Having already lost over 90 man-games to injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had to call upon their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre for reinforcements. Prospects John Curry, Tim Wallace, Paul Bissonnette, and Ben Lovejoy have all...Read More.
This was completed before Jeffrey's call-up so that is not mentioned. Otherwise, enjoy!
In addition, Chad Johnson was recently featured in HF's new series On the Curve.
I am working on an AHL companion piece which will eventually go on my HF blog. I am just going to talk about the non-prospect players who have made a huge impact on the team and their young teammates.
Here is the companion piece. I found out a lot of interesting things over this past season that were not applicable to the AHL/ECHL update. Like the Penguins AHL graduation record, and ability to develop prospects in the minor leagues.
Anyway, here it is:
Supplying a team with a nonstop flux of young talent is necessary for long-term success in the NHL - More so in the salary cap era than ever before. Consequentially a team would require minor-league affiliates to supplement the NHL team in times of injuries, but to also develop the necessary talent to replace lost free-agents....Read more
Here is the companion piece. I found out a lot of interesting things over this past season that were not applicable to the AHL/ECHL update. Like the Penguins AHL graduation record, and ability to develop prospects in the minor leagues.
Anyway, here it is:
Supplying a team with a nonstop flux of young talent is necessary for long-term success in the NHL - More so in the salary cap era than ever before. Consequentially a team would require minor-league affiliates to supplement the NHL team in times of injuries, but to also develop the necessary talent to replace lost free-agents....Read more
I couldn't agree more with that, with RFA deals going through the roof the only bargains left are entry deals.
I'm reformatting my writing at the moment, shifting around where and what I write. These hockey nerd types of blog postings will be more regular from now on as I consolidate my writing. More on that later.
Obviously I agree about the RFA deals to an extent. It really depends how the player performs in his first couple seasons though. All players develop at their own individual pace. Some, like Jordan Staal, already understand the game at a veteran level but is still an inconsistent 20-year-old when it comes to his offensive abilities. So what do you do? Do you sign him to a long-term contract hoping that he blossoms into the gifted goal-scorer you think he will? If you go with the long deal the player could end up being a huge bargain down the road.
Or do you sign him to a two or three year deal at a much cheaper price and hope that he offers a hometown discount as he approaches his physical prime?
There is a good case for both. Crosby and Malkin took the first while Fleury the second. All are looking like good deals for the future right now.
I guess what I am trying to say is, while some of the RFA deals look insane now, they may end up being bargains down the road. Look at Vanek and Carter. Vanek is making 7 mil in cap space while Carter is only 5. Vanek however is signed through until 2013-14 while Carter is only to 2010-11.
In the salary cap era, it takes long-term, short-term, hometown discounts, and entry-level deals to make a team work for the short and long-term.
BTW, is anyone else pretty mother****ing impressed with our farm system? I got to say, I'm pretty pleased with the kind of hard-working talent that the WBS Penguins have been giving us! What are they doing down there?
So let me get this straight, Shero likes to call up the guys that are worthy of a reward for what they are doing in the AHL.
Really, is that how he is going to explain this ****. I can understand why Taffe, Minard, and Pesonen were called up, even Stone. But then Wallace, Bissonnette (i can sorta get this too), and Jeffrey as well as James.
I guess rewarding another youngster that has turned his game up a notch as of late isn't worthy of one. I see now.
AHL > Pittsburgh Penguins
A dried out white piece of turd > Michel Therrien & Yeo and Shero...he deserves to be apart of this as well since he's soo comfy with his job.
I can tolerate that whole system thing he is looking at with his fake ass excuses about rewarding players but yikes. Who is he going to call up next? The Janitor?
WBS Janitor, Crosby, Satan....I can see the SCF repeat already.
So let me get this straight, Shero likes to call up the guys that are worthy of a reward for what they are doing in the AHL.
Really, is that how he is going to explain this ****. I can understand why Taffe, Minard, and Pesonen were called up, even Stone. But then Wallace, Bissonnette (i can sorta get this too), and Jeffrey as well as James.
/Rant
Wallace, Stone, and Bissonnette were brought up for their sandpaper, and in the case of the first two, their ability to play a round game on the forecheck. As you said, Taffe, Minard, and Pesonen all deserved legitimate chances. Jeffrey was brought up for faceoffs and to play on the forecheck. James may have been brought up because of his previous NHL experience. That's my guess.
Nice article, Ian. Great read and gives some good insight.
As an aside, in this sentence from the David Brown section:
Quote:
In his brief in the AHL, the former Notre Dame star posted a gaudy 3.94 GAA and .841 save percentage.
It seems as though you left out the word stint or something of that sort in the beginning there, and the word gaudy is misused here. It effectively means flashy and arrogantly impressive, which is certainly not the word I think you were going for
Wallace, Stone, and Bissonnette were brought up for their sandpaper, and in the case of the first two, their ability to play a round game on the forecheck. As you said, Taffe, Minard, and Pesonen all deserved legitimate chances. Jeffrey was brought up for faceoffs and to play on the forecheck. James may have been brought up because of his previous NHL experience. That's my guess.
I also think they all were auditioning for jobs via trade. Although I don't know if they'd deal Minard because of the possibility he could come back to face them in the A.
