Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Answering YOUR Penguins mailbag questions...PART ONE!

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

It's Mailbag Friday and that means Hunter and Pat are here to answer your questions. They start the first segment with questions about the goaltending situation. They try to answer what Kyle Dubas and Co. will do in net and whether Taylor Gauthier will start the season in WBS. They also try to predict if Joel Blomqvist is ready before diving into some prospect talk. They answer which prospects could be ready for the season, and also discuss the 2024 NHL Draft. Hunter teases a player that's going to be on his Penguins-specific draft board and how he could be available in the second round. They also discuss what the biggest needs should be for Kyle Dubas this offseason before answering some fun questions to end the show, including our favorite Penguins memories, what some of our other favorite sports are, and so much more. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.PolicygeniusCheck life insurance off your to do list in no time with Policygenius. Head to policygenius.com/lockedonnhl to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pat and I have mail, and we're going to answer your questions right after this. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-C-Damp. You can follow him on Twitter at Sondon for Wet, and you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore penguins, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. And finally, this episode is brought to you by Game Time,

down the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off of your first purchase. Terms apply. So it is a nice feel-good mailbag Friday to end your week of June here. And also, thank you all so much for sending in so many questions. We got about 35 to 40 questions for this week. So if we don't get to your specific question today, we apologize about that. We very well might have to do a part two next week just because we got so many questions for today's episode. But to start off today's show, we're going to group the goaltending questions into one specific segment just because we got quite a few about the goalies. Starting with our little adventures, this comes from YouTube. And this person goes, I believe a goaltending duo of Nadelcovic

and Blumquist will be great, but we'll have to trade jari if that happens. If we'll we can. We'd have 14 plus million in cap space, and that's after all of our signings already. What do you think the chances are for this to be our scenario? And if Dubus is to fill out our gaps as a team, there are a number of them. What two are on the top of your list and why? So as for your first question about Ned and Blumquist, I understand that people think that that might work, but as we discussed on Thursday, you're running the risk of giving him a little too much money for someone who's been inconsistent throughout his career. And while he did outplay Jari down the stretch,

his same percentage was kind of just okay. And I feel like his numbers down the stretch were also just okay as well because they were kind of running him to the ground. I mean, they needed to play him every game just because he was the better goalie. But you saw him suffering a little bit. So while I understand that people want Ned and Blumquist to be a tandem,

I'm just not fully sold on that overall. yeah, you'd be getting out of Jari's contract, but I don't know, man, trusting your goaltitting situation on a goalie who's also been very inconsistent year to year, and then a kid who's never played an NHL game, that just carries a lot of risk. It really does. Like you said, we talked about that on yesterday's show. I think it's a very big risk if you have those two. Not that I'm sitting here pretending like Jari's going to suddenly bounce back and

become a workhorse goaltender next year. But if you extrapolate out Alex Nadelcovic's full season and kind of apply the analytics and the trends and the numbers to what he did all season long, it doesn't come out much better than Tristan Jari. So if you're hoping he can turn into a starter, both the history and the statistical trends do not point to that. And at this point, Joe Blumquist is a wide. wild card. Yeah, he very well could come up next year and wrestle the starting job away from

Jari or whomever else the penguins have in net by playing incredibly well in his first season, but you also don't know that if it's going to translate to the National Hockey League. Great story in the athletic earlier this week about the USA Hockey goaltending coaching symposium. And they talk about something in there that I think was very smart. And it has to do a little bit more with goaltender development at the youth levels rather than at the professional level. But it brings up a good point that you don't get a lot of touch points for development as a goaltender because you play a full game in practice. You're taking shot after shot after shot as opposed to being a skater where if you're in practice,

you go through the drill, you do your portion of it, then you go into a lot back into line or onto the bench and the coaches can tell you what you've done well, what you've done poorly. Same thing for games. You go out, you play your shift, you come back to the bench. coach talks to you, you can pull out the iPad, see what you're learning. If you're a goalie, you're on an island. So it's very difficult to extrapolate whether or not Joel Blumquist can translate what he did in the American League into the National Hockey League. And until it's really fully time for him to take over, I don't want to put that risk at the

forefront to start next year. Yeah, I agree with you. I just think it's too risky overall, but this does play into the next question overall. This comes from Scott E.P. what do you think the odds are that we will have a new starting goaltender for next season? I think we'll be keeping Ned, but what do I know? I think in terms of a new starting goaltender, I'm 70-30 that Jari is coming back. I think, again, if you can get an upgrade like Al-Lanus Allmark, I would absolutely do it.

