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Shortened Penguins Roster Arrives in Sweden

The Pittsburgh Penguins arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, at about 3:30 AM this morning (Pittsburgh time) after a tiring 10.5 hour flight (including a refueling layover in Ireland).  Despite the lengthy trip, the team got checked into their hotel, met for a team meal, and then hit the rink at Hovet Arena in Stockholm for practice.  The goal for today is for the team to get adjusted to the 6-hour time change by staying awake through the evening and getting a good night’s sleep tonight.  According to Max Talbot, most players managed to get some sleep on the plane so that fatigue was not much of a factor in this morning’s practice.  The Penguins’ schedule is part of a program put in place by the training staff to help the players adjust to the change. 

The 10-day trip to Sweden comes on the heels of Friday night’s 5-4 pre-season win against the Leafs in Toronto.  Despite playing from behind most of the night, the Penguins won the game late in the 3rd period on goals by Kris Letang and Matt Cooke.  Sidney Crosby, Mark Eaton and Janne Pesonen also scored in the win, advancing the Penguins pre-season record to 3-0-1.  Sidney Crosby picked up the game’s 1st star with 2-points (1G, 1A) and Ruslan Fedotenko got the game’s 3rd start with 3-points (3A).  The Penguins will officially complete their pre-season play on Thursday, October 2nd, playing against the Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League in Helsinki, Finland.

Before boarding the 5PM flight to Stockholm, the Penguins skinnied their roster down to 25-players through assignments to the AHL and injured reserve.  Forward Connor James and defenseman Danny Richmond were both assigned to the Penguins’ AHL-affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.  Injured defensemen Sergei Gonchar (dislocated shoulder) and Ryan Whitney (foot surgery) have been assigned to the injured reserve and will not make the trip.  The Penguins will have to make one more roster cut by Friday, October 3rd, to get down to a 24-man roster before the season-opener in Sweden on October 4th.  The Penguins will ultimately need to make an additional cut after October 5th to get down to the 23-player roster required by the league for the rest of the regular season.  The league made an exception and allowed 24-players to be on the roster for the games in Sweden, so that the team would have an extra player in-country in case of injury. 

The Penguins remaining 25-man roster for the Sweden trip is comprised of 15 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goaltenders.  This includes forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke, Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Pascal Dupuis, Eric Godardm Jeff Taffe, Janne Pesonen, Bill Thomas, and Paul Bisssonnette.  The defensive corps consists of Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill, Mark Eaton, Darryl Sydor, Kris Letang, and Alex Goligoski.  The goaltenders are Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin, and John Curry.

After arriving in Stockholm early this morning, the Penguins went to Hovet Arena for practice at about 8AM Pittsburgh time.  The Hovet Arena is located alongside the Globe Arena where the Penguins will practice for the rest of the week, and where the Penguins will face off against the Ottawa Senators next weekend.  After practice, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot spoke to the press.  The following videos of practice and those interviews are courtesy of PittsburghPenguins.com:

• VIDEO:  Team Practice’s at Hovet Arena
• VIDEO:  Sidney Crosby Post-Practice Interview
• VIDEO:  Marc-Andre Fleury Post-Practice Interview
• VIDEO:  Max Talbot Post-Practice Interview

 

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Penguins Send 13 Players to AHL, Trim Roster to 29

As anticipated, Pittsburgh Penguins’ General Manager Ray Shero announced the next round of training camp cuts today, sending 13 players to the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  The 13 players sent to Wilkes-Barre includes forwards Kris Beech, Ryan Stone, Adam Henrich, Aaron Boogaard, Tim Wallace, Jonathan Filewich, David Gove and Christopher Minard.  It also includes defensemen Deryk Engelland, T.J. Kemp, Ben Lovejoy and Joey Mormina, as well as goaltender David Brown.  The cuts trimmed the Penguins’ training camp roster to 29 players

Of the 29 remaining players, the Penguins have retained 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and 3 goaltenders.  That list includes propsects Janne Pesonen, Connor James, Paul Bissonnette, Bill Thomas, Alex Goligoski, Danny Richmond, and John Curry.  With surgery/injuries affecting the normal Penguins’ defensive lineup, Defensemen Alex Goligoski and/or Danny Richmond could find themselves on the roster as the season starts.  There is potential for one or two positions on wing being open for competition, as well, as training camp and pre-season hockey winds down. 

