Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Lafferty and Agozzino Recalled – More News

Comments Off on Lafferty and Agozzino Recalled – More News Posted by on October 8, 2019

I’m late with this by more than a day, but figured I would drop in here and note that Sam Lafferty and Andrew Agozzino were recalled to Pittsburgh on Monday in the wake of Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstead’s lower body injuries that will keep them out of action for a while.

Through the course of investigating because, you know, in this niche sport known as hockey they don’t divulge what the injury is like in every other sport, it looks like Malkin has a leg injury that will have him on the shelf for about six weeks. Bjugstead should be back before Malkin.

Locally, Tyler reported that D Justin Almeida and G Dustin Tokarski are back to 100%. I am speculating that both should be available for the three in three this weekend. Tyler also had lines from practice Tuesday:

I will concur with this statement by Tyler. Injuries happen, Wilkes-Barre is insulated somewhat because there is depth across all positions.

For now.

In other news, Michael Leighton retired Monday. A sure fire AHL Hall of Famer someday, Leighton played for 13 AHL franchises over the course of 18 seasons as a professional. From the release, they include the Norfolk Admirals (2001-05), Rochester Americans (2005-06), Portland Pirates (2006-07), Philadelphia Phantoms (2006-07), Albany River Rats (2007-08), Adirondack Phantoms (2010-13), Rockford IceHogs (2014-16), Charlotte Checkers (2016-17), Syracuse Crunch (2017-18), Chicago Wolves (2017-18), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2017-18), Ontario Reign (2018-19) and Utica Comets (2018-19).

Other Penguins alumni in the news include a pair of defensemen and a forward, Joe Morrow signed with the New Jersey Devils Monday and was placed on waivers for the purpose of a Binghamton assignment. If he clears, you’ll probably see him next Wednesday when the Penguins host the Devils at 7:05. D Reid McNeill was released from his PTO with the Charlotte Checkers and Cedric Lacroix, a forward with a handful of games with Wilkes-Barre last year, was assigned with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

That’s all I have. Remember, no charts or Power Rankings this week. Both will debut next week, with the charts again the week following and then staggering them each week going forward. But for anything else breaking, talk to you Friday at 3 getting you set for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Noesen For The Net — Pens WIN 4-3

Comments Off on Noesen For The Net — Pens WIN 4-3 Posted by on October 5, 2019

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins made a move Friday morning and brought that piece with them to Hershey for their 2019-20 regular season opener.

Stefan Noesen was signed to an AHL contract Friday, is a big time offensive threat, almost a wolf in sheep clothing playing at this level with the way that he dominated and dictated play Saturday night in Hershey as the Penguins beat the Bears 4-3.

First win for new GM and Head Coach Mike Vellucci. The Penguins were prepared, unfettered after getting scored on in the first minute of the game and slowly took over and smothered the Bears.

Another mention was the play of Casey DeSmith. Shuffled out of Pittsburgh because of salary cap constraints, an argument could be made that DeSmith was the best player on the ice with the amount of saves that he made and the way that he made them. Noesen and the offense got the Penguins to the lead, DeSmith preserved it.

DeSmith opposed Vitek Vanecek.

Lines were…

And for the Bears…

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Lineup: That new name there on the second line is Stefan Noesen, a big time late addition made by Mike Vellucci and the Penguins on Friday. Provided Noesen, who has battled recent injuries, stays healthy, that is a hell of a lot of offense injected into this Wilkes-Barre lineup that is already paying dividends.

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First Period: Didn’t take long for the Bears to score, needing all of 62 seconds to find the back of the net when Wilkes-Barre misses change to clear and Alex Alexeyev pinches and scores to make it 1-0 Bears early on.

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Penguins would answer back with a rebound goal by Jake Lucchini on a Ryan Haggerty shot from the slot. Lucchini was left unmarked in front and cleaned up the rebound.

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Game started to run into a track meet, with odd man rushes a plenty. Andrew Agozzino busted up a Joe Snively would be breakaway chance.

Newcomer Stefan Noesen would score on this nice setup by Adam Johnson who went cross ice, found a seam and Noesen for the goal that made it 2-1 WIlkes-Barre.

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Hershey would even it late when the Penguins looked scrambly in their own end and Christan Djoos made them pay.

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Second Period: Wilkes-Barre would edge back ahead with another goal by Stefan Noesen which came off of an Oula Palve face-off win. Palve would take it himself where Noesen would cash in on the rebound.