But if there's not a clear-cut upgrade out there, even though Jari has shown an ability to falter from February onward for the past couple of seasons, they probably will have no choice. but to keep him for at least one more season. I really don't think Alex Nadelcovic is coming back. I think that ship has sailed. I think he's going to get some nice 1B money. I very much could be wrong, but again, I really don't see him coming back. But as for the second part of the question that Arloa Ventures asked earlier,

you know, if do business is to fill out our gaps as a team, there are a number of them. What two are the top on your list? And why this actually goes with another question. This comes from Lenny from YouTube. What's the number one priority in both of your opinions this offseason for Dubus. So number one for me, third line center. I really think they need a true third line center that can contribute offensively, you know, 17 to 20 plus goals, someone who can also play defensively.

Again, I like to Lars Eller this past season, but they need someone that can play third line center that's a bit younger, someone that can drive more offense, someone that can get more out of some of the younger players on this team, you know, like a Valtre Pousson and maybe like a yes, he pool Yard if he plays third line minutes. I think that is number one on Kyle Dubus's list for this offseason. Number two, I think just a strong middle six winger. I really think this team is still missing one right now. Obviously, they don't have Jake Gensel just because they traded him. They got bunting back. But even with bunting in the lineup, even with Rust in the lineup, even with Raquel still there right now, even heck with Riley Smith here right now, even though

I expect him to be dealt before the season starts, they still need another middle six winner that can contribute, you know, 20 to 23 goals for a season. I think those are the two biggest things Kyle Dubus needs to address this offseason, along with maybe getting another top four defensemen. Right. And it's such a stupid hockey cliche, but the only way I see Jari getting moved this offseason is if it's a hockey trade. Yes.

And it would be a, it would be kind of in the realm of. And I know with the news today that it doesn't look like Jake Gensel is going to return to Carolina. that at the same time still was a mutually beneficial hockey trade, as I've talked about on the show before. Bunting was everything the penguins needed and Jake Gensel was everything the Carolina Hurricanes needed. I don't think there was a clear winner or loser of that trade. Despite my tweet today, I was just having fun. Everybody relax.

And so I don't see Jari getting moved unless it's something that helps both teams, partially because of his contract, partially because of his track record over the past couple of years. And then I'm right there with you on the biggest need. It's got to be some semblance of either a third line center to make Lars Eller your fourth line center. Or you just have to find a good middle six forward that can produce. It doesn't have to be, again, we've said it all offseason long so far. It doesn't have to be somebody can light the world on fire. You know, it's somebody that chances are when you see the move made, if it gets made,

you're going to kind of scratch your head and think, what does this do? But they don't really need much more top of the roster talent. It doesn't mean it's not welcomed. It doesn't mean they shouldn't try to get the best players they can. But they're pretty well set at the top of the roster. It's supplementing the rest of those guys with people who can do more than just play to even when they're on the ice,

that you want them to be more of a net positive than a net neutral. So those are the two biggest needs, in my opinion. And yes, I do think Tristan Jari returns as the starting goal tender this coming season. I agree. In terms of maybe a young trade target to help fill that need for another strong middle six player. This comes from Zane from YouTube. I've said it, Marty Natchez.

I said it on the show a couple of weeks ago. If you can somehow pry him out of Carolina, I would be all over that. But I know Carolina has set a very high price sermon, rightfully. so. I think if he goes to another team, especially the penguins, that would make a lot of sense. But finishing off this segment here with a couple more questions regarding goaltending. Got a question, Jari to the Devils for their 10th overall pick. What do you guys think about that? This comes from a YouTube commenter. Okay, if they were to trade Tristan Jari to the New Jersey Devils for their 10th overall pick, I would make that trade in a heartbeat, especially if you can get an upgrade over Jari.

