long, which gives goaltenders the opportunity to get set.
Penguins 2007 3rd round pick Casey Pierro-Zabotel stood out the most in practice. The Penguins have been very impressed with his development. I was told the Penguins are grooming him into being an left winger. I like his potential offensively. He also scored a goal in the teams controlled scrimmage. Zabotel is a player to keep an eye on in the next couple years.
The Penguins entire coaching staff, Ray Shero and a few Penguins scouts were all in attendance
