|
The players I want to learn about at Penguins training camp |
|
|
|
|
|
Training camp starts today and here are the groupings to start the week
Training camp is a small sample and when we are talking about veteran players we have larger samples to learn from. It’s best to not overreact to things in the month of September. Every year we hear about players who are “in the best shape of their life” and it is normally code for don’t expect much from this guy. Funny enough, Evgeni Malkin might be an exception to this, but it is because Malkin is already an amazing hockey player and is coming off a season with terrible deployment.
The thing that I look for in training camp is how the younger players acclimate themselves around NHL competition. I think you can learn a little bit from how they compete against likely NHL players. For that reason most of the players I am most interested in have very minimal NHL experience. Here are the players I want to focus on
Dominik Kahun
Kahun does have an NHL sample and it was spent on the right wing with Jonathan Toews. I am very interested to get more of a look at him. He is one of the key pieces to the Penguins offseason. The team needs some of the fringe top six wingers to find a permanent spot in the top six to have a balanced attack and Kahun is one of those players along with Dominik Simon, Bryan Rust, Jared McCann, and to a lesser extent Nick Bjugstad, Brandon Tanev, and Zach Aston-Reese. The other dynamic with Kahun is being the player the Penguins traded Olli Maatta for. While Kahun had nothing to do with the Penguins sitting on Olli Maatta's perceived value for years he might be viewed as a what could have been piece if the Penguins were more proactive with Maatta.
Sam Poulin/Nate Legare
QMJHL offensive production doesn’t always translate to the professional level. While I do not expect either guy to “stand out” at camp I am interested to see how they handle the pace of play. They aren’t slow skaters, but it isn’t a strength. The time and space afforded in the QMJHL won’t be there as they jump up to more competitive leagues. This will be there first experience with NHL competition and it should be interesting to see how it goes.
Jordan Bellerive
His offensive numbers have been tracking in a good way so far in his hockey career. He will start the year down in WB/S, but I want to see him do some good things at camp. I think the team is desperate for ELC players that can provide some production at the NHL level. I think Bellerive is a prime candidate to potentially give the Penguins just that. I would give him good linemates and see what he does with it in September.
Calen Addison
The most important prospect in the Penguins system. He had a good prospect tournament, but that isn’t the standard for him. He should have had a good tournament. His growth this year will go a long way in determining if the Penguins have to overpay Justin Schultz or not. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and if the Penguins get lucky with Addison’s development being on a fast track it can really transform the way they approach their defense group moving forward.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»