Overall, you'd also be getting a top 10 pick. And I know this draft is not nearly as good as last year's draft, but I'll gladly take a top 10 pick any day of the week. You just have to have a concrete plan if you are moving Jari to the Devils. I know the Devils have very much been on the goaltending market this offseason. I see them going big game hunting for a starter. Whether that's Allmark, I can see them going after Markstrom and Calgary as well, maybe to a lesser extent, John Gibson out of Anaheim. I definitely can see the Penguins and Devils talking about Jari. Now, I don't think Jari is going to cost the 10th overall pick. I think that's a little bit of wishful thinking there.

But if that were an actual proposed trade, I mean, yes, I would take that. Oh, all day long. However, I kind of laughed a little bit at that question, partially because I don't think the devils would pay the 10th overall pick for Tristan Jari. If they're going to trade the 10th overall pick for a goalie, it's got to be somebody better. Yes. But at the same time, it's Friday. It's silly season.

It's a mailbag episode. So why not have some fun? Here's how I would actually see this working. I think they would make that deal and then move that pick again. I think what because you think about this. I know everybody has been yelling at us and just in general about the team's got to get younger. They got to get younger. They got to get younger.

Whoever you're picking in this draft at 10th is going. to make a difference in probably at the earliest 2027. So I could see them if they were to get this offer, which would be wild. If Fitzgerald calls Dubus and says, I'll give you the 10th overall pick for Tristan Jari, he should sprint to Central Registry and make that deal official. But then I can see him going, you know what, I've got the 10th overall pick. I can make my roster even better by flipping this pick again and getting a defenseman, a forward, or hell, a goalie.

Like, if you're Boston and you still haven't traded Olmark and you're sitting there with the 10th overall pick is Kyle Dubus or even the devils, call them about Olmark and say, hey, you want the 10th overall pick for that goalie? We'll give it to you. So I could see that being a move if it were to happen for the Penguins, which I'm very skeptical of, of them using that 10th overall pick to make more for their roster rather than actually keeping it and using it. Yeah, I think that would make more sense just because if you are a believer like I am that this is your last all in season in this era, then you might as well just use

that number 10 pick to go out and get something that you really need for this season, whether it's, you know, a middle six player, whether it's a top four defenseman, another potential starting goaltender, for example, something along those lines. One more question before we head to break. This comes from that rotten egg on YouTube. Do you guys think Taylor Godier is going to get the permanent push into Wilkesbury and Blumquist making the move up to Pittsburgh. So it's possible. I mean, I think I speak for you with this. Gaudier really doesn't have anything else to learn in Wheeling.

He was great for the Nailers this season. If Blumquist does get to Pittsburgh, which I'm kind of 50-50 on right now in terms of him backing up, which whoever, excuse me, is the starting goaltender, if Blumquist does get to the Penguins, then yes, I think it would be time for Gaudy. to split the net in Wilkesbury with Larson, I think that would be a really strong tandem in Wilkesbury overall. But that all comes down to what they want to do

with Jari, with Nadelcovic, etc, etc. So I'm kind of 50-50 on all that happening right now just because I don't know their full plan when it comes to Nadelcovich and all these other guys. For sure. And like you said, there's not much left. for Goetia to do in the ECHL with Wheeling. 24, 16 and one record, 923 save percentage in the regular season,

won the ECHL Goaltender of the Year award. Unfortunately, it was only able to play one game in the postseason, but even in that game, 917 save percentage. So you can kind of tell that he's done his job in development at the ECHL level, and he's only 23 years old. So he's still got a lot of hockey ahead of home. And you know with the goaltender development track, 23, that's damn near a rookie at this point. So most goaltenders don't break in into the big leagues until 25, 26 years old.

