2015 NHL Draft round-up

2015 NHL Draft round-up

The 2015 NHL draft concluded yesterday in Florida with the completion of the 7th round. A number of trades as usual took place before hand which generated some more interest. Some teams traded picks and Pittsburgh drafted four interesting players. Below is a round-up of the talking points and points of interest.

Starting with Pittsburgh, they took four Europeans in a surprising twist. The Penguins did not have a 1st round pick this year after trading it for Perron. There were rumours of them trading for one, mostly involving Toronto, but there were no deals to be had. This meant that Pittsburgh's first pick came at number 46.

By the time Pittsburgh were picking first two players had fallen quite a way from their original draft ranking. Those two being Daniel Sprong and Oliver Kylington. Sprong being a forward from the QMJHL and Kylington a defenceman from the SHL. With our forward prospect cupboard bare it made clear sense to take Sprong. Sprong had a great second year with the Charlottetown Islanders, scoring 88 points in 68 games. Eliteprospects described Sprong as;

A prolific scoring winger who possesses an elite-level skillset: has dynamic skating ability, is a creative passer, and has incredible puckhandling ability. While he is offensively dominant, he is also defensively responsible. A very hard working player who strives to improve all aspects of his game. Absolutely electric. (Curtis Joe, EP 2014) 

The Penguins have been crying out for scoring wingers and Sprong joins Kapanen as a Penguins hopeful. After Sprong the Penguins didn't have another pick until the 5th round where, at 136, they selected Dominik Simon. Simon is a Czech center who has been playing in the top Czech league for four years. Last year he was with HC Plzen and he scored 30 points in 52 games. He has committed to Plzen for next year but there is potential there to be a bottom six center.

The Penguins had two more picks to make in the sixth and seventh rounds. In the past Shero spent a fair number of picks on NCAA players who were years away. The Penguins selected German winger Frederik Tiffels, a LW from the Western Michigan University. The 2015-16 will be his second so he will have at most, one more season before he comes eligible to play full-time for the Penguins in the NHL or AHL. Some people have been comparing him to Kreider. If he becomes that good the Penguins will have a steal on their hands.

The Penguins last pick was to select humongous center Nikita Pavlychev from Russia. Pavlychev is a towering figure at 6 foot 7. Pavlychev had spent last year with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) but has committed to Penn State. Perfect for the Penguins to keep a close eye on him. All in all, the Penguins can be pretty happy with their picks considering they only had four of them.

Elsewhere the status quo was kept at the top with McDavid, Eichel and Strome going 1-2-3 to Edmonton, Buffalo and Arizona. The Flames gave up their first round pick at number 15 with a big trade that saw them grab Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins for a low fee. The Flames still managed to draft two good players late in the second so they'll consider their draft a good one. I would say that the Toronto Maple Leafs were the most successful team.

Although it is a bit presumptuous to say that at this stage, they took a lot of high quality forwards and have really added some quality to their prospect pool. Lastly, Andong Song of China made hockey history after becoming the first Chinese born player to be drafted. Hopefully, more players can come through not only in China, but in other non-traditional markets.

It was a fairly eventful weekend for the NHL but this coming week from July 1st could be just as manic. Lets hope there are lots of developments.

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Penguins intend to sign Plotnikov

Penguins announce intention to sign Plotnikov

Today a Russian station let out that Sergei Plotnikov is planning to sign for the Pittsburgh Penguins when the free agency window opens on the 1st July. The Russian currently plays for Lokomotiv Moscow and he will become the second Russian on the team after Evgeni Malkin.

As mentioned above Plotnikov has currently plays for Lokomotiv were he has spent the last three seasons scoring 44 goals and 57 assists in 159 games. That is a PPG of 0.635. This season just gone was his best yet and the indication is that he has opted out of his contract with Yaroslavl to try his hand at the NHL.

Plotnikov is has frequent appearances at the World Hockey Championships and has a gold medal in 2014 to his name. This year he struggled finishing with 1 goal and 1 assist in Russia's 10 games. One of his team mates was Viktor Tikhonov who was a first round draft choice for Phoenix in 2008. The Penguins have apparently shown interest in him as well.

