Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Everyone ready for the forward battles during Penguins training camp?

Episode Date: July 11, 2023

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a couple of roster signings on Friday and they were peak Kyle Dubas moves. To start the show, Hunter dives into the two signings of Vinnie Hinostroza and Andreas Johnsson as Dubas brought in more depth players to compete for roster spots. Hunter starts by breaking down Hinostroza's strengths and weaknesses before moving over to Johnsson. He discusses how he's one heck of a playmaker and it showed during his time in New Jersey. He also has a history with Kyle Dubas, so that also played a factor in him signing. After that, he looks at what these moves mean for training camp as it has the potential to be extremely fascinating in September. Are DOC and Nylander locks to make the team still or will they have to earn it? What could the lines look like? Finally, he ends the show by looking at whether the Penguins are a playoff team as constructed right now.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BirddogsGo to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNHL or enter promo code LOCKEDONNHL for a free Yeti-style tumbler with your order. You won’t want to take your birddogs off we promise you.AG1If a comprehensive solution is what you need from your supplement routine, then try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase. Go to drinkAG1.com/NHLNETWORK.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kyle Dubus continued to reshape the Penguins roster on Friday by signing two new forwards to cheap contracts. Now, will these two forwards be on the Penguins roster to start the season? I'll have my answer on that coming up 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 your host, Hunter Hodes. I'm going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter at L.O.NR. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first list and slash watch today. We are free and available on all platforms. Obviously, I am still on vacation. I am at the beach this week. We saw one big trade on Sunday with Alex de Brinket going to Detroit.

Will we see others this week while I'm away? Well, we'll just have to see. But starting the show off today, Penguin signed a couple of depth forwards after I finished recording and editing the show on Friday with Doug Glacky. I had to redo my intro as you all likely listened to or watched on YouTube. The Penguin signed Vinnie Hino Shroza and Andreas Yonson both to warn your deals. Hino Shroza is going to get $775,000 on this deal. Yonson, $800,000 on his deal.

We'll start with Hineshroza, has spent time with the Chicago Blackcox, Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, and the Buffalo Savers. he's played in almost 400 career games, 360 to be exact. During that time, 53 goals and 148 points. His best individual season came in 2018-19 when he had 16 goals and 39 points in 72 games. So he averaged a little over half a point per game during that time. Also had a 13-goal campaign with the Sabres, not this past season, but the season before that. So pretty decent numbers on the surface.

I dove into his sim a little bit over the weekend here, even though I've been away. I really think he's a nice, shifty player on the ice. He's not going to burn you with his speed, but he'll still use it to his advantage a little bit. I also really like the release that he has with his shot. He's also super patient when he has the puck on his stick. He's not just looking to make a play for the sake of making a play. And because of his patience, he has pretty good finishing impacts. This past season ranked in the 68th percentile for finishing at five on five among all fourth

liners in the NHL. So this is a player that really knows how to finish also ranks in the 74th percentile for five-on-five primary assists per 60 minutes. So decent playmaker as well draws a lot of penalties. So it means he's good with the puck on his stick, ranks in the 73rd percentile for penalties drawn among all fourth-liners this past season. Five-on-five, even-stranked offense, not going to give you too much there in terms of just offense in general defense.

He's not really going to give you too much there. either, but this is still a good player who can play in the bottom six when needed. Either way, he's going to be in this organization in some capacity. I don't think they're going to waive him before the season starts. It's all going to come down to whether or not he starts the season with the Penguins or if he starts in Wilkesbury. I've seen people compare this to the Drake Cajula signing of last season. I understand that, but I think Hinoistroza is better than Cajol.

He's a better finisher, better in terms of, you know, primary assists for 60 minutes. I think he's a bit faster than a player like Cajula. I don't think you're going to see Hina Shroza spend 95% of this season in the AHL with Wilkesbury. Obviously, it's good competition to have, especially heading in the camp, and I'm going to get into that a little later on in this episode, but I don't think he's going to be someone that's destined to be spending most of this season in Wilkesbury. So I really like this move. He's also 29 years old, So for the people that were going after Kyle Dubus for signing a bunch of guys over 30, 31, 32, well, you got someone who is below 30 with this one.

It's also very, very cheap. Okay, player who has been known to produce, goals, assists. You're not going to get much in the defensive zone from him, but that's why the penguin signed players like a Nolachari, like a Lars Eller, and like a Matt Mietto. As for the other player that the penguin signed in Andreas Yonson, I really think the Toronto history paid massive dividends for the Penguins remember. Yonson was with the Maple Leafs when Kyle Dubus was the general manager during the 2018-19 season.

So he has a familiarity with him. And funny enough, Yonson had his best season to date in 2018-19 when he had 20 goals and 43 points. Since then, he has not touched those numbers. He's come close. He did have 13 goals. and 35 points in 71 games during the 20-21.2 season with the New Jersey Devils, but that's still not 20 goals in 43 points in a full season. For his career, he has 48 goals and 116 points in 259 games,

only had three points in 13 games. This season is a pretty decent finisher, but where I think he excels at is his playmaking ability. I dove into the film this past weekend, And the amount of times I saw him thread beautiful passes while he was with the Devils especially during the 2021, 2021, 2022 season was nothing short of extraordinary. Whether it was springing someone for a breakaway when it didn't look like there was much space, whether it was an odd man rush, two on one, three on two, or whether it was a two on two, three on three rush where it didn't look like there was that much space on the ice. He was still able to get the puck through.

boom, it's in the back of the net. And oh yeah, he's also a great passer in the high danger areas, meaning that 10 to 15 feet area from the net mouth. And all of that is supported by the underlying numbers. If you look at his numbers from the 2021-22 season, he ranked in the 70th percentile five-on-five in terms of high-danger assists, also ranked in the 78th percentile in terms of five-on-five passing, 92nd percentile in terms of penalties drawn.

