when youre a team like the penguins, you can afford to take that risk. he dropped because the teams in the top 5 (which is what his talent was) werent willing to take the risk on a russian who didnt have the heart. when youre a team like the penguins who have the talent already, you can take a risk on a head case like him.

besides, our pick wasnt exactly conservative in my opinion. at this guy's size, he is a huge risk.
- SuperHenderson13

I would be hard pressed to not blindly trust Shero and his skill at acquiring/trading young puck moving d men.

i really hope morrow turns into what we all think he is going to be. although right now, i am more excited to see despres. i feel as though he is going to be a force.

i really hope morrow turns into what we all think he is going to be. although right now, i am more excited to see despres. i feel as though he is going to be a force.
- stayinthefnnet

Morrow looked like he had the goods the one time I was able to see him in person this year.

Morrow looked like he had the goods the one time I was able to see him in person this year.
- Gunner Staal

i unfortunately havent seen anything but highlights. definitely looks like he has top level puck moving ability. do you think he has the stuff in his own end as well?

i unfortunately havent seen anything but highlights. definitely looks like he has top level puck moving ability. do you think he has the stuff in his own end as well?
- stayinthefnnet

He has good size, good gap control and was battling in the tough areas on the night I was there.

Bennett's willingness to battle in the corners and win those battles was impressive too considering he is still pretty lean on the muscle front.

when youre a team like the penguins, you can afford to take that risk. he dropped because the teams in the top 5 (which is what his talent was) werent willing to take the risk on a russian who didnt have the heart. when youre a team like the penguins who have the talent already, you can take a risk on a head case like him.

besides, our pick wasnt exactly conservative in my opinion. at this guy's size, he is a huge risk.
- SuperHenderson13

I am not sure what I think of our picks but I share some of your frustation at our teams willingness to pass on offensive propects like they are toxic. Russian players for the most part have become enigmas in the NHL whether it's true about their work ethic or not.

I am not sure what I think of our picks but I share some of your frustation at our teams willingness to pass on offensive propects like they are toxic. Russian players for the most part have become enigmas in the NHL whether it's true about their work ethic or not.
- powerhouse

Truthfully I think that the reason there is hesitation with drafting some of the higher echelon Russian stars is because of the potential that those players stay in Russia with KHL.

Truthfully I think that the reason there is hesitation with drafting some of the higher echelon Russian stars is because of the potential that those players stay in Russia with KHL.
- Gunner Staal

true. isnt there a really good russian forward in washington's prospect pool? and as far as bennett goes, i havent made up my mind with what i think about him yet. like i said, right now i am the most excited for despres.

He has good size, good gap control and was battling in the tough areas on the night I was there.

Bennett's willingness to battle in the corners and win those battles was impressive too considering he is still pretty lean on the muscle front.
- Gunner Staal

I've read that both Despres and Morrow have largely been underwhelming for WB. Anybody else know if that's true?

I can't understand why Root Sports hasn't shown the baby pens games. I would have loved to see some of these young guys play. Certainly more entertaining than some crap poker game or re-broadcasts of the Dan Patrick show.

If this team loses Letang, that will sting. Only Geno was more valuable last year IMO.

I've read that both Despres and Morrow have largely been underwhelming for WB. Anybody else know if that's true?

I can't understand why Root Sports hasn't shown the baby pens games. I would have loved to see some of these young guys play. Certainly more entertaining than some crap poker game or re-broadcasts of the Dan Patrick show.

If this team loses Letang, that will sting. Only Geno was more valuable last year IMO.
- madmike71

Baby Pens are in town here in late January. Hopefully I'll be able to go

I am not sure what I think of our picks but I share some of your frustation at our teams willingness to pass on offensive propects like they are toxic. Russian players for the most part have become enigmas in the NHL whether it's true about their work ethic or not.
- powerhouse

now's really not the time to be judging out picks. it was frustrating see Poliout (sp?) be one of the first cut from Team Canada in the WJC.

but he could turn out to be an all star dman and i hope it happens. but i just think the penguins should have gone with the higher risk, higher reward guy in grigs. wasnt a fan of flipp forsberg so i was fine with passing him up.

but man, Seth Jones and Nathan McKinnon are tanks. loved watching them play yesterday at the WJC.

Excited for a possible Russia-Canada game.

true. isnt there a really good russian forward in washington's prospect pool? and as far as bennett goes, i havent made up my mind with what i think about him yet. like i said, right now i am the most excited for despres.
- stayinthefnnet

Yeah, I believe you're thinking of Evgeny Kuznetsov

Not at all related to Gonchar, although I wouldn't mind his PP ability if he was EXTREMELY cheap but that won't happen.(defense is a bit weak).

Keep the name: Anthony Mantha in mind when you look at possible forwards for the Pens to take in the next draft.