Tikhonov plays for Kovalchuk's SKA St.Petersburg and last season scores 8 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. Whilst his numbers aren't massively impressive I don't think anyone would expect him, or Plotnikov, to be anything more than third liners. Tikhonov season high of 18 goals in 2013-14 indicates that he has the ability, as does Plotnikov. 

All together, there is no risk if the Penguins sign them both. Plotnikov will be on an ELC deal which means he will be cheap. Tikhonov will cost more with it rumoured to be around the $3m mark. Either way, their signings open up trade opportunities for one or two of Pittsburgh's forwards. The new few days will be interesting.

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A year on - what happened to the Penguins camp invites of 2014?

A year on - what happened to the Penguins camp invites of 2014?

Camp is one of the first things to happen after the draft and last year was no exception for the Penguins as they invited 7 players to attend their development camp. Three defencemen, two goaltenders and two forwards. The camp was attended from July 15th to July 19th. The players that attended ended up having different results during the season.

The two goaltenders invited were Jake Hildebrand, from Michigan State University and Steve Mastalerz from UMass-Amherst. Both were starters for their respective teams at that time. Hildebrand has lost 1lb over the course of the season dropping from a 184 to a 183 whilst Mastalerz has bulked up, going from a 200 to 205lbs. Performance wise Hildebrand has fared much better posting a 2.18 GAA and .930SV% through 35 games. Mastalerz has struggled posting a 3.69 GAA and .894SV% through just 19 games. Hildebrand is a year younger and if the Penguins are looking for a goaltender then I think they'll invite him again.

Of the three defenceman invited two of them are now in the Penguins system. Clark Seymour and  Alex Boak were both offered deals whilst Daniel Renouf was not. Seymour was originally drafted by the Penguins in the 5th round, 143 overall in 2012 but was offered a deal with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. He spent most of his time in the  ECHL last season with the Wheeling Nailers scoring 1 goal and 14 assists in 54 games. He did appear in the AHL but only for twelve games and his sole contribution was a solitary assist. Seymour is a strong player having bulked from 202lbs to 220.

The other players to be accepted into the Penguins system was Alex Boak who was also offered a deal with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Unlike Seymour he spent most of his time in the AHL playing 31 times scoring 1 goal and 5 assists. He didn't escape from Wheeling, spending 14 games there, no doubt during the injury problems that affected each team. Unlike Seymour he has lost weight going from 216lbs to 210lbs.

Both Seymour and Boak have played within their means and I think it would be fair to say that Boak has been more effective. Daniel Renouf was the only defenceman not offered a deal out of the three. He returned to the University of Maine and have a similar season to last year. He produced slightly more with 3 goals and 9 assists but it came in 39 games opposed to the 34 last year. It would be interesting to see if Renouf has been kept an eye on by the Penguins and if they invite him again.

Lastly, the forwards. Nick Lappin and Brad McClure both return to the NCAA with their respective teams, Brown University for Lappin and Minnesota State - Mankato for McClure. McClure had a more productive season coming off an 80 point season with the Penticton Vees in the BCHL. He finished with 15 goals and 14 assists in 39 games compared to Lappin's 14 goals and 7 assists in 29 games. Both players haven't let the rejection affect their performances and have continued their development.

The Penguins training and development camp roster is normally announced at the end of June after the Draft. I'll be keeping an eye out to see if there are any returnees' from 2014.

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The Penguins shouldn't take Kennedy up on his wish to return

The Penguins shouldn't take Kennedy up on his wish to return

Tyler Kennedy played his last game with the Pittsburgh Penguins on the 7th June 2013. He was traded in the preceding weeks to the San Jose Sharks on the 30th June for a second round pick in that years draft. That pick ended up being the 44th overall, Jarry was picked and Kennedy moved on.

His career has declined since then, he has struggled scoring 31 points in 105 games for the San Jose Sharks and, after being traded on 2nd March 2015, the New York Islanders. His goal scoring took a hit in the first season dropping from 6 goals in 46 games the previous year with Pittsburgh to just 4 in 67 games with San Jose. He improved this season to 6 goals in 38 games but it is a far cry from his 21 goal season for Pittsburgh in 2010-11.

