Every writer has tried to take a stab at Phil Kessel's goal totals for the 2015-16 season and now 17 anonymous top NHL players have done just that as well
NHL players survey: Phil Kessel will score at least 40 goals with Penguins: http://t.co/7RwUgAKgsh
— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) September 16, 2015
Will Phil Kessel top 40 goals?
That was the consensus opinion of 17 top NHL players who participated in a USA TODAY Sports anonymous survey conducted at this year's NHL/NHL Players' Association Media Tour held Sept. 8-9, 2015, in Toronto.Thirteen of the respondents said he would score 40 or more. The lowest estimate was 30 goals and the highest was 50 goals.
My analysis earlier in the month has him sniffing 40 goals but not quite reaching that milestone. I believe he will fall into the 35-40 range.
I tried to dig up some of the players who were at that event and this is what I came up with at the NHLPA's website
A list of approximately 40 players, including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Duncan Keith, Henrik Lundqvist, Tyler Seguin, Anze Kopitar and Evgeni Malkin will take part in the various video shoots and interview stations as part of this annual event that began in 2008.
Only thing that was stated for sure is that Malkin was not one of the players taking part in the survey
He’s a sniper. He likes to score goals. He’s a good skater -- he’s flying every game," said Malkin who was not a survey participant. "I think if he plays with Sid he can score 50 goals – at least. He has everything.…
Another poll question asked who would win the Art Ross Trophy. Apparently Sidney Crosby has not passed that baton off as the world's greatest player yet because He received 19 of the 34 votes that were listed. New York Islanders John Tavares received 5 votes. Ryan Getzlaf, Steve Stamkos, and Jaime Benn received 2 votes while Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Ryan Johansen, and Jonathan Toews all received one vote.
In another interesting question 34 players said they would be accepting of an openly gay teammate. One player said no.
Summer Sticks 2015 took place in an effort to raise money for the Pittsburgh Penguins foundation and Phil Kessel had the best golf partner of the outing.
There's a lot of skill in this golf cart. -MC pic.twitter.com/6p4rmKHOUi
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) September 15, 2015
Earlier today, Mario gave Phil some golf pointers. Take a look at the golf gallery: http://t.co/TnHClUoyYp pic.twitter.com/s9d5ZNVvEF
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 15, 2015
The United States will be hosting the World Junior Championships in 2018. USA Hockey has trimmed down the potential candidates to three cities. Pittsburgh is among them.
Buffalo, Pittsburgh, St.Louis named as three finalists to host 2018 IIHF World Juniors: http://t.co/Vzu0ykU8oD pic.twitter.com/FkFGfCw9BH
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) September 15, 2015
Personally I think it should go to either Pittsburgh or Buffalo. Terry Pegula has poured an incredible amount of money into downtown Buffalo around the First Niagara Center and most of those projects have finished up. Doesn't look like the same place anymore. Given the proximity to Canada and the new improvements it may be a tough candidate to overcome.
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