Janne Pesonen ships off to KHL

by FrankD on Aug 4, 2009 5:09 PM EDT in Pens of the Past

Props to Empty Netters for the heads up.

So much for the Janne Pesonen experiment. Thus ends all that hype, talk and speculation of how well he could've played with Sid and Geno. Instead of a definitive answer Pens fans are still left wondering.

In my opinion, Seth from EN hits the assessment right on the head:

Either way, Pesonen was a low-risk high-reward prospect the Penguins took a shot at. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

That's exactly it. When the Pens signed Pesonen last season we all knew that no risk was involved in doing so and the opportunity for Sid to land a high-scoring, speedy winger was there. So it didn't pan out. Not the end of the world, especially given the evidence of success with the Guerin/Crosby/Kunitz combo.

Good luck Janne.

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They really do sell a lot of ad space on those uniforms.

Any idea how much he’s going to make over there?

by barnerburner on Aug 4, 2009 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

At the end of the day, I just don’t think Pesonen had the all-around skill to play in the NHL. He put up admirable numbers for a rookie in North America in the AHL, but the AHL is littered with tons of guys that put up big numbers in the minors but can’t quite stick in the NHL (Jeff Taffe, Keith Aucoin, Darren Haydar, Brett Sterling). Most of those guys seem to be about Pesonen’s size.

No one in the Pens organization knew Pesonen as much as Dan Bylsma, his coach in WB/S from October – February. And when Bylsma came up, remember Kunitz hadn’t been acquired, Guerin hadn’t been acquired, Petr Sykora got hurt in early March too….The Pens definitely had openings for skill forwards, and Bylsma never lobbied for Pesonen or gave him the chance in Pittsburgh.

I think that speaks to the fact Pesonen probably wouldn’t have been an impact player at the NHL level. Tough to do, I wish him well in Russia.

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by Hooks Orpik on Aug 4, 2009 10:14 PM EDT reply actions

No surprise here. When the Pens offered Pesonen nothing more than 4th line duties when he was promoted to the big club last season, and no other NHL clubs pursued him after he became a free agent, his future hopes of an NHL career were forever dashed. Second chances in pro sports for unrealized talent are infrequent. Time for the Pens and Pesonen to admirably part ways.

"Oh, buy Sam a drink and get his dog one too!" - Mike Lange

by gorgalor on Aug 5, 2009 5:13 AM EDT reply actions