Part of the reason is the way that Kennedy played with a center like Jordan Staal. Staal was on our third line but was more than capable of playing on the second. The 2010-11 season was when the line most dominant and all three players, Kennedy (56.5CF%), Staal (54.7CF%) and Cooke(51.9CF%) had high CF% which is perfectly mirrors the possession game the line played. Kennedy brought that with him to San Jose and New York.

Rutherford was quoted as saying that he wanted four scoring lines and Kennedy is someone who shoots the puck a lot. This season he had 79 shots in 38 games, around 2.07 a game. Over the course of the season he has had 1201 shots in 477 games, which is around 2.5 per game. Whist it is good that he takes a lot of shots, he also misses a lot. A low shooting % of 6.5% last season along with a career % of 7.2% indicates this. To put in perspective, last season on 64 shots Rob Klinkhammer had a S% of 7.8%. On 79 shots Kennedy had a S% of 6.9%.

In essence, I believe there are better players out there available than Pittsburgh. There are players in Wilkes-Barre that deserve to be given a chance, even if it is on the fourth line. The players called-up tend to bring more energy and effort. Signing Kennedy should be a last resort. Kennedy will get a deal in the NHL, no doubt about it. But it shouldn't be here.

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Mike Sullivan announced as new head coach of WBS Penguins

Mike Sullivan announced as new head coach of WBS Penguins

The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins announced their new coach on Thursday, shortly after rumours of him being offered the job emerged. Sullivan is 47 years old but has 13 years of coaching experience alongside a nine year playing career. During his playing career he enjoyed a long NHL career with over 700 games ending up with 136 points.

Sullivan retired in 2002 after spending his final season with the Phoenix Coyotes were he scored 3 points in 42 games. He wasn't out of the game for long after being appointed the head coach of the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League. He only spent a season with the Bruins in the AHL for 71 games. During his time there he had a 67% win percentage.

He moved up to the Bruins during the 2002-03 season to become an assistant before being given the coaching job for two seasons. In his two seasons with the Bruins he coached them for 164 games and won 70 games, a 43% win percentage. Since being released from the Bruins he has been an assistant 3 NHL teams in the Lightning, Rangers and Canucks and also spent time with USA Hockey. Jason Botterill was quoted as saying;

“We are thrilled to welcome Mike to the Penguins’ organization,” said Botterill. “Mike adds a wealth of experience thanks to his many successful years coaching in the NHL and AHL, and with USA Hockey. We believe he will do a great job developing our prospects to prepare them for the jump to the NHL.”

It will be a big job to replace Hynes and he will have to bring his assistants to help him with Nasreddine following Hynes to the Devils. His record in the AHL is positive and with NHL experience he should be able to help players with their development. The Penguins have a long play-off streak going and one of the aims will be to keep that going.

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What next for the Hawks?

What next for the Hawks?

The Hawks may have just won the 2015 Stanley Cup but they won't be able to rest on their laurels for long as they will have to work on restructuring their team. The Hawks are going to be tight up against the cap next season and will need to make some room to be able to field a full team without facing too many casualties. The draft has become a big part of how Chicago operates and they will obviously focus on that first with it coming on the 26th and 27th June in Florida.

The biggest moves will have to be to some of their higher paid players, Bickell and Sharp specifically. With only three defenceman signed up and less than $5m in cap space they will need to let one of them go. Even more so when you consider that Brandon Saad will need a raise.

Like in the past when the Chicago hierarchy have had to make some fairly drastic or noticeable changes, they have made plans in advance. Chicago have two forwards already signed up in Kyle Baun and Artemi Panarin for less than $1.7m. Combined with Trevor van Riemsdyk at $925k, Chicago potentially have three spaces sown up for less then $2.6m.