The current roster includes the following players (by natural position,  not necessarily the position they are being played)

• Left Wing
  • Ruslan Fedotenko
  • Jeff Taffe
  • Matt Cooke
  • Janne Pesonen
  • Paul Bissonnette (Converted from D)
  • Connor James
  • David Gove
• Center
  • Sidney Crosby
  • Evgeni Malkin
  • Jordan Staal
  • Tyler Kennedy
  • Max Talbot
• Right Wing
  • Miroslav Satan
  • Petr Sykora
  • Pascal Dupuis
  • Eric Godard
  • William Thomas
• Defense
  • Sergei Gonchar
  • Ryan Whitney
  • Mark Eaton
  • Hal Gill
  • Kris Letang
  • Brooks Orpik
  • Darryl Sydor
  • Rob Scuderi 
  • Alex Goligoski
  • Danny Richmond
• Goal
  • Marc-Andre Fleury
  • Dany Sabourin
  • John Curry

The Penguins’ prospects will have two more opportunities to impress the hockey staff before the team leaves for Sweden on Saturday night.  It is uncertain whether the Penguins will make the final roster cuts before they leave.  While I wouldn’t be surprised by a few cuts, I don’t expect they will cut to the final roster since they will still have several more days of practice in Sweden and a final pre-season game in Finland on October 2nd before the season starts in Stockholm on October 4th.  I expect that the Penguins coaching staff will keep their options open and guard against any late injuries while on the road overseas.  Therefore, I expect at least 1 or 2 extra forwards and defensemen to make the trip to Sweden.

The Penguins return to Mellon Arena on Wednesday night to host the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The roster for the game has not yet been released.  The game will be aired nationally on TSN.

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Pittsburgh Penguins 2008 Training Camp Preview

After a short summer break, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to hit the ice again as they get back to training camp this week.  Over the summer, the team saw some significant complexion changes with the exodus of some key role players.  Yet, despite the loss of Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Ty Conklin, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque and Adam Hall, the Penguins have kept their young core of stars intact and have back-filled the losses with some quality, proven role players.  Among the new player acquisitions are Miroslov Satan (RW), Ruslan Fedetenko (LW), Matt Cooke (LW) and Eric Godard (RW).   The Penguins also have depth in their organizational talent pool and added to it by bringing in some new prospects to include Janne Pesonen, last season’s leading scorer in the Finnish Elite League.  So as the Penguins head into training camp, what should you look for in terms of new talent on the team?

Goaltending

There is no doubt who holds the top spot for the Penguins in net, as Marc-Andre Fleury silenced the critics last season with an outstanding run after returning from his extended high ankle injury.  The question will be how soon he finds his form this season, as he has historically had slow starts.  The big surprise last season was the play of Ty Conklin, claiming the #2 spot away from Dany Sabourin after Fleury went on the injured reserve for a couple of months.  To his credit, Dany Sabourin didn’t play all that bad, but Conklin was flat out spectacular and stole the stage from Sabourin.  One could even argue that Conklin’s play was partially responsible for Fleury ratcheting up his game to re-establish his top spot upon his return.  With Ty Conklin now off the roster, Dany Sabourin has the opportunity to re-establish himself as the backup netminder.  But the Penguins will likely be evaluating their options during camp with some netminding depth in the system.  In my opinion, the only potential challenger for Sabourin would be John Curry.  Curry stepped into the void left by Ty Conklin in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and put together an impressive 24-12 run in the regular season.  He went on to backstop the baby Penguins’ 14-9 run into the Calder Cup Finals.  I expect Sabourin will prevail out of camp, but don’t be surpised if Curry finds his way into an NHL game later in the season.

Defense 

The Penguins defensive corps is the one area that remains largely unchanged from last season.  The Penguins have been handed a significant challenge, however, with Ryan Whitney leaving the lineup for a minimum of 3-months (possibly up to 5 months) as he recovers from off-season foot surgery.  Whitney’s role as an offensive defensemen will be missed, and will likely be an area that the Penguins look to address in training camp.  The Penguins will be getting Mark Eaton back into the lineup after missing most of last season with a torn ACL, but Eaton’s forte is in defense and not in offensive production.  There may also be some lingering questions about his durability after 2 back-to-back injury shortened seasons.  Perhaps Kris Letang will find this as an opportunity to increase his offensive game, but he still needs to focus on perfecting his defensive game.  Perhaps Darryl Sydor, rumored to be seeking a trade out of Pittsburgh, will be able to find the niche he was looking for by stepping up his offensive game.  However, I still expect the veteran to leave Pittsburgh at some point this season.  The most likely scenario in my mind will be for Alex Goligoski to find his way into the lineup coming out of training camp.  Goligoski had an impressive year with Wilkes-Barre last season posting 38-points (10G, 28A) in 70 games with a +15 rating.  He also netted 28-points (4G, 24A) in 23 playoff games with a +5 rating.  He also made his NHL debut last season, getting 2-assists in his 3 outings.   Other defensemen to watch at camp would be Alex Grant, TJ Kemp, Deryk Engelland, and Ben Lovejoy.

