The Pittsburgh Penguins are in action today at 4PM, sort of. The Penguins rookies will be taking part in the annual rookie tournament in London, Ontario.
Pittsburgh’s prospects will be competing against Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa over the course of the weekend.
The Penguins open tournament play on Friday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. against the Canadiens. One day later the Penguins and Senators square off, also at 4 p.m. Pittsburgh plays its final game on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You may be wondering where you can view these games. You can stream the games straight from the Penguins official website or they will also be available on a streaming service with the initials HS.
Looking for coverage of the #Pens rookie tourney? We’ll be live streaming games on our website and our app. Details: http://t.co/pHPTPCrkHa
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 11, 2015
Derrick Pouliot is the most notable player that Pittsburgh is sending to the tournament. Other notable players include Matt Murray, Oskar Sundqvist, Scott Wilson, Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust, and top forward prospect Daniel Sprong.
Here is what I would be looking for in these games
Derrick Pouliot
He needs to dominate this tournament. He is one of Pittsburgh’s best hopes at locking down one of the vacant top four defense positions after both Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff were let go. I think he has the potential to be the breakout player in the Metropolitan Division this year and if this is going to be the case he needs to beat up on other team’s prospects.
Daniel Sprong
I just want to watch him play. Like most people I don’t have enough hours in the day to scout the CHL and watch a majority of the players who are taken in the late first round or early second round. The highlights of Sprong show a very gifted player and this is a nice opportunity for most people to see him in a game setting for the first time.
Oskar Sundqvist
He is likely going to start in the AHL this year and that is fine. Pittsburgh is littered with bottom six center depth now that Eric Fehr, Nick Bonino, and Matt Cullen are on the roster. Sundqvist has been nursing an injury since the AHL playoffs last year and this will be a nice opportunity for him to get back on the ice against competition. Sundqvist’s NHL ceiling is that of a bottom six center but he should be able to create offense for himself and others in this kind of setting.
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry was once thought to be the potential successor to Marc-Andre Fleury but Matt Murray through his excellent rookie season in the AHL has leapfrogged over him. There are a lot of goalies who are capable of stringing together one great season (Jim Carrey anyone?) so if Murray is able to once again showcase a great year in WB/S we could see him as the backup goaltender in Pittsburgh as early as 2016-17. ****
I found this pretty cool photo on reddit specifically /r/penguins and u/JustSomeGhost
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Eric Fehr is on his to Pittsburgh. He took a pit stop in Cincinatti to take in a Pirates game.
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Some fitness related information
Morning #TribHKY links >> Sporting a black eye, Gary Roberts talked about cheeseburgers and hockey-specific training: http://t.co/WSdRnQT46G
— Jason Mackey (@Mackey_Trib) September 11, 2015
Gary Roberts weighs in on Phil Kessel: http://t.co/Yy6dfPEy1c
— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) September 11, 2015
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