Eric Tangradi, who posted on twitter last night that he was jokingly embarassed about Pensburgh ribbing him about his interview skills, has just written on Twitter that he is "off to Wilkes-Barre".
The Penguins were expected to make cuts today, a day after back-to-back games in the past two nights gave them a chance to see nearly everyone still left in camp.
And from penguins.com:
Thirteen players have been assigned to the club’s top minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). They are forwards Wade Brookbank, Luca Caputi, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson, Konstantin Pushkarev, Wyatt Smith, Eric Tangradi, Joe Vitale and Tim Wallace, defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, Jonathan D’Aversa and Chris Lee and goaltender Brad Thiessen.
The Penguins have re-assigned 2009 first-round pick Simon Despres to Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
After the jump we take a look at who's left....
The moves leave the Penguins with 16 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders remaining in training camp. The updated roster is attached.
FORWARDS
Locks:
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Bill Guerin
Ruslan Fedotenko-Evgeni Malkin-Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke-Jordan Staal-Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp, Eric Godard, Craig Adams
Forwards on the bubble (fighting for 1 or 2 spots): Ryan Bayda, Paul Bissonnette, Chris Conner
DEFENSE
Locks:
Brooks Orpik/Segei Gonchar
Mark Eaton/Kris Letang
Jay McKee/Alex Goligoski
Defensemen on the bubble (fighting for 1 or 2 spots): Nate Guenin, Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engalland
Thoughts:
--Konsantin Pushkarev came to Pens camp on a tryout, will/has he agreed to go to Wilkes-Barre? Pushkarev could add some skill at some point, and given the lack of purely skilled wingers it'd be great for the organization if he doesn't bolt to Europe.
--The forwards still in the hunt (Bayda, Conner and Smith) all have a lot more NHL experience than the youngsters sent packing today (Caputi, Jeffrey, Johnson, Tangradi). It's clear the Pens want a vet for NHL depth and give the young guys a chance to develop by playing every night in the A rather than sitting in the press box in the NHL.
--Bissonnette was an unlikely player to make the NHL roster out of camp this year, and with Eric Godard AND Mike Rupp locked up he's even more unlikely to stick this season....But Biz Nasty's staying and a lot of his peers are again heading to the eastern part of the Commonwealth, he's surviving yet again.
--The Penguins don't list Deryk Engalland on their team page, but they didn't mention him getting cut and say there are 9 defensemen left, so I'm assuming he's still in play for an NHL job.