Offense

The Penguins offense remains strong despite the loss of wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone.  In particular, they are rock solid down the center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot.  With Hossa and Malone out of the lineup, along with Roberts, Hall, Laraque, and Ruutu, the Penguins will use training camp to assess and shore up the wings.  They will look to off-season acqusitions Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedetenko to fill the void in the top lines.  It remains to be seen how well they will mesh with the talented Penguins’ centermen or how long it will take for the chemistry to develop, but it seems likely that they will flourish alongside Crosby and/or Malkin.  Elsewhere on wing, the Penguins have retained Petr Sykora, Jeff Taffe, Pascal Dupuis, and Tyler Kennedy, and have added newcomers Eric Godard and Matt Cooke.  The latter two were acquired to backfill the loss of Georges Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu.  Look for the Penguins management to really test out the combinations in camp, and to evaluate the talent they have within the system to find a set of wingers that work.  Perhaps the biggest and most anticipated wild card is Janne Pesonen, the Left Wing top scorer from the Finnish Elite League.  He will likely be the center of much attention and speculation as to a potential bid in the lineup.  The Penguins also have several NHL-tested prospects as a result of last season’s extensive injuries that will have a viable opportunity to break into the lineup.  This includes Connor James, Jonathan Filewich, Chris Minard, and Ryan Stone.  I would expect as many as 2-3 lower line wing positions in play going into training camp, with the burden being on the prospects to prove their case for being in the lineup. 

After last season’s challenges and ultimate success, I anxiously look forward to the start of the season.  The changes in the complexion of this team add to the excitement and uncertainty of what the new season will bring.  Training Camp will be the first, short glimpse before the season starts in just 3-quick weeks.  This coming season is sure to be exciting and will answer all of our current questions.  WIll Sidney Crosby be 100% recovered from the high ankle injury of last season?  Will Evgeni Malkin power back to the top of the points race after recharging his batteries in the off-season?  Will Jordan Staal ditch the sophomore slump and have a breakout year?  Will Marc-Andre Fleury shake off any early season jitters and will he be able to build on last year’s spectacular playoff run?  How will Miroslav Satan and Rusty Fedotenko fit in and produce?  Who will step up offensively on defense?  Will someone break into the lineup and be an enexpected force this season?  Who will be the enforcer?  Will the Penguins start slow and finish strong?  So many questions that will only be answerd in time!  Hockey is upon us!  Let’s Go Penguins!

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Ty Conklin Stops 50-Shots as Penguins Beat Isles 4-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins capped an emotional trade day by beating the New York Islanders 4-2, despite being undermanned in the early going and being outshot 52-20.  Ty Conklin had a stellar night in net as he turned aside 50 shots while Marc-Andre Fleury looked on from the bench.  The Penguins appeared to be playing with a Hossa hangover for much of the game, giving up numerous chances to the Islanders and committing 10-penalties.  But it was the Penguins special teams that had the edge by scoring 2 power play goals and killing off 9-of-10 short-handed situations.  With Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen out of the lineup and on their way to Atlanta, the Penguins started the game 2-players short while they waited on call-ups Connor James and Jason Smith to arrive at the arena from Wilkes-Barre.   

In the 1st, the Penguins got on the board first as Evgeni Malkin scored his 36th goal of the season from Petr Sykora and Jeff Taffe at 10:50.  Malkin managed to circle around from behind the net to low circle and lifted the puck over Rick DiPietro to make it 1-0.  While on the power play at 17:52, Jeff Taffe picked up his 4th goal of the season as he poked in a rebound that was lost between the legs of an Islanders’ defenseman to the right side of the net.  Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang were credited with the assists.  Despite leading 2-0 at the end of the period, the Penguins were woefully outshot in the 1st by 23-6.  The Penguins were 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off 4 of their own. 

In the 2nd, the Islanders got back into the game on a goal poked in by Frans Nielsen at 10:26.  Assists were given to Jeff Tambellini and Frederick Meyer.  The Penguins were outshot 11-4 in the 2nd, as they successfully killed off 4-penalties.  The Penguins had no power play opportunities in the period.