So this is the natural next step for him. But again, like you said, it really comes down to what happens with Jari, Ned, and Blumquist. But overall, he should very much be on Wokes Bear's radar for next year. Agreed. And say, you know, you keep Jari, but you sign another one. one the backup after Nadeoakovich walks, okay, Blumquist is still going to be your starter in Wilkesbury, and he's going to be competing for, you know, just a bunch of playing time with someone like Philip Larson, who they signed earlier this off season.

Now, if you don't sign anyone during free agency and you go into next season with Jari and Blumquist, then that paves the way for Gaudier and Larson to really split the net in Wilkesbury, and I think that tandem again would be a lot of fun as well. But that'll do it for this first segment coming up in the second segment. We're going to answer more of your questions specifically about prospects in the NHL draft and one also about Braden Yeager. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is PolicyGenius. A lot of life is unpredictable, but a good life insurance plan gives your family a financial

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insurance quotes and see how much you can save. That's PolicyGenius.com. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my host, Patrick Dam. So continuing our mailbag theme for today's episode, our first question for the second segment comes from Joe Dog 39 on Twitter who asks, if Graydon Yeager has a big training camp, would you rather see him start out with Sidney Crosby or Evgeny Malkin?

I say, Evgeny Malkin. I think having another pure finisher on his line would do big wonders for him. You saw how great he and Bunting worked at the end of last season when Bunting was finishing off so many of Gino's chances. and it was just great seeing someone actually finish the chances that Gino was creating. Malkin was creating chances all year long on his line, but so many players that were just rotating in on his line outside of Riley Smith were really not even finishing their chances. And we can honestly say that for Smith as well outside of that first month.

It was just hard for him to get more points because no one was finishing those chances. But if you have Yeager on there, he's someone who has a booming shot. he's also turning into a great playmaker. I would like to see him with Malkin a little bit more over Crosby, though I do think he would fit well with both. I am right there with you. I would put him with Gino. And that's because, and this is going to sound silly,

considering Crosby's most productive winger was Jake Gensel, we've seen throughout Crosby's career, the guys that work best with him aren't just pure sniper finishers. Yes, they are goal scores. Obviously, Jake Gensel, one of the best goal scores, we've seen in a penguin's uniform in a long time in that saying something, considering the insane amount of talent that's come through our team in our city. But you look at the guys that play best with Sid that have been the most productive with

Sid. You've got Pascal DePuy. You've got Chris Kunitz. You've got Jake Gensel. And these are guys who have a little bit more sandpaper to their game. Or in Jake Gensel's case, he's not a guy who skates down the wing, takes a pass, and rips one past the goalie. Jake Gensel's a very smart positional player,

and that's why he meshed so well with Sid because he knew where to be to get those passes rather than a guy who Crosby just gets him the puck and lets him cook. Then you look at a lot of the players that have meshed really well with Hvgeny Malkin. Think James Neal. Think Riley Smith before he fell off of a cliff.

Now think Michael Bunting to a certain extent. It's guys who can shoot and clean up what Evgeny Malkin sets up in the offensive zone. And I think that speaks a lot more to Yeager's game. It would make him mesh better with Hvgeny Malkin rather than Sid. Again, pure finishers. That's really all it comes down to with this. And I think he would be a really fun fit on an Hvgeny Malkin line.

But keeping up with the prospect talk, another question, which prospects do you expect to make a difference next year for the Penguins? Okay. So this is kind of a tricky question because I'm not sure. at this time who is going to fully make the leap. If I had to guess Ponomerov coming over in the Gensel trade, if there's one player who I know is going to make the team out of camp, at least to me, I think it's him.

I think he's going to earn a spot in the bottom stakes, whether he's an 11th floor, whether he's the 12th floor, heck, whether even he's a 13th floor. I do think he makes this team out of camp, but organization seems to be really high on him. Blomquist, if he makes it, I think he can make a good impact, especially as a backup.

Coyvenin, I'm not sure if he's going to make it just yet. I think he still could use a little bit of seasoning in the AHL, especially as he gets used to North America a little bit more. Yeager, we just talked about him. If he makes it, I do see him making at least a decent impact as well. Owen Pickering, he's not there yet, my friends. I still think he's a couple years away at best at this point. That's who I really am looking at in terms of prospects for next year right now.