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The Penguins would withstand a 15 shot effort from Hershey but Casey DeSmith would be cool in net and stop them all.

Third Period: Penguins would take a too many men on the ice call and killed it with DeSmith making saves, then Niclas Almari found a streaking Anthony Angello out of the penalty box for this goal that made it 4-2.

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DeSmith continued to dazzle in net for the Penguins, with this save added to the highlight reel night he had in the crease.

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Matt Moulson would finally figure out DeSmith with a near side goal that brought the Bears back within one with 1:19 left to play.

(No GIF of this one, sorry.)

With Vanecek vacated for the extra skater, the Bears never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Alex Alexeyev (goal, even) 2) Casey DeSmith (36 saves on 39 shots) and 1) Stefan Noesen (two goals, +2)

The Good: Couple things. Bears retooled this season and are set to be dangerous. Penguins going down early started smelling of trouble but DeSmith and Noesen made sure that the stench of the bad start wouldn’t remain….Noesen was quite the find, wasn’t he? Cut from Dallas’ camp, Mike Vellucci, who knows Noesen and coached him prior, rings him up, signs him to an AHL deal and he has an immediate impact. That’s something, despite my allegiance to all that Clark Donatelli did last year for this team, wouldn’t be able to do.

The Bad: Goals that came when they came for Hershey was when the Penguins defense was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. No, it’s not game just one and time to figure things out, the Atlantic is a bees nest this season and every point is crucial. I get that you’re not going to shutout every opponent, but there was a pattern tonight that didn’t look good.

Turning Point: Angello’s third period goal out of the box gave the Penguins that two goal cushion they were desperately seeking.

Video Highlights: 

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Around the Division: Lehigh Valley and all that offense they signed in the offseason get shutout in the Phantoms home opener 3-0 to the Big Bad Providence Bruins….Springfield trucks a good Bridgeport team 5-1….Hartford takes down the defending champion Charlotte Checkers 5-3.

Standings: Way early for this but we’ll do it anyway. Providence, Springfield, Hartford and Wilkes-Barre all on two, Hershey, Charlotte, Bridgeport and Lehigh Valley all on zero.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are still in preseason and don’t get going until next week for real.

Pens are off till next Friday when they are in Allentown taking on the Phantoms. News and notes as they come. I’m not going to put up the Pens expanded stats yet until after next week and no Power Rankings this week either, those will debut the week after. But for any news and notes before then, have a great week and we’ll talk to you next Friday.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Hershey 10/5

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: @ Hershey 10/5 Posted by on October 5, 2019

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Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Giant Center

Last Game: This is the first regular season game for both teams.

When: 7:00 p.m.

Record: For WBS: 0-0-0-0 (- pts., – place Atlantic Division) // For HER: 0-0-0-0 (- pts., – place Atlantic Division)

Referees: Mike Dietrich / Mason Riley

Linesmen: Kyle Flemington / Bob Goodman

Why You Should Care: First game of the new season for both teams. First under the new regime of GM, Head Coach and Calder Cup winner Mike Vellucci. How do the Penguins start tonight in front of what’s going to be an amped up Bears crowd at home on a Saturday night? You want to start off the campaign with a win, as that’s the first step that all the teams want when they show up at training camp. Should be a good one in this storied rivalry between these two sides.

Listen: Nick Hart on the call on WILK.

Watch: AHLTV is back for another season and better than ever.

Other Game to Watch: The Atlantic Division had off on the Opening Night last night in the AHL, so keep an eye on Providence visiting Lehigh Valley tonight.

Next Five Games: @ LV 10/11, vs. UTI 10/12, @ HER 10/13, vs. BNG 10/16, @ BRI 10/19

Gameday

2019 Opponent Outlooks

Comments Off on 2019 Opponent Outlooks Posted by on October 4, 2019

I decided to go in a different direction this season with what I guess you could consider a season preview for the AHL. Instead of dedicating an entire day and an entire post to the AHL’s Pacific Division, a division that the Penguins will never see in the regular season, or have to look up the name of the arena that the Iowa Wild play in¹, I decided to dedicate this seasons previews to the teams that the Penguins face off against in the regular season.

So that’s everyone in the Atlantic, everyone in the North Division but for Toronto, Laval and Belleville and Texas and San Antonio in the Central.

I’ve slimmed it down this season, giving you the parent team, last seasons record and playoffs and the outlook. Less is more, I suppose you could say.

Let me know what you like, you don’t like and if you’d like for me to bring back who the Bakersfield Condors broadcaster is² in next years version of this.