With the above it would leave them needing to sign 3 forwards and 2 defencemen, without taking into account the extra players. They would also have $2.3m in cap space meaning that they would then have to trade one of the aforementioned. I wouldn't put it past the Hawks due to the wizardry of Scotty Bowman. But if they play their cards right and are able to work things out they could keep Sharp and end up just trading Bickell.

The Hawks will be enjoying the win right now and you can't blame them. I would be too. But the hard work on building another team to go for the cup again will work soon in earnest and with people like Scotty Bowman behind the scenes they will be in good hands.

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The Rangers may be letting Martin St.Louis go - A stop gap for the Pens?

Rangers may be letting Martin St.Louis go - A stop gap for the Pens?

NBC Sports today posted an article that indicated that the New York Rangers would be looking at letting Martin St.Louis walk and test the free agency market. Since he was traded to the Rangers in 2014 for  Ryan Callahan and some picks he has scored 60 points in 93 games for a 0.65 PPG. He turns 40 on the 18th June, so for someone that age it is impressive. Those figures aren't far off what Jagr was able to accomplish at that age and he has continually been in demand.

St.Louis has made it clear in the past that he would like to remain near his family in Greenwich, Connecticut. Greenwich is just 33.9 miles from Madison Square Gardens so there is a possibility he could limit himself to a handful of teams in the New York metropolitan and surrounding areas. This will likely be the biggest obstacle for Pittsburgh if they were to be interested.

Should St.Louis be interested in spending some time with the Penguins then they should look to sign him to a 1 year-contract with a cap hit between $3m-$4m. He will be in demand and there will be teams that likely offer more but I believe that the Penguins should avoid from over-extending themselves. Doing so would see them failing to learn from their past mistakes.

I believe that we would see a reduction in his production but nothing to drastic. I would still expect him to hit 50 points. The Rangers play a fast, aggressive game which suited St.Louis but the Penguins are different. Whilst we do possess players with speed in them they are not utilised in the same way and are smaller in number. Part of the biggest difference between the two teams is the way they play from the back.

The Rangers are a strong defensive team, evident in the fact that they have conceded fewer than 200 goals for the past 5 seasons. Amongst their defence are players able to dish the puck out quickly to the forwards which is why the Rangers are able to counter so effectively and surprise teams a lot. St.Louis is the type of player that relishes that situation. With the Penguins he would be more likely to be involved in stationary set-ups and from from further out off tape to tape passes from Crosby or Malkin.

Some people say that St.Louis is too small, but he has been told that all his career and look what he has achieved. He isn't someone you would put in front of the net but he can still bring it. If the Penguins went for him I could see him being a 1 year stop gap for the top six. On a $3-$4m contract what risk would there be? He would take pressure off Kapanen to develop quickly and also be able to help coach the younger players. If he is interested the Penguins should enquire.

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Could the Penguins get Kessel?

Could the Penguins get Kessel?

There have been some rumours lately that Kessel is open and available for a trade. There is a list of 8 teams that he has been open to be traded to. Those teams are reported by Bob McKenzie to be Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, New York Rangers, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

There are a range of teams there, mostly teams that you would either expect to qualify for the play-offs, or at least challenge. Only two of those missed out on the play-offs last season, that being Boston and Philadelphia. Toronto is looking to rebuild and they're looking to do it quickly. As McKenzie mentions in his article as well, the list can change and he could be traded outside it.

In terms of Pittsburgh's chances,  I think they have a decent chance. I wouldn't say they would have the best chance to land him. Other teams, specifically Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are right up against the cap already. So they would have to do some creative trading to free up space. Sharp, Richards and Lecavlier would probably be part of any deal if he went to one of those three.

Pittsburgh don't have as many pieces as others team I feel, especially going forward. Realistically they could offer Sutter, Kunitz, Kapanen and the 2016 1st as part of any deal. I don't see there being much interest in other players (realistically) or Pittsburgh wanting to trade other forwards. Pittsburgh has recently had a lot of young defenceman and one could be included. Someone like Dumoulin. However, JR has expressed a wish to give the young players a chance, so he may wish to hold onto them if he can.