I really shouldn't even say Jackson, Iveney, is a prospect just because he already played on the Penguins and he looked pretty solid during those 12 to 13 games. But in terms of the prospects that I think could make a difference for this upcoming season, that's who I would put out there. Yeah, Ponomerov seems like the obvious answer. They've spoken very highly of him. He's got a tiny bit of NHL experience under his belt, and he didn't look out of place at all in those games a couple years ago. and I do think that I wouldn't be surprised. I think he's, again, another guy who I think he could be very similar to Yeager in this respect. And that's Tristan Brose.

I could see him making a little bit of a push in camp like Yeager did last year to where he's not going to make the team. He's not going to be on the opening night roster. but we may be talking about him a lot more than we currently are, because I think he'll stand out and make a bit of a difference because he was huge in the college ranks. And he, similar to how we've spoken about Yeager and juniors, he's a guy who you look at his game and think, all right, this is Taylor made to step up to the next level

and continue his development. Again, don't think we're going to see him in a penguin sweater this. season, but I do think coming out of camp, he's going to be our Yeager for next year where we're following him intensely to see where he's at. I can see it. I mean, he's definitely not ready for the NHL just yet. He needs some more seasoning in some of the lower leagues, but I could see him having a really strong camp and then maybe making a bigger push for next year's camp overall.

And I guess if you want to throw Sam Poole in there, he'll obviously have a shot at making the team. But is he really considered that much of? a prospect at this point. I mean, I guess you could maybe argue it, but he's still going to have a real shot at making this team out of camp. I feel like at this point with him, it's put up or shut up time. Oh, 100%.

It's, it's, this is, I've made the joke on here for my Red Dead redemption fans, even though it's technically not a Red Dead reference, just an old west reference. It's the last chance saloon for him. He has to take the next step. otherwise you just have to part ways because it's just not working out. Agreed. And last but not least, yes, I figured we would get some 2024 initial draft questions, whether it's from Nick Hutchison, who asks,

assuming they keep both picks, who are some prospects you'd like to see taken, then you have King Clarkie who asks, can I take a moment to start the Alphonse Frey propaganda? More on that in the second. And to another question where there's any second round prospects that really excite you in this upcoming draft. Okay.

So first things first. people. I have my penguin-specific big board dropping in a couple of weeks. It's going to consist of five to six to seven players who I do think could be available to the penguins when they pick in the second round. It's going to be something similar to what I did last year. I had a whole Google Doc that I made. I put it on social media. I just wrote a bunch of notes down from the film that I watched for all the prospects for the 2023 NHL draft. And I'm going to be doing the same this year as well. With that in mind, it's not finalized yet. but I will give you a tease and I'll make Clark very happy because Alphonse Frey is one of my

favorite prospects in this draft. He's a Swedish defenseman, only 18 years old. But the thing with him is when you watch him, it looks like he's only 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, you wouldn't know it. He's 6-1-196. But the way he skates, the way he gets the puck out of danger, the way he outfinks you on the ice, it's stuff you really don't teach. One of the main examples when I was watching his film when he showed all of those

qualities, there was a face off in his team's own end earlier this year. And the puck was going towards the corner. He was going for it. He saw the forechecker out of the corner of his eye right behind him. Instead of just chipping it along, making the easy, little safe play, and maybe having one of his other teammates go get the puck, he does a nice little head fake, takes the puck the other way, that four checker just goes down. He's basically deaked out of his socks.

And then he starts the breakout from the other side of the net, throws a pass to his teammate. He couldn't even handle just because of the play was so awesome. But it's plays like that where I'm like, I'm kind of getting very many Quinn Hughes vibes from him. There's another play when he was going to retrieve the puck in his own zone. Another four checkers coming for him. He shrugs off the check like it's nothing.