Here goes, starting in the Central, traversing through the North and ending in familiar territory in the Atlantic. Note that for the “vs. WBS:” section, Penguins home games are listed in bold.

Texas Stars
NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars
Record and Playoffs: 37-31-4-4 (82 pts., 6th place Central, no playoffs)
Outlook: The Stars did not make playoffs last season after representing the Western Conference in the Calder Cup Finals the season before. The prognosis for this season is kind of up in the air. Nothing really to write home about signings wise either. Are the days of the Stars being the best AHL team in Texas over?
vs. WBS: 12/6, 12/7, 1/15, 1/17

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San Antonio Rampage
NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues
Record and Playoffs: 31-38-6-1 (69 pts., 8th place Central, no playoffs)
Outlook: Everyone was competitive in the Central Division last year but for the Rampage, who finished with 69 points, 11 points back of the seventh place team who were just seven points out of a playoff spot. That obviously needs to change this season and we think it will with some solid additions made in the offseason.
vs. WBS: 10/25, 10/26, 1/18, 1/21

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Binghamton Devils
NHL Affiliation: New Jersey Devils
Record and Playoffs: 28-41-7-0 (63 pts., 8th place North, no playoffs)
Outlook: The Devils rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic this season. A team that finished in last place last year comes into the campaign with marginal upgrades across the board with the biggest question in goal. For a team that gave up the most goals against (278) last year faces a steep challenge in a loaded division.
vs. WBS: 10/16, 10/23, 2/5, 3/6, 3/8, 3/27

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Cleveland Monsters
NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets
Record and Playoffs: 37-29-8-2 (84 pts., 4th place North, lost in four games to Toronto in North Division Finals)
Outlook: It is shaping up to be another good season for a fairly solid Cleveland side who yo-yo’d in and out of a playoff spot down the stretch last season. If they can improve and run with the Toronto’s and Syracuse’s of the division, they may be able to make a deep playoff run with a talented group of players.
vs. WBS: 12/13, 12/14, 3/18, 3/20

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Rochester Americans
NHL Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres
Record and Playoffs: 46-23-5-2 (99 pts., 2nd place North, lost in three games to Toronto in the North Division Semifinals)
Outlook: The Amerks laid an egg in round one of the playoffs last year, getting swept by rival Toronto. A solid offseason of veteran signings should get them to playoff consideration again this season and Rochester could challenge for the division crown.
vs. WBS: 12/11, 3/28

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Syracuse Crunch
NHL Affiliation: Tampa Bay Lightning
Record and Playoffs: 47-21-4-4 (102 pts., 1st place North, lost in four games to Cleveland in the North Division Semifinals)
Outlook: The Crunch had a disappointing end of the season when they went out in four games to Cleveland in Round 1 unceremoniously. They were, at one point, without any goaltending prospects for a short time during the offseason. They have a decent crop of players who will most likely get Syracuse to another playoff appearance.
vs. WBS: 11/9, 2/28

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Utica Comets
NHL Affiliation: Vancouver Canucks
Record and Playoffs: 34-34-6-2 (6th place North, no playoffs)
Outlook: Utica played bland, .500, uninspiring hockey last season and it didn’t translate to a playoff spot. Nice upgrades in goal with Zane McIntyre and up front with Carter Camper give Comets fans hope on what could be a season where Utica pushes back to the playoffs.
vs. WBS: 10/12, 11/8

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers
NHL Affiliation: New York Islanders
Record and Playoffs: 43-24-6-3 (95 pts., 2nd place Atlantic, lost in five games to Hershey in the Atlantic Division Semifinals)
Outlook: You can expect Bridgeport to contend again, with the additions of Colin McDonald over from Lehigh Valley as the shoe-in captain with returning players which helped the Sound Tigers to second in the Atlantic Division last season. If things break the right way, Bridgeport can be a contender for a division title and definitely a team you can pencil in for playoffs.
vs. WBS: 10/19, 11/30, 12/21, 2/1, 2/15, 3/7

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Charlotte Checkers
NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes
Record and Playoffs: 51-17-7-1 (110 pts., 1st place Atlantic, won Calder Cup in five games over Chicago)
Outlook: This team buzzed its way to the Calder Cup with a chainsaw and then turned the chainsaw on themselves and were ripped apart after the parade and trophy celebration. Most of, if not all of, the key cogs which got the Checkers to the pinnacle last season have defected or graduated. The biggest name was their head coach Mike Vellucci, who took the head gig and GM position with the Penguins. The Checkers will struggle this season. Don’t expect them to see playoffs and don’t be surprised if they finish last overall in the division.
vs. WBS: 11/23, 1/8, 1/24, 1/25

