Prospect Buzz: Dumoulin a legitimate trade asset for Penguins?

LATEST PROSPECT BUZZ ON DUMOULIN, MEGNA, & SAMUELSSON

As the trade deadline inches closer, the talk of which prospects are untouchables will only heat up. The Penguins four premium prospects on the blueline are Derrick Pouliot, 2012 1st round pick, Olli Maatta, 2012 1st round pick, Joe Morrow, 2011 1st pick and Scott Harrington, 2011 2nd round pick. The Penguins have visions three to four years from now of Pouliot, Maatta, Morrow and Harrington all being big factors on the blueline.

Team sources say Maatta and Pouliot are the two untouchables in the system and the Penguins would be really hard pressed to move Morrow or Harrington in a potential trade for a long-term winger.

Meanwhile, there continues to be chatter that Simon Despres is available for the right trade but there’s another young defenseman who could emerge as a legitimate trade chip, according to NHL sources.

That’s 21 year old defenseman Brian Dumoulin, the Hurricanes 2009 2nd round pick, who the Penguins acquired in June from the Jordan Staal trade. Dumoulin playing in Wilkes Barre, is highly regarded around the league I’m told and he’ll be “very” attractive to NHL teams, according to one source as he’s viewed as being close to NHL ready

Dumoulin is an intriguing prospect because of his size at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds and two-way ability. He can move the puck well but also defend well. What the Penguins are hoping for Dumoulin is to develop some more nastiness in his game but the team has been very pleased with his progression and feel he could push for some playing time by next season. The team has high hopes for Dumoulin but could be enticed to move him in the right deal.

— One prospect whose stock is on the rise in the organization is 2009 2nd round pick Phillip Samuelsson. Samuelsson turned pro about a year earlier than he should have, but in his second professional season, Samuelsson has shown the type of progression the Penguins hope to see in second year from prospects in their system. Samuelsson who has a team-leading plus-10 rating for the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins, has evolved into a steady defensive defenseman and is among the Penguins prospects on the rise.

— Forward Jayson Megna has surged up the Penguins organizational depth chart and earned an invite to training camp. Megna, though, continues to lack any type of consistency with Wilkes Barre and is struggling to produce with just 3 goals, 5 assists and a minus-6 rating in 36 games.