He's a defenseman that's not really going to shoot, shoot, shoot, everything that. comes to his stick. I think he's more of a playmaker overall. He's definitely a little bit of a project. He's not going to be ready for a few years at least. But he is someone who that if he is available in the second round when the Penguins pick, I would be all for it. He, his film is a ton of fun. So that's a tease for everyone. Again, I will have my Penguins specific big board dropping in a couple of weeks before the NHL draft. And Pat and I will discuss it on the show. Pat, I know you're not the biggest national draft guy. I'm still not nearly as good as some of the other big draft people, you know, that work for elite prospects. Heck, we all know Jesse from the athletic. He does a

great job with the NHL draft coverage as well. But it's still something I like doing, but I wanted to give the listeners and watchers at least a tease of a player that could be available. Yeah, just like you, dear listener, I was captivated by that because I will be honest with our listeners. I am not the biggest NHL draft guy, the biggest prospect guy. I cook better when I can watch their film from the ECHL, the HL, or the NHL. I will make sure to look over at Hunter's notes, copy his work, and pass it off as my own because he is much, much smarter than me when it comes to the draft. But yeah, I mean, like Hunter said, he showed, he actually did show me some of that footage

from Frey earlier. and if that guy's available for one of the two second round picks, run to the stage, Kyle. Or no, you can't run to the stage because they're having the draft at the sphere this year and it's all remote. So run to the camera and the phone and make that pick. Yeah, I agree with you, man. If he's there, just go right up there and potentially make him the pick.

And also, he's a lefty, but he plays on his offside. That's just how good this player is overall. But that'll do it for the second segment. Coming up to end the show, we're going to get into more of your mailbag questions. Most of them are miscellaneous. some fun questions to end today's episode. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our last sponsor, and that is Game Time. Game Time makes getting NBA finals tickets even faster and easier. Prices on the GameTime app actually go down the closer it gets to the

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your first purchase, term and supply. Again, crane account and redeem code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Download game time today. Last one of tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my host, Patrick Dam. So let's get into some fun questions to end today's episode. This comes from Hannah Kirkill.

What's your favorite penguin memory of all time? I mean, I've been thinking about this for a while. I could easily do something 2008, 2009. But I think my favorite memory for me, Penguins winning the 2016 Stanley Cup on the night I graduated high school. I will forever remember that night as the one the Penguins won the cup. I mean, I didn't even have my phone for the entire first period. I remember when I got my diploma, I found my family in the crowd, and I asked what the score was. And my grandpa literally mouthed me one nothing, Pittsburgh, and he mouthed me Dumolin. And I was like, Dumlin score? I was like,

Like what in the heck? And then I remember just getting my phone rushing home to watch the whole third period and just going absolutely berserk when they won. It's just a perfect memory. It really is. And I think after thinking for a while, that's got to be my number one memory, watching them win the Stanley Cup the night I graduated high school. Yeah.

Hannah is one of my favorite Twitter follows. Great content. But I was thinking about this question today. and instead of going with like a favorite memory, I'm going to tell a fun story about the penguins. And it's a personal one. And it doesn't have anything to do with actual hockey. It's hockey related.

It was when I was still working for the nailers in West Virginia. And every year they do a penguins night. And that's when they'll get a former penguin to come and sign autographs. They'll get, they'll wear penguins themed jerseys. We'll do a bunch of stuff that looks like PPG paints arena during the inner arena experience. In this year, it was also the Stanley Cup was in the building because they were the defending champions. And this was after 2016, I go into work that morning. And one of the owners of the team, and remember, this is minor league hockey.

It's not the pros. Like, you know the owner first name basis. They work across the hall from you. You're not, you know, they're not all the way up in an ivory tower. So the one owner walks up to my desk the morning of this game of the Penguins night game and says, hey, you have any meetings or anything set for today? And I was like, no, I don't really have anything going on. throws me his car keys. And he says, all right, go home, put on a suit.

You got to go to the airport. And I'm like, I got to go to the airport for what? I have to drive up the Pittsburgh for what? And he goes, I need you to pick up Pascal DePui. And I was like, are you kidding me? Like, what? And he was like, yeah, I need you to go pick up DePui. And I was like, we didn't get a car service for him.