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Hartford Wolf Pack
NHL Affiliation: New York Rangers
Record and Playoffs: 29-36-7-4 (69 pts., 8th place Atlantic, no playoffs)
Outlook: The rebuild continues in the Connecticut capital. The Wolf Pack should improve this season and could be a late contender for a playoff spot, but it seems like an amalgamation of a lot of good players, and not a single great player.
vs. WBS: 1/11, 2/12, 2/22, 4/3, 4/4, 4/11

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Hershey Bears
NHL Affiliation: Washington Capitals
Record and Playoffs: 43-25-4-4 (94 pts., 3rd place Atlantic, lost in four games to Charlotte in the Atlantic Division Finals)
Outlook: It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bears start the season, as they left off last year as one of the hottest teams in the second half. The pieces are there with a lot of solid veterans mixed in with hungry first and second year players. It could very well be a three horse Pennsylvania race for the top spot in the division with the Bears leading the charge.
vs. WBS: 10/5, 10/13, 11/13, 12/8, 12/28, 1/3, 1/10, 2/7, 2/21, 2/29, 3/14, 3/21

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Lehigh Valley Phantoms
NHL Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers
Record and Playoffs: 39-30-4-3 (85 pts., 5th place Atlantic, no playoffs)
Outlook: The Phantoms signed tons of solid scoring in the offseason and should, on paper, have one of the best offenses in the AHL this upcoming season. Consistency bit the Phantoms all season last and as a result Lehigh Valley failed to qualify for the playoffs. Head Coach Scott Gordon has the key elements to win a lot of games in Allentown this season. Phantoms have to execute, which is something they lacked consistently last season.
vs. WBS: 10/11, 11/1, 11/6, 11/16, 11/27, 11/29, 12/27, 1/31, 2/8, 3/11, 3/13, 4/5

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Providence Bruins
NHL Affiliation: Boston Bruins
Record and Playoffs: 38-37-8-3 (87 pts., 4th place Atlantic, lost in four games to Charlotte in the Atlantic Division Semifinals)
Outlook: They always field competitive teams in the Rhode Island capital and this year shouldn’t be any different. Do we see the Bruins as head of the class? No, but they aren’t the school dunce either. Expect another 85-95 point campaign and another playoff appearance from Jay Leach’s crew.
vs. WBS: 12/18, 12/20, 2/14, 2/23, 2/26, 4/8

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Springfield Thunderbirds
NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers
Record and Playoffs: 33-29-9-5 (8- pts., 7th place Atlantic, no playoffs)
Outlook: The Thunderbirds were an average hockey team in an above average division last year, and don’t expect that to change this season. There isn’t really a lot that jumps off of the page here when you look at their lineup, and compared to the Lehigh Valley’s and Bridgeport’s of the division, spells another season looking outside of the playoff picture.
vs. WBS: 11/2, 11/15, 11/22, 12/31, 1/4, 4/10

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins
NHL Affiliation: Pittsburgh Penguins
Record and Playoffs: 36-30-7-3 (82 pts., 6th place Atlantic, no playoffs)
Outlook: Disappointing finish to a disappointing season for the Penguins, who come in rebuilt top to bottom with reigning AHL Coach of the Year Mike Vellucci ready to guide the Penguins back to the playoffs. Decent signings like Andrew Agozzino, David Warsofsky and Dustin Tokarski coupled with returning prospects should have Wilkes-Barre back in the playoff hunt come the Spring. Navigating through the divisional opponents may prove to be a challenge, but one that Vellucci & Company may be up for.

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If you have a team going Friday good luck, but not too much if it’s one of the teams encapsulated above when facing off against the Penguins. Pens open up their 21st season of hockey in Northeastern Pennsylvania Saturday night in Hershey. The first Gameday setup of the season hits the blog Saturday afternoon at 3.

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¹ – Wells Fargo Arena
² – Ryan Holt

The AHL

DeSmith, Tokarski, Warsofsky, New CBA, More

Comments Off on DeSmith, Tokarski, Warsofsky, New CBA, More Posted by on October 3, 2019

Alright so, a lot has happened this week in the run up to the regular season opener in Hershey Saturday.

