Training camp is underway at the beautiful new UPMC Lemieux Sports Center and with it we are able to perhaps see where some of the players are starting to fit with the new roster.
Some new faces such as Phil Kessel and Sergei Plotnikov have been impressing while there may be some writing on the wall with one of the veterans on the team.
This from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune:
Mike Johnston said it's OK to take a closer look at the Penguins' defense pairs. So I did ... over on Chipped Ice: http://t.co/MkrdzTwpN3
— Jason Mackey (@Mackey_Trib) September 19, 2015
Johnston also said he’s interested in seeing how specific defensemen work together.“If you look closely at our defense pairs in practice, those are guys we really want to see how they look together,… Johnston said.
In some cases, this could mean very little. In two others, it could be quite telling. First, let’s look at who was skating where:
Kris Letang-Olli Maatta Derrick Pouliot-Ben Lovejoy Brian Dumoulin-Ian Cole Sergei Gonchar-Adam Clendening Rob Scuderi-Reid McNeill
The top six may not be in the exact pairings that some people have predicted but they are what I consider the best six defensemen Pittsburgh has (you could argue Dumoulin vs Clendening). Sergei Gonchar and Adam Clendening isn't a real shocker as the fourth pairing.
What is surprising is that Rob Scuderi is on the bottom pairing which is either ninth or tenth on the depth chart. Sometimes in training camp you have to look the other way and ignore who is playing with who because it can be very random and not very meaningful. However, with Mike Johnston making a point to say that this is what they want to look at as far as pairings go it is not exactly a great endorsement of Rob Scuderi. Mike Johnston wanting to see how Scuderi is with Reid McNeil is a translation for "We know what we have there, we don't really like it and we are going to exhaust all other options."
Also from Jason Mackey:
General manager Jim Rutherford said Thursday that a trade was something he thought would materialized over the course of the preseason, if it all. Totally understandable. He didn’t talk about specific players for obvious reasons.Let me say this: Were I going to wager based on what I’ve seen the past two days, I wouldn’t have a problem putting money on Scuderi being that guy.
Training camp is a great time to trade veteran players to other organizations that may not like what they have in their own camp. A Scuderi trade has always seemed like a pipe dream. but you never know.
Thanks for reading!