In the 3rd, it was Jordan Staal who finally converted on a chance as he picked up his 9th goal of the season on a beautiful feed from Evgeni Malkin at 12:55.  Petr Sykora picked up the other assist.  Then at 16:58, all the way from Wilkes-Barre, it was Connor James picking up his first NHL goal on the power play after taking a dead-on saucer pass over the stick of an Islander defenseman from Ryan Whitney.  At 17:03, a fiesty Tyler Kennedy took on Mike Comrie in a short bout in which Kennedy appeared to finish with the upper hand.  Finally, at 18:43 with Evgeni Malkin in the box for a tripping call, the Islanders’ Ruslan Fedotenko put up the final goal from Josef Vasicek and Trent Hunter to make the score 4-2 Penguins.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• BONUS VIDEO:  Ray Shero Trade Press Conference
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play 

The win capped an emotional day for the young Penguins who lost 2-close friends and teammates to the trade just prior to the deadline.  It was a likely distraction for the team as they didn’t have a great deal of time to adjust to the news before having to take the ice.  Despite the lack of offensive dominance, the Penguins took advantage of their chances.  Evgeni Malkin returned to the scoring sheet by picking up 2-points (1G, 1A) and regaining the league lead.  Petr Sykora netted 2-assists before leaving the ice late in the 3rd with an unspecified injury.  Jeff Taffe picked up 2-points (1G, 1A), extending his scoring streak to 3-games.  The Penguins extended their February record to 8-2-3, picking up 19-of-24 available points so far, and drew within 1-point of the Eastern Conference leading New Jersey Devils who picked up a point in an overtime loss.  The Penguins overtook the Ottawa Senators by a point tonight as the Senators lost to Boston. 

The Penguins travel to Boston on Thursday night to take on the Bruins.  New acquisition Marian Hossa is expected to join the team for the game.  “I’m really looking forward to joining this group,” he said. “You look at the centermen and you have Sid, Malkin and (Jordan) Staal. They are some really strong, great young players. They have good goaltending and good moving defensemen.  They create lots of offense. I am really looking forward to playing with these guys.”  It is presumed that Hal Gill and Pascal Dupuis will also be joining the team on Thursday. 

Longest NHL Suspension Handed to Simon

In news from Toronto, the League lowered the hammer on New York Islanders forward Chris Simon today, suspending him for 30 games, without pay, for deliberately kicking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jarrko Ruutu in the third period of the game on December 15, 2007.  Simon will be eligible to return on February 21, 2008 against the Tampa BayLightning.  The sentence is the longest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident.  In handing down the deservedly stiff ruling, NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell stated, “…the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with an exposed skate blade, especially where the opponent is in a vulnerable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey.  In addition, while the act itself was extremely dangerous, the fact that this is the 8th incident requiring the imposition of supplementary discipline on  Simon compelled me to impose a very severe penalty in this case.  When a player repeatedly evidences the lack of ability to control his actions and conducts himself in total disregard of the rules, as well the health and safety of other players on the ice, each subsequent incident is deserving of enhanced scrutiny and more severe discipline.  This response serves not only the purpose of imposing appropriate punishment for the player involved, but also the purpose of deterring the player and all other players from engaging in similar conduct in the future – hopefully creating a safer long-term work environment for all NHL players.”  Simon is projected to forfeit $292,683 in salary which will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.  In other news, Left Wing Ryan Malone returned to Pittsburgh to undergo evaluation of an infected cut on his leg by team doctors.  Malone will miss his second consecutive game as the Penguins face off against the Bruins in Boston on Thursday.  Originally it was reported that he missed Tuesday’s game against the Rangers due to the Flu, which has been flowing through the Penguins locker room.  Today it is reported that the leg infection caused the flu-like symptoms that kept Malone off the ice. 

The Penguins, already in Boston for Thursday’s game, practiced at Boston University on Wednesday.  General Manager Ray Shero announced that the Penguins have recalled forward Jeff Taffe from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and re-assigned forward Connor James back to the American Hockey League club.  James was called up and registered 1-shot in 1 game against the New York Islanders on December 15th.  Taffe, who has 21 points (12G, 9A) in 27 games this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, is tied for 13th in AHL goals scored.  Taffe notched 2-points (1G, 1A) in 3 NHL pre-season games with the Penguins.  Signed by Pittsburgh as a free agent on July 13th, Taffe has 28-points (15G, 13A) in 100 NHL games played over the course of 4-seasons as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers.