There has been enough doom and gloom surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins over the last few weeks. There will be significant changes coming to the roster this offseason and there might be some young Penguins joining the team for the upcoming 2015-2016 season.
Pittsburgh’s farm system is known to be weak by many, but that does not mean they do not have some strong prospects. Let’s examine their top ten promising young players and estimate when they will make their NHL debut.
This will be the second part of a two part series where we look at prospects ranked from 5-1.
Take a look at Part 1 – Prospects 10-6
5. Tristan Jarry
Position: G
Drafted: 44th Overall – 2013 (2nd Round)
Age: 20
2014-2015 Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Stats (AHL): N/A
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (AHL): N/A
2014-2015 Stats (WHL): 55 games played, 2.74 GAA, .907 save percentage, 23 wins, 26 losses, 3 overtime losses, 3 shutouts
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (WHL): 5 games played, 2.88 GAA, .896 save percentage, 1 wins, 3 loss, 1 overtime loss, 0 shutouts
Analysis:
Tristan Jarry was once considered the Penguins “goaltender of the future” and there’s still a possibility that he might be, but he’s been passed by a player who is higher on this list. When he was drafted he was coming off of a season where he appeared in 27 games and posted a 1.61 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
It’s safe to say that Jarry has not progressed as the Penguins would hope, but the organization still believes he has NHL potential.
Projection:
He won’t be joining the Pittsburgh Penguins for the next few years. The best estimate I have is that next season Jarry will join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to work on honing his game.
Jarry certainly could have an NHL future, but it all depends on how he progresses during these next few seasons.
4. Brian Dumoulin
Position: D
Drafted: 51st Overall – 2009 (2nd Round)
Age: 23
2014-2015 Stats (NHL): 8 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, 0 skater, 2 PIM, 25.0% shooting
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (NHL): 5 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, +1 skater, 0 PIM, 0% shooting
2014-2015 Stats (AHL): 62 games played, 4 goals, 29 assists, 33 points, +25 skater, 18 PIM, 4.3% shooting
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (AHL): 6 games played, 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points, -4 skater, 0 PIM, 40% shooting
Analysis:
The Penguins are finally starting to see why the Carolina Hurricanes valued Brian Dumoulin so highly. They acquired him in the Jordan Staal trade and the Hurricanes had a hard time letting him go.
Sure, he’s taken longer than many would have hoped to be NHL ready, but I believe Dumoulin is finally there.
Projection:
Dumoulin will make the Penguins roster during training camp. With the (expected) departure of Paul Martin and Chrisitan Ehrhoff, Dumoulin will take one of their spots.
He will start the season on the bottom pair and might prove to be capable of more than that during his first season. Dumoulin might not be Brooks Orpik, but he’s certainly not afraid to bang bodies and the Penguins desperately need some physicality on their blueline.
3. Matt Murray
Position: G
Drafted: 83rd Overall – 2012 (3rd Round)
Age: 20
2014-2015 Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Stats (AHL): 40 games played, 1.58 GAA, .941 save percentage, 25 wins, 10 losses, 12 shutouts
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (AHL): 8 games played, 2.37 GAA, .923 save percentage, 4 wins, 4 losses, 1 shutout
Analysis:
Most Penguins fans would not have known the name Matt Murray before the 2014-2015 season. He was a third round pick that very few people expected much out of.
However, Murray was given a chance in the AHL this season and he took full advantage of it. Murray went from being an unknown prospect, to have one of the best seasons in AHL history.
Projection:
While Murray looks to have a bright future and projects to be a future NHL starter. He will not be joining the Penguins this season.
According to reports, it will be “an open competition” in training camp, but it’s common knowledge that the backup goaltender job is Jeff Zatkoff’s to lose. It will be another season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for Murray to prove that 2014-2015 was not just a hot streak.
2. Kasperi Kapanen
Position: RW
Drafted: 22nd Overall – 2014 (1st Round)
Age: 18
2014-2015 Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Stats (AHL): 4 games played, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, -1 skater, 0 PIM, 11.1% shooting
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (AHL): 7 games played, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, 0 skater, 0 PIM, 25.0% shooting
Analysis:
There’s a very good reason why Kasperi Kapanen is the most valued forward prospect in the last few years. He is the son of the highly-regarded Sami Kapanen and looks to have even more offensive talent than his father.
Kapanen was monitored closely during his AHL debut because members of the organization wanted to see how he transferred to the North American style of hockey.
Projection:
It’s tough to predict where Kapanen will start the 2015-2016 season. He’s undeniably a talented forward, but there are questions around his durability given his small frame. Kapanen stands at 6’0″ and a mere 178 lbs, if he wants to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, he must bulk up this offseason.
If Kapanen makes the NHL roster, he’ll be a top nine forward, but if he doesn’t he’ll play top line minutes in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
1. Derrick Pouliot
Position: D
Drafted: 8th Overall – 2012 (1st Round)
Age: 21
2014-2015 Stats (NHL): 34 games played, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, -11 skater, 4 PIM, 3.6% shooting
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (NHL): N/A
2014-2015 Stats (AHL): 31 games played, 7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points, +2 skater, 20 PIM, 11.7% shooting
2014-2015 Playoff Stats (AHL): 6 games played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -1 skater, 2 PIM, 7.7% shooting
Analysis:
Derrick Pouliot is going to be a very special player for Pittsburgh. He resembles Kris Letang in just about every way, except he’s been more defensively sound. Yes, his NHL plus/minus was a -11, but he really did not play as badly as that number indicates.
He scored on his first NHL shot of his first game and from that moment, I knew he was destined for greatness.
Projection:
Derrick Pouliot might actually start the season in the Penguins top four defense. This offseason he needs to work on honing his defensive game and getting stronger.
If he can do both of those things, there’s no reason why he cannot be a top pairing defender in the NHL.