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Anyone else feel like they got coal in their stocking with that 1rst round? I know it wasn’t a deep draft year, but damn.
I was more excited for this draft than I have been in a long time. Even did a lot of research and had 2 reasonable names that I really, really wanted at 11 and 12…McQueen and Aitcheson. Would have been the perfect 2 guys to start the rebuild and change the team’s pussyified no toughness, no balls Sully identity. Sucks we missed McQueen by a pick, but still could have had something we haven’t had in forever…a mean SOB beast of a Dman. Hurts twice as much that he went to the Isles, as well as Eklund who I’d rather have had than any of our picks. Instead from most reports, we reached 3 times and came away with a pair of 3rd line centers and a 3rd line wing.
100% disappointed we missed on Aitcheson and hopefully kindel proves us doubters wrong but I still don’t think he was the best player available
When I emailed the ‘contact us’ email about not being able to post, I mentioned about posting the blogs in the forum. And I noticed meltzer posted the link to the last blog in one of these forum chats. The very first two chats in the forum here though were Ryan Wilson blog links. It would be nice if they could all be posted like that. But as time goes on it will get better I imagine. Meltzer seems to be on top of things.
Also I want the pens forum to have more total comments than the Philly forum. I also write Philly sucks whenever I email the hot stove email just to remind them haha
Trying to comment on the latest blog but it keeps asking me to sign in after already signing in. Anyone figure out how to get past that?
I had that issue, as well as a few days ago every time I tried to post in the forum it said error and wouldn’t post. I emailed the contact link for the site and by the next day everything worked again.
I also suggested blogs be posted in the forums. Meltzer did 2 already. Would be way easier to converse on/and read the blogs.
Day 5 camp notes from some dude
1: Harrison brunicke looks pro-ready and a guy who’s ready to contribute right now. He impressed during camp every single day and looked like the best player in camp from the jump. He sniped a shot yesterday with 8.9 seconds on the clock to force a shootout and then he also scored in the shootout with a terrific shot.
The biggest issue with brunicke right now is the fact that he can’t go to the AHL this season because he’s ineligible and must either be on the NHL roster or be sent back to juniors where he has 0 to learn at this juncture. I think the pens send him back until the trade deadline next season and then maybe call him up once they’ve moved guys out.
2: Will horcoff was insanely impressive and alot of people had their eyes on him during camp. Suffice to say that will didn’t disappoint and actually exceeded expectations for a kid this young. He cut around defenders with no issue at all, his skating was slick and smooth, and he also scored a few beautiful goals that showcased his skills.
Will said in an interview that the biggest thing he’s learned during camp is how well the pros train and what he needs to do to hone his body and skills to succeed at an NHL level. He mentions sidney crosby and his work ethic and seeing him around the facility and how that rubbed off on him, and taught him things that he can use to improve his game ‘good role model to have when it comes to working out’.
3: Director of player development tom kostopoulos credited the scouting department and player development department for finding all the undrafted guys and collegiate talent that received invitations to camp. He credits kyle dubas and most importantly ownership for giving him a boatload of resources to be able to hire a bunch of over qualified staff to scout and visit prospects from all over. He says that he feels like he’s part of the LA Dodgers because of how many resources are available to him, and that it’s helped make things alot easier and smoother in terms of identifying talent and scouting.
He also mentions that the players have a ton of resources and coaches available to them that will help them anyway they can and that goes back to ownership willing to spend on staff to help these guys anyway they can. Props to ownership for backing out the brinks trucks for the pens staff and players, and props to them for letting dan muse hire anyone he wants and pay a premium for guys ‘todd nelson’.
4: There’s going to be tough decisions on the blueline for next season. The pens have guys like pickering, brunicke, finn harding, kalle kangas, and chase pietila who are primed to turn pro next season with pickering and brunicke being the closest ones to doing so and the two with the highest ceilings. Kyle dubas mentioned that he’s happy with all of the defensive depth and prospects added to the system, and that it gives the organization a strong nucleus to build around essentially.
The organization also has to make decisions in terms of AHL, juniors, etc when it comes to assigning guys because of how crowded the defensive room is. Great problem to have honestly and the defensive system has slowly been replenished.
5: The organization has more depth/prospects than ever before and fans have noticed. The hockey news mentions that more people then ever were at camp looking on at the prospects, and that people are excited more than ever to witness the youth movement. Fans understand the transition/rebuild and that their was enthusiasm watching the young guys on the ice during camp and doing drills. Glad to see the fans supporting the youth.
Everything I read about horcoff as well is that every day is noticeably better than the last and he could end up being a heck of a pick.
Harrison brunicke: The star of the camp shines bright once again folks. Showcased his excellent skating ability as he smoothly glided around the ice, showcased superb reach ability where he used his stick to stop multiple rushes/chances from happening, and scored a ridiculous goal to boot as well. Wilkes-Barre head coach Kirk MacDonald also spoke highly of brunicke as well in the article ‘they deserve a click so i’m not going to post the entire thing here but suffice to say he’s insanely impressed with his development’.
Will horcoff: Had another extremely impressive performance yesterday, and he’s been getting better and better as camp has moved along. His wrist shot looked completely unstoppable in practice, and he was completely dominating down in the net front areas of the ice all day long by using his size and strength to manhandle people. The hockey news also mentions that he’s more nimble then what you’d expect from a guy his size and they think that he’s going to break out at michigan this season. He’s another guy on the rise and he’s looking like a great get by dubas/wes.
Cruz lucius: The other piece of the guentzel trade looked really good in practice yesterday and he’s completely recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered last season. He was physical, he was creating multiple chances all practice long, and he scored a couple of nice goals as well. He says that he worked on things over the summer and he feels great.
Quinn beauchesne: 5th round draft pick this past draft that had a good day at camp and is someone to monitor they mentioned. They said that his skating stood out and he made plays with the puck whenever he had it on his stick.
Jordan charron: Another 5th round pick from this past draft that is worth keeping an eye on. The hockey news noted that his edgework stood out and was impressive and that he had a nice snipe as well.
Charlie trethewey: One of our 3rd round picks this past draft was showcasing his strong release in camp and his impressive skills. He’s spending next season at boston university to work on his game which should prove beneficial to him and his development moving forward.
Getting anything out of a 7th rounder is a miracle, but that’s good to hear 2 years in a row.
FYI Those were all notes I copy/pasted from online, not my observations.
after the prospect camp we have like 1.5-months until anything hockey related again.
Is anyone going to the Sweden game?
Def not. Would be cool but that’s a hell of a lotta money for a hockey game. Sweden ain’t cheap either.
Getting anything out of a 7th rounder is a miracle, but that’s good to hear 2 years in a row.
FYI Those were all notes I copy/pasted from online, not my observations.
I’m glad Oliver Tulk got invited to camp. I mentioned him last year on ‘the site that shall not be named.’ Tulk Kindel and Howe were one of the best lines in the whl. But every game I saw Tulk was easily the player that stood out on the ice. I remember googling him at 2nd intermission of the first game I watched because of how much he was dominating play. He was also the hitmen points and goals leader. In the end he only beat kindel by a single point on the season but that’s because he slowed down and little and kindel heated up. Tulk is only 5’8” and a year older so maybe that’s why he went undrafted? At no point in the year did kindel stand out enough on any game I saw for me to even look him up haha maybe I saw his lesser quality games ????????♂️