— G Casey DeSmith was placed on and cleared waivers and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre this week. He and Emil Larmi are the 1-2 combo in goal right now. That’s because Dustin Tokarski has picked up a knock and won’t be ready for Saturday’s game with the Hershey Bears. Also, Alex D’Orio was sent to Wheeling with Ryan Scarfo this week.

The goaltending position is the deepest position right now. You have quality depth with DeSmith (for now) and Tokarski. The Pens play four games in the next two weeks, so there is plenty of time for Tokarski to fully heal and be ready for next weekend’s three in three.

— David Warsofsky was named captain of the team with Andrew Agozzino and Kevin Czuczman serving as his alternates.

Really can’t go wrong with that veteran group.

— The AHL and the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) announced Thursday they have a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place for five years.

Labor piece is always a good thing.

I thought when I sat down to hammer this piece out that it would be a long, 500+ word piece. It should check in at just under 200 words.

I’ll be back at noon Friday for a look at the Penguins opponents for the upcoming season.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Asked and Answered 10/2

1 Comment Posted by on October 2, 2019

Well, the mailbag idea was a big hit which generated a lot of traffic and discussion. We will make it a bi-weekly thing going forward. For now, let’s hit the questions.

Hi! What’s your opinion of Oula Palve based on what you’ve seen so far? And what about Kasper Björkqvist?
– Mike

Palve played two preseason games. Small sample size, but I thought he looked good. Normally a good gauge on guys playing in their first contests is how tentative they are and whether or not they jump into a play or not. Palve mixed it up, had four total shots and played on second line with Ryan Haggerty in both games. If you’re trying to ease someone new into the North American game, you throw him on a fourth line and give him something like six minutes a period in low leverage situations. Palve didn’t and doesn’t fit that mold. It’s going to be interesting to see him adapt and develop to the North American game because the brass is really high on him.

Bjorkqvist played three games and while I thought he was invisible Wednesday, I started to notice his name more and more from Nick Hart on radio Saturday and Sunday. He had that nice goal Saturday in Hershey. It’s a transition game from college to pros no matter how strong you are. Everything you read with this kid shows that he is something special. Much like Palve, it’s all about building confidence with every shift.

Who do you think will be named Captain?
– Mike

I asked this question in part to Nick Hart on the interactive chat Sunday afternoon in the Penguins game against the Phantoms. From the sound of it, it didn’t seem like they were in a hurry to name one. Hart cited a “leadership group” vs. a straight up captain. I think that’s a fine idea in concept, but the concept didn’t work last season when Garrett Wilson went up and stayed up last year because in my opinion they lacked a direction last season. Tyler reported Tuesday that they would hope to have a captain named by Friday.

To specifically answer your question, my pick would be Ryan Haggerty. He has all the qualities you want in a captain. They have a plethora of options to choose from though; David Warsofsky, Kevin Czuczman, Joseph Cramarossa, Andrew Agozzino and Steve Oleksy off the top of my head would all be fine choices for the “C.”

How do you think they can improve attendance? I realize its not ” the new game in town” anymore, but they gotta draw more. With all these colleges around i would think there would be more interest from the students ( pitts ” student rush ” comes to mind. )
– icemanwbs

I mean they are doing all they can in ticket deals and the like. They have a strong season ticket holder base and realize that not everyone can shell out the thousand or so bucks every year to come to every single home game. The McDonald’s four packs, the $12 Friday deals with the beer specials are all fine ideas to get a casual fan with nothing to do on a Friday or Saturday to come to a game. The way that the schedule lines up (only eight weeknight games this season) it’s a weekend heavy matrix. As far as colleges go with deals and the like, you likely need to swing something with the school because not every student has a car or a viable means of transportation.

And I tell anyone who thinks that the attendance is bad here in Wilkes-Barre to attend a game in person at Hartford, Bridgeport or Springfield. If ours is what you could consider is bad, then in those arenas it would be seen as worse.

Glad to see Olesky back. I am guessing he is on a PTO because there is no contract space. At least two contract spots have to open up if they want him and the goalie.
– John C

Oleksy being signed to a PTO has no bearing on contracts because there is no cap on contracts or roster space in the AHL. You can have as many players as you want at any position in the AHL but you can only dress so many veterans on game nights. He’s a reliable insurance piece with Zach Trotman out with surgery.

Not a specific question or message at this time, but I like the idea very much of a bi-weekly feature and preferably on Monday as you say, after weekend action. And as a side note, has there been anything posted regarding AHL streaming? Is it the same as last year? Thank you for all you do!!
– Marilyn J.

