Penguins/NHL
I never look very seriously at scouts in attendance until closer to the trade deadline, so it’s worth noting of the activity from Wednesday night with the roster freeze less than 48 hours away.
On to Pittsburgh, the Penguins had two scouts in attendance for the Thrashers/Avalanche game Wednesday night. Pittsburgh has scouted Atlanta frequently over the past couple weeks with assistant GM Jason Botterill making a scouting trip to Atlanta on Janaury 26th.
Meanwhile, pro scout Derek Clancey attended the Maple Leafs/Sharks game Monday night and the Leafs had a scout in attendance for the Penguins/Islanders game last night.
Pittsburgh has been scouting Leafs winger Alexei Ponikarovsky heavily over the past two months, but to this point, Pittsburgh is not a serious suitor in the Ponikarovsky sweepstakes and have not made an offer. That could change following the Olympic break, but there continues to be talk out of the organization, that the Penguins scouting staff is torn on Ponikarovsky.
It has been no secret that the Penguins are seeking a net front presence and despite Ponikarovsky’s size, a talent evaluator recently called him a bigger version of Ruslan Fedotenko who is just as soft in the corners.
They value Raffi Torres and others ahead of Ponikarovsky.
I’m told to keep an eye on the Colorado Avalanche too. They are believed to have inquiried about Penguins forward
Ruslan Fedotenko. The Avalanche are actively looking to move former 30 goal scorer Marek Svatos and defenseman Ruslan Salei but Pittsburgh has yet to express any kind of real interest.
