Pens to Participate in Rookie Tournament Sept 9-13 in Oshawa, Ontario
by Hooks Orpik on Aug 30, 2011 12:47 PM EDT
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From a team release:
Pittsburgh Penguins prospects will be competing against prospects from the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks in the 2011 Rookie Tournament Sept. 9-13 at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario.
Penguins prospects will be in Pittsburgh on Sept. 9 to undergo physicals and fitness testing at CONSOL Energy Center before busing to Oshawa. Players will be available to the media that morning inside the Penguins locker room from 9-9:30 a.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach John Hynes and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine will oversee the tournament. Eric Tangradi, Simon Despres and 2011 first-round draft pick Joseph Morrow are among the 26 players taking part in the tournament.
All three games will air on Penguins HD Radio (WXDX FM HD-2 and streamed live on www.pittsburghpenguins.com). Steve Mears and two-time Stanley Cup champion Phil Bourque will broadcast the action. Full tournament coverage can also be found at www.pittsburghpenguins.com.
And some more, including the roster, after the jump:
Tangradi, 22, split the 2010-11 season between the Penguins and WBS. The Philadelphia, Pa. native made the Penguins’ opening-night roster and tallied three points (1G-2A) in 15 NHL games. He added 18 goals and 33 points in 42 AHL games with WBS.
Despres, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (30th overall) in 2009, enjoyed a stellar season in ’10-11. The 20-year-old blueliner tallied 41 points (13G-28A) and posted a plus-28 rating in 47 games for Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to earn the Emile Bouchard Trophy as that league’s top defenseman. Despres helped the Sea Dogs capture the Memorial Cup championship in May, and helped Team Canada earn a silver medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships in January.
Morrow, 18, was the highest-scoring blueliner for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) this past season, notching 49 points (9G-40A) in 60 games. The 23rd overall selection of the NHL Entry Draft in June, Morrow placed second among all WHL blueliners with 20 points (6G-14A) in 21 games while helping the Winterhawks reach the WHL final.
Pittsburgh Penguins veterans will report to training camp in Pittsburgh Sept. 16. Schedule details will be released prior to the opening of camp.
Following is a schedule for the Penguins’ 2011 Rookie Tournament:
Friday, September 9, 2011
9:00 a.m. Players available to the media at CONSOL Energy Center
Bus to Oshawa
10:00 a.m. Bus to Oshawa
6:00 p.m. Practice in Oshawa
Saturday, September 10, 2011
2:00 p.m. Game vs. Ottawa
Sunday, September 11, 2011
11:30 a.m. Practice in Oshawa
7:00 p.m. Game vs. Toronto
Monday, September 12, 2011
11:30 a.m. Practice in Oshawa
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
2:00 p.m. Game vs. Chicago
Return to Pittsburgh
And the list of those that are playing, with their age and last season's team:
Goalies-
Patrick Killeen, 21 Wheeling/WB-S last season
Maxime Lagace, 18, Prince Edward Island (QMJHL) [AMATEUR TRYOUT]
Defense-
Robert Bortuzzo, 22, WB/S
Simon Despres, 20, St. John (QMJHL)
Alex Grant, 22, Wheeling/WB/S
Scott Harrington, 18, London (OHL)
Reid McNeill, 19, London (OHL)
Joe Rogalski, 19, Sarnia (OHL)
Joe Morrow, 18, Portland (WHL)
Philip Samuelsson, 20, Boston College
Carl Sneep, 23, WB/S
Brain Strait, 23, Pittsburgh/WB/S
Forwards
Jessey Astles, 18, Kelowna (WHL) [AMATEUR TRYOUT]
Brandon DeFazio, 22, Wheeling/WB/S
Stefan Fournier, 19, Lewiston (QMJHL) [AMATEUR TRYOUT]
Tom Kuhnhackl, 19, Windsor (OHL)
Nick Petersen, 22, Wheeling/WB-S
Zach Sill, 23, WB/S
Ben Street, 24, Wheeling/WB/S
Eric Tangradi, 22, Pittsburgh/WB/S
Daniil Tarasov, 20, Indiana (USHL) [AMATEUR TRYOUT]
Paul Thompson, 22, New Hampshire/WB/S
Dominik Uher, 18, Spokane (WHL)
Ian Watters, 19, Brampton (OHL) [AMATEUR TRYOUT]
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Tangradi better have a HUGE tourney. Boy needs to start turning heads right now to make this club. Actually think his stock is down after last year.
It shouldn’t be. Tangradi was a solid scorer in the AHL last season (something he wasn’t in his first year) and could have done more had Gillies not concussed him.
Obviously you’d expect someone like ET25 to exceed in a 2011 prospect camp, but even if he doesn’t, I’m not going to be too worried. His performance in the regular camp is far more important than what he does amongst 18-23 year olds.
"You come at the King, you best not miss."
