Prospect Update - December Edition

We took a look at how the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects were faring at the start of the season in our October Update and then came back to check on them in our November Update. Now another month has gone by and we are going to look to see how they have fared thus far in the 2013-14 season.

Major Juniors

The Pens top D prospect Derrick Pouliot has been serving as the Alternate Captain, #1 D, and PP quarterback as well as seeing time on the PK for the 19-5-2-1 Portland Winterhawks who currently sit at #2 in the U.S. Division and #3 in both the Western Conference and the WHL as a whole. They also happen to lead the WHL in Goals For and Goal Differential as well as being #6 in PP and #7 on the PK. Pouliot himself has 7 Goals, 5 of which were scored on the PP, 17 Assists, 6 of which were scored on the PP and 1 of which was scored shorthanded, and a +14 in 23 games played. He is the top scoring D on the team and #10 in the WHL. He also recently took part in the Subway Super Series against Russia in which he scored 1 Goal and 1 Assist, being one of only 4 skaters to score on the PP during the tournament, tied for the 2nd highest scorer on his team and the #2 D in the entire tournament.

Pens goaltending prospect Matthew Murray has gone 15-4-0-3 with a 2.28 GAA and .927 Sv% to lead the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to be #1 in the West Division, #2 in the Western Conference, and #4 in the OHL. The team has the 3rd fewest Goals Against in the OHL with a #10 PK. Murray leads the entire OHL in GAA, is #2 in Sv%, and #3 in wins, while his 3 shutouts place him in a tie for the league lead. He also recently participated in the Subway Super Series but during his long game he posted a Loss and had a 4.00 GAA and .810 Sv%.

Pens forward prospect Matia Marcantuoni had a pretty rough start to the month of November but started picking up the pace again but unfortunately suffered a shoulder injury and has not played since November 17th. He has accrued 6 Goals, 2 of which were scored on the PP and 1 of which was scored shorthanded, 5 Assists, 2 of which were scored on the PP, and a -11 in 20 games. His slump and recent injury have caused him to fall to #7 on the team in scoring and what used to be responsibly effective defensive play has suffered as well as he is now tied for the lowest Plus/Minus on the team. His stats may be a factor of the team he is on though, as Kitchener currently sits at 10-14-0-1 for #5 in the Midwest Division, #9 in the Western Conference, and #17 in the OHL. A series of injuries derailed his development in earlier seasons, so hopefully he does not miss too much more of this season.

Pens D prospect Clark Seymour is an Alternate Captain on the 11-15-0-3 Peterborough Petes. The Petes sit at #3 in the East Division, #7 in the Eastern Conference, and #14 in the OHL and have the most Goals Against in the entire league. Individually Seymour's 3 Goals, 2 of which were scored on the PP, 11 Assists, 2 of which were scored on the PP, and a -1 in 25 games is pretty decent for a physical stay-at-home D.

Pens goaltending prospect Tristan Jarry has gone 15-7-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .923 Sv% to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to #2 in the Central Division, #4 in the Eastern Conference, and #10 in the WHL. They have the 2nd lowest Goals Against in the entire WHL and the #3 Penalty Kill in the league. Jarry is currently #1 in the WHL for GAA, #4 in Sv%, tied for #2 in Wins, and his 3 Shutouts are also good enough to tie him for #2 in the league. He also recently took part in the Subway Super Series where he posted a W and walked away with a 2.00 GAA and .882 Sv%.

Pens forward prospect Jean-Sebastien Dea is serving as the top line Center and plays on both the PP and PK. He has accrued 24 Goals, 8 of which were scored on the PP and 3 of which were scored shorthanded, 4 Assists, 2 of which were scored on the PP and 1 of which was scored shorthanded, and a +5 while winning 394/668 for 59.0% of his faceoffs in 27 games. He is the #2 scorer on his team but by far the leading Goal scorer, sitting at #2 in the QMJHL and tied for #5 in PP Goals and #6 in Shorthanded Goals, and nobody in the entire QMJHL has won as many faceoffs as he has. His Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are 17-9-1-2 and sit at #4 in the West Division and #6 in the QMJHL. They have the 4th most Goals For but also the 4th most Goals Against in the league, and they are #5 PP and #12 PK.