They're like, no, no, we can handle it. He's, he's got friends in the area and they're going to, he's going to hang out with them and he's going to take them back to the airport. And I'm like, sweet, sounds great. So I go change into a suit, take the car, drive to Pittsburgh International. I get Pascal to please phone number. And he was like, yeah, call him when you're outside the hotel. I'm like, great. So I give him a call.

And he's like, yeah, I'm on my way down. I'll meet you in a minute. And I'm like, sweet. So he gets. in the car. We start driving along the highway to drive back to Wheeling, and we just have whatever silly, serious XM station on the radio. And he goes, hey, could you turn that down for a second? I've got to make a phone call. And I'm like, yeah, no problem. Picks up his phone. And he goes, yeah, hi, is this, is this Brian? Yeah, this is Pascal DePuy. Where's your boy? I'm sitting here

at the airport. There's nowhere to be found. How am I going to get down to Wheeling if nobody's here to pick me up? And I'm death gripping this wheel thinking, oh, my God. I'm going to lose my job. This is terrible. And he starts laughing. He goes, yeah, no, I'm in the car now. We're on our way. We should be there in like an hour.

And like I am like looking like I just saw a ghost. And he just starts laughing. And he goes, I had to, man. It's all in good fun. Nicest dude ever. Everything you see about him is true. Had a great conversation with them. Signed a bunch of stuff for me.

Took pictures. And, you know, it was so gracious and so nice. And it was just the coolest experience. I've ever had. He was always awesome, whether it was on or off the ice for the penguins. I'm not surprised how great he was to you there. And actually, speaking of that, that leads us into our next question here.

Who was on your all-time vibes team that comes from Pucks in Deep on Twitter? Well, Pascal DuPuy, I think he's on there for sure. I mean, the amount of hilarious videos that the penguins released during the early 2010s where he was in them, I mean, it had to have been 10, 15, 20. he was always hilarious. It didn't matter what he was doing. He was giving Gino crap, giving Crosby crap, let's hang. It didn't matter who it was.

He was always busting everyone's balls. He's on there. Phil Kessel. I mean, do I need to say anything more? Matt Cullen? I mean, team dad right there. Mark Andre Fleury for sure. He's got to be on there with all the pranks.

He pulled. Those are the fourths, their score that very much come in mind in terms of vibes. Oh, Patrick Hornquist. I mean, oh, 100%. Come on. Like the way he spoke in the locker room, the way he was off the ice, that's a big one. I know I was only a small child at the time, but Darius Casperitis, I think that's a great one. Again, I know I was a very little kid when he was here in his heyday, but that's a very easy one as well. Those are, again, just a handful that come to mind. What say you, Pat? Got to put him on the list because he was great for a long time.

Rick Talk it. And he was, again, absolute warrior on the ice, all-time vibes guy off the ice. It was circulating Twitter a few weeks ago when Vancouver was still in the playoffs. The clip of him making spaghetti at his bachelor pad in Pittsburgh during the 1993 season, absolutely incredible content. I also got to put on there, Yarmier Yager. Yes. And like, we know how good of a hockey player he was.

Away from the rink, rock star. The stories are endless. You know them. I know them. I'm not going to recount them here because some of them aren't even PG. But the all-time vibes guy. And then lastly, but not leastly, and it's just for one specific moment. And it was in the 24-7 documentary, Ben Lovejoy.

For when he took the puck to the face and the camera comes, on to him on the plane and he just looks like half of his face is swollen. He looks at like Sid and Flurry and whoever else was in the video with this gigantic swollen face and just goes, yeah, the doctor said the pressure would make it swell. Can you tell I got hit? Not the great one. I'll throw Max Talbot in there too. I think it was from that same documentary.

Him, Crosby, Flurry, a bunch of other players are playing on their PSP. Remember those, by the way? Yeah. And they're just getting so competitive. They're just calling each other names. But Max Talb, but definitely also a big vibes guy, excuse me,

as well. So that's a very fun question. This one also comes from Brandon. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no? No. Sorry, Brandon. I am not a pineapple on pizza guy.