His performance at the AHL level after his send down was.. not awesome. Coach Hynes isolated him at the end of practice twice within a month of send down for additional ’verbal encouragement" on work ethic. (Source: Scott Stuccio on Penguins Live the week after it happened)
He recovered in WIlkes-Barre and only due to injury was a NHL callup. The incident with Gilles is not his fault but I have only seen one game up where he has performed like he belong there.
He still has a lot to prove and I don’t think anyone disagrees this is his last year to do it in the Penguins system.
by ozman_fiftyone on Aug 30, 2011 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree. He’s only 22. We’ve been fortunate and spoiled with great young players like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Letang and Fleury, but they’re the exception rather than the rule. Many players don’t make the NHL until they’re 23-25 years old. I do agree Tangradi needs to step it up soon, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be next season. A solid AHL season and then making the NHL team the season after is reasonable and acceptable to me.
He still has a lot to prove and I don’t think anyone disagrees this is his last year to do it in the Penguins system.
I would disagree vigorously.
"You come at the King, you best not miss."
right, I don’t see what the rush is. His LW position is pretty much filled for this year with Kunitz, Neal, Sullivan, Cooke so it’s not like the team is counting on him this year. I still think his biggest value could be as a trade chip this deadline, but we’ll see if that’s needed when the time comes. There’s nothing wrong with ET playing the whole year in the AHL to continue to “harness” the fine points of being a power forward.
Absolutely. He may actually benefit more from playing first line minutes in the AHL as opposed to trying to fight for a spot in the NHL.
You can’t learn the speed of the NHL in the AHL though. Top line AHL minutes are good, but for a 3rd year pro like Tangradi, how much does he need? Eventually to be an NHL player you have to sink or swim in the NHL.
Aside from super-stars, everyone starts on a 3rd or 4th line and works the way up as they earn the coach’s trust and prove themselves.
Best case- Tangradi can win an NHL spot this season, play 3rd line minutes and contribute on the power play.
Worst case- he gets sent back to the minors and spends most the year developing down there.
Either way, the decision to qualify him will be an easy one. Barring a terrible attitude or career threatening injury 23 is far too early to give up on a potential power forward winger, especially for this organization that has exactly 0 of that type of player with Tangradi’s size and skill.
"You come at the King, you best not miss."
by Hooks Orpik on Aug 31, 2011 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Power forwards take a little more time to develop than other type of players. Look no further than the Flyers 2nd overall pick in 2007 who signed that lengthy extension he is/will be the perfect example.
Too bad Veilleux will never reach his top-6 potential because he’s what 6’5" almost 6’6" and has great hands and besides Big Dog is the only big guy we have in our system. I wish we had Kreider or Ashton Carter in our system those are going to be 2 solid power forwards in the NHL.
I don’t see how time in the AHL will do much for Tangradi and I see him making the team out of camp but where he fits in—I have no idea—this roster has so many potential looks its making my advanced genetics class look easy.
by Geno McFleury on Aug 31, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
You’re right there. It’s all up to performance anyways.
One thing Tangradi has going for him is his size, look at the some likely bottom 6 forwards: Dupuis, Cooke, Asham, Adams, Letestu, Jeffrey.
All of them on the 6’0 or so (or under) side of the scale. No doubt that a bunch of those guys are physical and good fore-checkers, but the Pens have been one of the taller and heavier teams in the league lately, and that’s not by chance.
If Tangradi has a solid camp the door is definitely open, you would have to think.
"You come at the King, you best not miss."
by Hooks Orpik on Aug 31, 2011 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Keven Veilleux
Will also be at the tournament. Unless I am blind, I didn’t see his name in the post, just a heads up.
Hard to believe...
…that Tangradi’s still only 22. Hooks nailed it last week—this is Tangradi’s year to show what he’s made of.
I hope Paul Thompson dominates this tournament. I’m big-time bullish on him after what he did at UNH. What a score for Shero out of the NCAA free agents. While everyone was falling all over themselves to get Stephane Da Costa, Thompson was the best free agent signing out of NCAA from my standpoint. Da Costa won’t be ready yet, but he wanted to play in the NHL as soon as possible, so he chose Ottawa. Thompson’s willing to play in WBS first, and that’ll do him a world of good. I can still see him in Pittsburgh as a late-season injury fill-in if he lives up to his potential.
Daniil Tarasov is the biggest question mark to me, and I’m glad he gets a chance to play in the Prospect Tournament. He’s a boom/bust sort of guy. Either the light switch is turned on and he’s ready to become a solid professional scorer, or he’s not willing to step up to the competition level and work harder to achieve.
Either way, I’m sure there’s a KHL franchise that would take him if he doesn’t want the punishment of the North American game.
DUE TO THE LENGTH OF NHL HOCKEY
SKATE ELECTRIC WILL NOT BE SEEN
Sad news Pensburgh, L1 still hasn’t recieved his invititation to this Rookie Tourney.
//Must be lost in the mail
Is it October yet?
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