Assessing the Penguins Draft - Good Or Bad?

The 2013 NHL Draft was one of the deepest in terms of skill and class in a long time and annoyingly the Penguins earliest pick was in the 3rd round (#77) and generally I felt that the best players would be gone by then bar one or two that would maybe fall further than where they're predicted to go. Just before the draft got underway the Penguins traded their forward Tyler Kennedy ($2m cap hit last year, RFA this year) for a 2nd round Pick from the San Jose Sharks which turned out to be number #50.

The Penguins then traded up as the picks started getting nearer to the middle of the second round. They traded pick #50 and #89 for #44. There they selected Tristan Jarry a goalie from the Edmonton Oil Kings. Due to that trade it meant that the Penguins had only 1 3rd round pick now. At #77 the Penguins selected Jake Guentzel from the Sioux City Musketeers. The Penguins drafted a fair spread of different players types with their next pick at #119 being used for Ryan Segalla of the Salisbury Crimson Knights. The Penguins didn't have a fifth round pick which was traded as part of the Brendan Morrow trade and their next selection came at #164 where they took Dane Birks. Pittsburgh had two more picks after that at #179 (Blaine Byron) and #209 (Troy Josephs). It's good enough to know the names of who we picked, but who are they exactly?

Tristan Jarry

Tristan Jarry is a goaltender from the Edmonton Oil Kings and he was part of the team that went to the Western Hockey League finals this year. He has been back-up to Laurent Brossoit in the last two seasons but with Brossoit now leaving and taking the next step he is likely to be given the starting goaltender job. Tristan has seen an increase in the number of games over the last two seasons from 14 in the 11/12 season to 27 last season. Last year was a good year for Tristan as he put up good numbers with a 1.61GAA and a 0.935% which were the lowest in both categories last season. Jarry was the #3 ranked NA goaltender behind Zacahry Fucale and Eric Comrie but was taken 2nd. Some scouts feel he is the best goalie in the draft though;

"I thought he had the best camp of all the goalies at the Ivan Hlinka camp in August. There were some good goalies there" - Mark Edwards, Hockeyprospects Black Book, pg120

Tristan plays an athletic, butterfly style game but doesn't leave big gaps on his five hole as he has quick legs and his glove hand is excellent. Along with this he is also a good puck player and likes to make occasional diving saves [Last Word on Sports]. A good puck handling is something that the Penguins are keenly interested in as Fleury is often far from comfortable on the puck and it has been the weak spot in games in the past. Jarry is a very astute pick and with Eric Hartzel the Penguins have a potentially bright goaltending future.

Jake Guentzel

Jake Guentzel is an American Collegiate center who is enrolled to play for the University of Nebraska-Omaha next year in the NCAA. Guentzel has spent most of his youth career so far in the United-States high school leagues where he appeared for Hill-Murray School for two year. He was considered good enough to play in the national competition amongst High Schools two years running for Team Northwest and Team Southeast. Guentzel was ranked 80th amongst North American skaters for this years draft after making the USHL second-all star team and rookie team.

"I like a lot about him. He's a gamer with great hands and good hockey sense, but he is an average skater" -Mark Edwards, Hockeyprospects Black Book, pg107

The general opinion of him is that he is a skilled player who is very creative in the offensive zone and is a quick player, most likely due to the fact that he is just 5'9 and 150lbs. This does mean that he isn't that great in a physical game but as a LW he is a good pick as the Penguins are lacking on forward prospects. He is expected to be a long-term prospect but has the potential to play a bottom 6 role.

Ryan Segalla

Ryan Segalla is another American Collegiate player, although unlike Guentzel he is a Defenceman. He is committed to the University of Connecticut for next season. Much like Guentzel though he played in the United States High School leagues for his school, Salisbury Prep where he was captain and top pairing defenceman in their 2012-13 Championship season. Segalla was drafted in the 2011 QMJHL entry draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs but never appeared for them. 

"Ryan plays angry, which can help or hurt him. I saw fear in the eyes of players who had to go into the corners with him but I also saw him boil over at the end of a Salisbury loss and it wasn't pretty" - Josh Deitell, Hockeyprospects Black Book, pg177

Segalla is a strong defenceman is a tough person to play against. He can be a rough, hard hitting player but also display some offensive talents. His biggest problem according to scouts is his temper which has on occasions boiled over and let him down. With the University of Connecticut moving from the Atlantic Division to Hockey East he'll be tested at a higher level.

Dane Birks

Dane Birks is the third such player that the Penguins selected in the 2013 NHL Draft who is going to the NCAA. Birks is committed to Michigan Tech but isn't going there until the 2014-2015 season, he is going to spend his last season at the Merritt Centennials in British Columbia. As the #166th ranked North American skater going into the draft he attracted interest from the Montreal Canadiens who invited him to camp three weeks before. 

"Dane Birks is a good sized defenceman; he's a bit of a late bloomer but he skates well, moves the puck and is physical" - Randy Sexton, PittsburghPenguins.com Randy Sexton|PIT

 Birks had his first full season in the BCHL last season and is a tall, well built player who has a similar game to that of Ryan Segalla, one of the Penguins other picks. Like Segalla he will take a few years and will likely be a longer term prospect

Blaine Byron

Blaine Byron is another player who going the collegiate route. He played his last season at the Smiths Falls Bears in the Central Canada Hockey League where he was a part of a team that were knocked out in the 1st round of the Bogart Cup by the Carleton Place Canadians. Byron has registered to play for the University of Maine next season where he'll face off against Ryan Segalla. 

"Can operate at top speed when in possession. Plays the point on the PP but he's very thin and needs weight and muscle. Slick puckhandler who can make plays at high speed" - DraftSite.com DraftSite

Byron was ranked 122nd in North American skaters before the draft but scouts have him down as being a smart player who is more of a play-maker than a goal-scorer (As probably evidence by last seasons 12 Goals 40 Assists over the course of the season. He will, like the other NCAA players take longer to develop.

Troy Josephs

Troy Josephs was the final selection from the Penguins and he had to wait until #209 before he was taken. An ever-present member of the St.Michael's Buzzers Championship winning team last year he is also going the NCAA route as he is committed to Clarkson University in the ECAC Conference. He was ranked 119th in North American Skaters before the draft and was passed over in last years draft

"He plays with a lot of pace, a lot of tempo. He's hard to play against as a center and is tenacious on the puck" - Randy Sexton, PittsburghPenguins.com. Pittsburgh Penguins

Josephs is a solid wing prospect according to scouts and the wings is an area where the Penguins lack prospects. Apart from Anton Zlobin and Kuhnhackl the Penguins don't have any real potential future players (I'm not counting Bennett as a prospect as he is now going to be a permanent fixture on the first team). Josephs is a long term project but has the ability to make it.

That, in a nutshell, are the new prospects. Welcome to the club!