He is a teammate of Anton Zlobin on the Val d'Or Foreurs.


At 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Mantha's high-end skill and skating ability will jump out to even the most casual fan, particularly when he's producing at the prolific rates that have had him among the top 10 scorers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League practically the entire season.

But his coach in Val-d'Or, Mario Durocher, said it is a side of Mantha that fans and even most scouts don't get to see that has him most impressed.

Anthony Mantha's high-end skill and skating ability has helped him burst onto the scene as a premier scorer for Val-d'Or in the QMJHL. (Photo: QMJHL Archives)"He's a very intelligent kid. It's great talking hockey with him," Durocher told NHL.com. "He's always asking the right questions in practice and even pointing things out that we might have missed sometimes."

That innate sense for the game has been passed down to Mantha along family lines. His grandfather is Andre Pronovost, a forward who played 556 games for four NHL teams between 1956 and 1967, winning the Stanley Cup in each of his first four full professional seasons with the powerhouse Montreal Canadiens of the late 1950s.

Mantha has been tutored in the game by his grandfather since a young age, and he said the message has been consistent from Day 1.

"He gives me a lot of advice, but it's mainly to remind me to work hard every game, every shift, and that's what will bring me success," Mantha told NHL.com. "It's not complicated. It applied when he played and it still applies today. As soon as you stop working, you stop going forward. So you have to keep working."

Mantha, who is third in the league with 25 goals and sixth with 45 points, is sixth among QMJHL skaters in NHL Central Scouting's preliminary rankings of the top players for the 2013 NHL Draft.

"He's a big kid with a lot of skill," NHL Central Scouting Chris Bordeleau said. "He has everything you need to succeed -- he can skate, he's smart, he reads the play, he has everything. But if there's one negative, he sometimes has a tendency to take the easy way out. … He might need to work on his defensive game, but he can be taught that. You can't teach talent like he has, or hands like he has."

Durocher said the defensive side of Mantha's game is exactly what he and his staff in Val-d'Or have been focusing on in attempting to get him prepared to make the jump to the next level.

"He has offensive talent, that's undeniable," Durocher said. "But we're trying to get him to use his body more, to protect the puck a little better and to limit his turnovers. It reminds me a bit of Sean Couturier, who was a purely offensive player when he entered the league but he learned to play a sound defensive game by the time he left. Mantha has to do the same thing.

"But as far as his offensive game, he has it all. He can change a game by himself."

Mantha has done plenty of game-changing this season, leading the Foreurs in goals, points, power-play goals (seven) and shots on goal (129) in 29 games, showing that the early accolades and the extra attention from scouts in his draft year have done nothing to make him lose his focus.


"As far as his offensive game, he has it all. He can change a game by himself."
-- Val-d'Or Foreurs coach Mario Durocher on Anthony Mantha

"It had an influence on me for sure, being among the top players, but I took it as a positive and didn't put any more pressure on myself because of it," Mantha said of his spot in the draft rankings. "I told myself I just had to keep playing the way I know how to play, and at the end of the year things will take care of themselves.

"It's true that there are more people who want to talk to you and things like that, but I'm really not feeling any more pressure because of it. It's out of my hands, other than to play the way I can."

While Mantha's play has been extraordinary, the scary thing is the best very well may be yet to come.

As a rookie last season with Val-d'Or, Mantha got off to a slow start with three goals, eight assists, a minus-10 rating and 21 shots on goal in 36 games prior to the Christmas break. Coming out of the break, Mantha caught fire with 19 goals, 21 assists, a minus-1 rating and 57 shots on goal in 27 games, and he added two goals and two assists in four playoff games.

"Last year he really took off after Christmas and in the playoffs, when the game gets tighter and tougher," said Durocher, who coached the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last season. "So that's what I'm eager to see, if he can raise his game again when things get more difficult after Christmas.

"And I think that's what the scouts want to see as well."

Thus far, Mantha has given those scouts plenty to look at, and if he is able to repeat what he did in the New Year last season, he may find his draft stock soaring to new levels.

I've read that both Despres and Morrow have largely been underwhelming for WB. Anybody else know if that's true?

I can't understand why Root Sports hasn't shown the baby pens games. I would have loved to see some of these young guys play. Certainly more entertaining than some crap poker game or re-broadcasts of the Dan Patrick show.

If this team loses Letang, that will sting. Only Geno was more valuable last year IMO.
- madmike71

I've made it to four games now and Despres and Morrow were invisible for the most part in all of those games. Usually its good when you don't notice defensemen because that means they weren't getting burned but when they are suppose to be offensive powerhouses you should notice them.

Saying that they were solid in their own zone so I was more interested in that side of things since the Pens really need solid all around defensemen.