Absolutely not. What about you? It is a no from me, dog. Yes, absolutely not. Another one here. This is from Eric Scott on YouTube.

maybe a little history. I was wondering how the show started, how you two met and became co-host. And no, it's not too personal. So I started this show senior year of college, 2019-20 season. And I mean, you go back to listen to the first episode compared to now. I don't sound anything like I do now, to say the least. But I remember applying for this. And I had never done a podcast episode in my life, but they still gave me the gig just because, you know, I guess I knew a enough about this hockey team overall. And then I was doing this solo for over three and a half years. And then Pat and I, we had followed each other for a very long time.

And when I was thinking about getting a ghost, he was the first person I DM'd. You know, we had talked quite a bit. He loves the sport just as much as I do. And I felt like it would be a perfect match for the show. And we talked a little bit about it. And basically took what? A week for you to come on? And the rest was history.

and I can't thank you enough for coming on this journey. It's almost a year since I asked you to come on. And it's been a lot of fun so far overall, man. It really has. And to kind of bolster the story from Hunter is I went from fan of the show to co-host because I had been listening to it for about two years. I hadn't jumped on right at the start. So I'm not an OG listener.

But I had been listening for a couple of years, big fan of Hunter's work. Like he said, we had been. following each other on Twitter for a long time. And we had DMed and texted about the penguins and hockey and life in general for quite a while. And I'll actually peel the curtain back on this one real quick because I don't think I've even told you this. We like there was a while there where like we were talking daily about like I said, the penguins, hockey life in general. And I like didn't want to be assuming, but I was like, just invite me on the damn.

show, Hunter. Like, not as a co-host, just as a guest. Like, just bring me on for an episode or two and let's talk some buck on a podcast. And then, like, a week later of me having that thought, you were like, hey, I've been thinking about bringing on a co-host, would you be interested? And I was like, wait, what? So that's how that happened. And like you said, like, we never, we had not met in person up to that point.

And we had never done a show together. And it has just been smooth sailing and incredible. incredibly easy and an absolute blast since day one. 100% man. I'm again so thankful that you decided to say yes and have been a great coast for me on the show. And one more before we end this one. This comes from Alan Tejota.

What's your favorite sport to follow outside of hockey, football, baseball, basketball? For me, it's always been tennis. I played tennis in high school. I grew up a massive Roger Federer fan. I will forever be a big Federer fan just watching him with his beautiful one handed back in. I always tried to imitate it. I can never nail it down, but watching him play with how classy he was on the court, how classy he was off the court, just the perfect tennis player.

I'm biased. I know. I think he's the greatest tennis player of all time, but that's the sport that I do fall the most outside of those. You ready for a hilarious one that I don't think anybody is going to see coming from me? Volleyball. I am really excited to see how good Pitt volleyball is. is the last couple of years. I actually played it my freshman year of high school. And it was because they were like, oh, he can be a libero. He's maybe small, but he has reckless disregard for his well-being. So he'll jump all over the court to try to save shots and everything. And I did, but I was playing for two hockey teams as well at the time, as well as being a theater nerd. Yes, feel free to make fun of me for that if you'd like. But I just, I had to cut it out,

which is I did not have the time to properly commit to it, but I still follow it. I still have a pretty solid knowledge of it. It's a really fun sport once you start to understand it. But yeah, like you wouldn't expect me to say that one, but it is also volleyball. I actually did not know that about you at all. That's the first time you've even mentioned volleyball to me, and I've known you for the last several years now. So that's a cool one.

But I think that we'll do it for today's episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. We have plenty more questions to get to. And Pat, I'm making the executive decision. We are going to have a part two for this mailbag coming up next week. We're going to get into more of your questions, including what player from a rival team that we would love to have on the Penguins? Also, could a potential meetup be coming for locked on penguins? And some free agent and trade targets as well.

That's all coming up next week when we continue part two of opening the mailbag. But for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We'll talk with you all. on Monday. Enjoy game one of the Stanley Cup final on Saturday.