Pittsburgh has the cap space to fit in Kessel if they trade one of Sutter or Kunitz and if Toronto retains some salary. He would play with Crosby without a doubt. I think that personally, Perron has played better with Malkin than Crosby. Crosby needs someone with pure speed and Kessel has a better shot than Perron as well. Kessel has hit 30 goals four times in six seasons with the Leafs. It would be five if not for the shortened season.

I think that Pittsburgh should at least entertain the thought of obtaining Kessel's services. They don't have anything to lose. If they find that the trade value is fair and obtainable then they can proceed. If they believe it is too great then they can move onto other targets. If Pittsburgh did trade for him I reckon it would involve Sutter, Kapanen and/or the 2016 1st. There would no doubt be other pieces involved on either side to balance it out. But that would be hard to call. I would love to see him on the Penguins but I'm going to remain pessimistic at the chances of the Penguins landing him.

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Brandon Saad - Would an offer sheet really work?

Brandon Saad - Would an offer sheet really work?

Brandon Saad is currently pulling up trees in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning and helping them to tie the series 2-2 after four games. It has been documented many times that the Penguins missed the chance to draft the Pittsburgh born native and went for Jordan Morrow instead, which turned out well. But that is all hindsight. Since then, though  Saad hasn't looked back and has become a key part of the Blackhawks powerhouse as they look to get their 3rd Stanley Cup in 6 seasons.

Next season the cap isn't projected to change much, if at all, and this means Chicago is going to be right up against before they re-sign players. Right now they are spending $64,045m and have $4.954m in cap space. With 11 up for contract negotiations this summer there will be a lot of work going on once the finals are complete.

Brandon Saad is those aforementioned players. He is a restricted free agent this summer with his entry level contract expiring. His current cap hit is $764,166k and he will be in line for a hefty raise after his performances. His name has been mentioned a lot in the media as a potential target for the Penguins. No doubt due to his connections.

I think some sense of perspective needs to be taken before entertaining the thought of Saad swapping the Windy City for the Steel City. Firstly, why would he make that move? He is currently the part of a strong Chicago team that is going to compete regularly for the Stanley Cup for one that is having to restructure itself. It doesn't make sense. Sure, Chicago might have to let Sharp go next season, but they've already got a ready made, cheaper, replacement in Panarin. They aren't going away and are more likely to go farther than Pittsburgh.

Secondly, could the Penguins could even get him? With restricted free agents you can make an offer sheet, but they're not often done. Seen as a thing that GM's just don't do. The Penguins traded away their first round pick this year, which affects their chances of getting him greatly. There are only three realistic options if the Penguins offered a contract;

AAV (Annual Average Value) - Cost

Less than $1,205,377 - Nothing

$1,205,377 to $1,826,328 - Third round pick

$3,652,659 to $5,478,986 - First and Third round pick

Looking at the first two you can see two glaringly easy options for Chicago to match. Any team that offers $1,826,328 or less is helping Chicago as they will easily match that and save money that they can use elsewhere. So, for Pittsburgh, those two options are ruled out. This brings us onto the third option. Whilst this is a possible option, it is just as unlikely to happen. 

Chicago will likely let at least two of Versteeg, Bickell and Sharp go. The first two are more likely. Doing so would gain them $6.2m in cap space which they could then use to retain Saad. For anyone to have a chance offer sheeting him they would have to offer more than $5,478,986 and at that point you're looking at a First, Second and Third. At that point I believe that would be an over-payment.

In conclusion. Realistically, the Penguins don't realistically have a chance of getting an offer sheet through on Saad. Should they try? They could, but there wouldn't be much point as they would just be wasting their time. Any offer below $4.9m would be matched instantly. The Penguins will have to just rue the fact they didn't draft him and look for other targets.

P.S: Thanks to General Fanager for the Offer Sheet figures.

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Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins sign two, lose head coach

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins sign two, lose head coach

The Wilkes-Barre have had some changes almost instantly into the off-season. Their seasoned head coach, John Hynes, has left to take up a post with the New Jersey Devils behind his old hand, Ray Shero. Hynes was a key part of the Penguins system and is the fifth coach currently in the league to have coached Wilkes-Barre at some point. The others being Bylsma (Sabres), Therrien (Canadiens), Yeo (Wild) & Richards (Blue Jackets).