Good to see that the idea of a bi-weekly feature works well. On streaming, AHLTV is back and the pricing structure is the same as it was last year with the addition of a $99.99 option to stream regular season and playoffs. The daily view (one price to watch all games that day) increased from $6.99 to $7.99. There is also a “Free View” this weekend you can also check out gratis.

Hey Jason, Excited for this new feature…Also still can’t wrap my head around that hockey season is here! Anyway, With the Big Pens not as deep on D, and a Jack Johnson trade potentially looming…Seems like the Baby Pens will need to rely heavily on young, inexperienced Blue Liners (Assuming the Penguins keep Trotman and Riikola up). Moreover, the Big Pens could call up Jon Lizotte or P.O Joseph, wiping out blue chip talent on the blue line..I know this is probably a little bit of a complex question ,but Is the Baby Pens blue line good enough for us to compete for a playoff spot?
– Matt

Ideally, if Jack Johnson is traded and there are prospects involved on defense, then the Penguins would likely go out and get a player like they did in Steve Oleksy. Oleksy is here because Trotman is out longer term after sports hernia surgery. (I’m as shocked you are that they disclosed the injury and means to correct it) So I like the fact that they are being proactive instead of putting all the pressure on the rookies.

Is the D corps right now good enough to compete for a postseason spot? I think so, but it’s a new season and we all are undefeated. Ask again in a month.

Great job as always. As a fan of “11 time”, I enjoy following your blog for news on the Bears rivals. Your coverage is not homerish (made that word up) which is enjoyable. Good luck to you and the Pens this year, just not against “11 time”
– Chris P.

I think the one thing that Penguins and Bears fans can agree on is that we all don’t like Lehigh Valley.

Will any of the new NHL rules also be used in the AHL?
– CyGuy

I think that any rule that they come up with in the NHL has been borne here in the AHL. I don’t think you are going to see anything with replay and coaches challeneges and all of that (for as much as I would like it)

Sam Lafferty, Jake Lucchini, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Anthony Angello. Which one of them do you think has the best shot at a steady NHL career.
– Josh

I want to back up this question to the opening night roster from three years ago and four, what you could consider “blue chippers” at the time. You had,

J-S Dea, 20 goals, 36 points the year prior. An undrafted kid that had huge potential. Now: Still in the AHL, 26 NHL games to his credit.

Josh Archibald – 176th overall pick. Not a lot of AHL points but speed got him to the NHL where he’s played over 100 games.

Oskar Sundqvist – 81st overall pick – kind of flamed out in Pittsburgh and ended up getting traded and blossomed with and won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis.

Jake Guentzel – the best homegrown player in the group, arguably all time.

Of that four, at that time, who would you have said?  Probably Dea, right?

So of your four, the obvious choice today is to say Kasper Bjorkqvist because of everything you’ve read about his off-season training habits and how strong he is along with his NCAA accolades. But I’d probably say that a player like Sam Lafferty has the best shot at a steady NHL career. He had a good training camp with Pittsburgh, is targeted for more this season in Wilkes-Barre and pretty much has all the assets.

Where are the AHL Previews that normally run this week?
– Barry

I scrapped the concept this season. Instead, I’ll have an opponent preview for all the teams that the Penguins play this season. Look for that noon Friday.

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Good first mailbag. I’ll send you more stamps in two weeks. The Pens will have four games under their belts at that time and their first three in three. For the time being at anytime you want to leave a comment, you can do so at any time. Thanks.

Mailbag

Mailbag Monday – 9/30

3 Comments Posted by on September 30, 2019

Kicking around some ideas here as the preseason is now in the rear view mirror and the run up to the regular season is fast approaching. I’ve seen some other blogs do this and it was suggested in the Reader Survey from a few weeks ago to open up the forum to some questions, ideas or whatever you want to talk about surrounding the Penguins. Rosters, outlooks, line combinations, anything.

I’ll move this around as I see fit, but I like the Monday Morning end of it as it comes off of a weekend of action in the AHL. Provided there’s enough feedback, we can make this a recurring feature. Ideally, it could be a bi-weekly feature, with it going maybe once a month if the interest isn’t there or weekly if there is a lot of input.

Just leave your name, it doesn’t need to be a real name, and your input, comment or questions. I’ll include a bunch of them in the first installment of reader mail, if you want to call it that.

Fire away…

This Mailbag is closed. Check back for another on on or around October 14, 2019!

Mailbag

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