Europe

Pens goaltending prospect Alexander Pechurski is a backup for the Mettalurg Magnitogorsk but is currently injured and has not played at all in November.

Pens forward prospect Oskar Sundqvist has 2 Goals, 1 of which was scored on the PP, 4 Assists, and a +3 while going 37/84 for a 44.1% faceoffs in 26 games with the Skellefteå AIK. He has been getting primarily Bottom 6 minutes playing in a shutdown role, and while there hasn't been anything particularly flashy about his play it has been fairly solid. Skelleftea is 17-3-3-4 which currently puts them at #1 in the SHL, they also happen to have the most Goals For, fewest Goals Against, and best Goal Differential in the league.

NCAA

Bryan Rust, Alternate Captain of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, has 3 Goals, 2 of which were scored on the PP and 1 of which was scored shorthanded, 9 Assists, 4 of which were scored on the PP and 1 of which was scored shorthanded, and a +3 in 16 games. He has vastly improved over the past month, back to about the pace he was scoring at last season, and is currently tied for #2 in Points on his team while doing well on both the PP and the PK.

Josh Archibald of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks has 10 Goals, 3 of which were scored on the PP, 5 Assists, 3 of which were scored on the PP, and a +5 in 15 games. He went 45/80 for a 56.2% faceoffs and is currently tied for the lead in Points and has a commanding lead in Goals on his team and has done quite well on the PP this year.

Scott Wilson of the University of Massachusettes-Lowell River Hawks has 2 Goals, 7 Assists, and a +4 in 13 games. He is currently tied for #2 on the team in Points.

Theodor Blueger of the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks has 3 Goals, 2 of which were scored on the PP, 6 Assists, 3 of which were scored on the PP, and a -5 in 14 games. He has gone 137/252 for a 54.4% faceoffs and is currently tied for #2 on the team in Points.

Sean Maguire the seemingly now backup goaltender for the Boston University Terriers has gone 1-4-0-0 with a 2.49 GAA and a .929 Sv%. Last year and the beginning of this year both goaltenders had split starts, but so far this season he has just 5 starts to his teammate's 9, and a really bad record considering the team is 6-2-1-0 in front of the other goaltender. But absolutely stellar stats considering he isn't getting the W.

Jake Guentzel of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks has 2 Goals, 1 of which was scored on the PP, 10 Assists, 3 of which were scored on the PP, and a +2 in 14 games. He has gone 51/98 for 52.0% faceoffs and is #5 in Points and #3 in Assists on his team, which is pretty decent considering he is a Freshman.

Ryan Segalla of the University of Connecticut Huskies has just 2 Assists and a -3 in 9 games. He has not been particularly impressive, but it is just his first year and he is a good deal younger and smaller than most of the players.

Blaine Byron of the University of Maine Black Bears has 4 Goals, 1 of which was scored on the PP, 4 Assists, and a +1 in 13 games. He is doing pretty well for a Freshman, but he has slowed down a bit after he was off to a hot start last month.

Dane Birks who has committed to playing in the NCAA but currently finishing up his Junior A eligibility with the BCHL Merritt Centennials has 1 Goal, scored on the PP, and 10 Assists in 24 games. That is pretty good for a D, but unfortunately it means he has played in just 5 games and scored just 1 more Assist since we took a look last month. The reason he missed games, however, was because he had played in the World Junior A Challenge with Team Canada West at the beginning of the month. He had 2 Assists and won a Bronze Medal in the tournament.

Troy Josephs of the Clarkson Golden Knights has 1 Goal, 2 Assists, and a -1 in 12 games. He certainly has a long way to go, but he is just a Freshman and he will continue to improve.