It is likely that his assistant coach, Alain Nasreddine will join him in New Jersey, as mentioned by Highland Park hockey on twitter. Losing two key parts of the team that have been around for years will make it a challenge to replace but based on the teams previous success in replacing coaches means I think that they will be fine.

In other news the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins signed two players to AHL contracts for next season. The two players are Adam Krause and Ty Loney. Loney is an old team-mate of Beau Bennett's and has been a consistent scorer for the University of Denver in his time there. His family have links to the Penguins with his dad, Troy Loney, won two Stanley Cup's with Pittsburgh.

Krause spent most of last season in the NCAA, appearing 31 times for Minnesota-Duluth. He has been in the Penguins system since leaving there in March after signing for the Wheeling Nailers on April 3rd. With the Nailers he had 2G 2A in 6 games in the regular season and 1G & 3A in seven play-off matches.

Both will be a breath of fresh air in the organisation, as any new player is when he joins. If they match what the coaching staff is expecting of them then they should be decent AHL players able to make an impact.

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Plans for the 2015-16 season

Plans for the 2015-16 season

With the 2014-15 season coming to an end I figured now would be a good time to lay out what I plan to do for the next season and to get some feedback from people on what they would like to see. Also, on what they don't like so far.

To start with I will continue to give coverage of the Penguins regularly throughout the season. As I do right now. Being in the UK usually means that the game round-ups are a day later. There isn't much I can do that about that as I work and wouldn't finish write-ups until gone 3 in the morning.

The biggest event coming up soon is the NHL draft and I will look to get things up for that and the impending free agency that will follow in early July. I haven't see the prospects play so I will need to be selective in what I write. What I write should consist of a few targets for the Penguins with quotes from other sources and what I think the top 10 will look like.

The free agency period starts in July and usually the first day is a busy affair. With it falling on a Wednesday this year I will look to get pieces up on the closing hours of the first day. From then on I'll put up regular updates on fairly notable signings.

This will bring us to August and the start of some European Leagues and tournaments which I will look to give brief articles to. I am also looking to complete a project of mine which will be placed on a separate page of this blog.

From there on I will do what I mentioned above with the Penguins but I will look to put up more based on players and the system in place which includes Wilkes-Barre. The reason is to give a more rounded feel and to provide more detail. Alongside this I will of course provide articles when moments that are relatively important. One new thing that I will look to do is to cover the Penn State NCAA team. I enjoy watching the Frozen Four and the Penn State team are in the ball-park.

Lastly, in terms of the social media front.  I am looking to use the twitter handle, @LNightHockey more. I would like to get involved in stats more and also be able to interact with others through this medium. Feel free to contact me with your thoughts through twitter. Thanks.

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Penguins up for sale - Could Cuban finally get his team?

Penguins up for sale - Could Cuban finally get his team?

This is something that has just broken but it would appear that the Pittsburgh Penguins are up for sale. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle are said to be looking to sell "all or some of the Penguins". The last time the Penguins were up for sale Mario stepped in to prevent relocation to Kansas City. Hopefully it won't come to relocation issues again.

Mario took over the team back in 1999 after becoming the largest creditor at the club with $32.5m of deferred salaries owed to him. He set aside $20m of this for a controlling stake and set about restructuring the club financial to prevent it being relocated.

The team came were rumoured to be sold in 2005 to a group of investors mainly fronted by Pittsburgh born and bred billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban. Despite some early discussions and rumours a deal was done it never materialised and Lemieux and Burkle stayed in joint ownership. Although, once most debts were paid Lemieux took a step back.

The news of the Penguins being up for sale could go any way. If they're able to sell it to someone like Cuban who will want to keep the team in Pittsburgh then it would be fine. It could  even bring some new investment to hockey in the area. Cuban is worth more than Burkle. There should be no worry for relocation though as Pittsburgh has a 20 year lease.

Hopefully if it sold it goes quickly and things can continue as they are.

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