So like Vinnie Hino Strosa, knows how to draw penalties when he has the puck on his stick, and ranks in the 92nd percentile in offensive impact. So this is a player who has done really well at the NH level during multiple seasons. And honestly, right now, I would be stunned if he was not on the opening that roster. This player has a lot of talent,

and I think he brings something to the Penguins' bottom six that is currently lacking right now. I don't really see anyone down there who is a good, true playmaker. McCall Grahamlin can pass, but I think at this point, he's cooked a little bit. Outside of that, though, who else really has a decent playmaking ability? No one. A lot of the players of the Penguins signed, they're defensive first players. And there's nothing wrong with that, but you need a nice mix of both defensive players in the bottom six.

and offensive players. Yonson fits that offensive mold. Hineshroza, he also fits that offensive mold and is a pretty decent finisher. I think he's a bit of a better finisher than Yonsen is. And if you combine both of those two players with the three that Kyle Dubas signed, you have Joe Connor in the mix,

Alex Neelander. I think the Penguins have the makings of a pretty solid bottom six heading into the 2020-203-24 season. Remember, the Penguins' bottom six was one of the biggest reasons why this team missed the playoffs this past season. They couldn't score, and especially they couldn't keep the puck out of their own net.

When the bottom six was on the ice at five on five, the Penguins allowed 71 goals against and were only on the ice for 49 goals for. That is unacceptable in every possible way, and that cannot happen this next season. with the moves that Dubus has made, I don't think it's going to, especially with the defensive players. And if Yonson can get back to the player that we saw,

he was even from a couple seasons ago, and Hinnis-Straza as well. And you combine that with Drew O'Connor, who I think has some upside, Alex Neelander, and the other players. And I know Jeff Carter will probably be there in some capacity as well.

I don't think the Penguins are going to rid themselves of him just yet after the season. That's a different story. I think the penguins have the makings of a pretty good, I think, an improved bottom six heading into the season. So I'm really excited about these moves. Let me know what you think about them down the comments if you're listening on YouTube

or you can send me a DM on social media. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to dive into what this means for training camp because I think for the first time in quite a while, we're actually going to have a fun training camp to monitor because usually the penguins don't have a lot of roster battles. That's going to change in a big way heading into mid to late September. But before we get into that, we do have to discuss Fandle. Take your first thing at betting MLB on Fandul and get 10 times your first spend amount in bonus bets up to $200.

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of Major League baseball and locked on. And I'm back here on this episode of the locked on Penguins podcast. I am your host

Hunter Hodes. Follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows, Twitter at L0 underscore Penguins. And 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. So I can't believe I'm discussing training camp almost mid-July now, but hey, I think camp is going to be a lot of fun this upcoming season.

I'll actually go a step further and say this is probably the most fascinating training camp that penguins will have in the last few seasons. Usually when camp rolls around, I'm like, okay, cool, the season's getting closer, get to see some players going through drills, seeing how maybe some of the younger prospects are doing at first before they get shipped off to their junior teams. and that's just because the penguins usually don't have many roster spots available. That's the thing. Their top forwards are set.

Most of the bottom six forwards are set. Most of the defense is set. And most of the goaltenders are set. Sometimes you occasionally have someone who appears out of nowhere, like a John Marino. He burst on in the scene a few years ago, forced Jim Rutherford to trade Eric Good Branson because Marino had such a good camp in a preseason.

and maybe you get that from someone this year, who knows, but the competition especially down in the forward group is going to be tense. And if you thought Drew O'Connor and Alex Nealander were locks to make the team, well, they're going to have to earn it now. And I am still someone who thinks O'Connor should be on the team to start the season, but it is not a lock in the sinus, especially after Hinnisstroza and non-season. signed with the team on Friday, two players who have hundreds of games of experience in the NHL going up against them, Eller, Achari, Carter, Nietto, he will have to earn his spot

on the Penguins going into this season. And you're going to see a lot of mock lineups between now and camp and heck during training camp as well. And I honestly don't know what the start. and lineup is going to look like in terms of the bottom six for opening night against the Blackhawks because there are so many options

that Mike Sullivan has at his disposal. So that is the most intriguing aspect heading into camp. All of these moves create more competition and I think you're going to see a very spirited camp

once it rolls around in mid to late September. And honestly this is not the only strong camp battle that we're all going to see. The backup spot to Trishanjari. Usually that's locked down. Casey DeSmith has had it for the past few seasons, and there's a chance that he may not be there. He could be traded before them,

but right now it looks like he's going to be there. And if he is, he'll have some good competition. I don't think Alex Nadelcovich signed with the Penguins to be a third goalie and dress for five to seven games a season. especially for $1.5 million per season. He probably would have just signed with another team. But he's going to be competing with the Smith, even though he has the better numbers,

to Smith, that is. You also have Magnus Helberg. I think it's more likely he probably gets sent down to Wilkesbury, but signed a one-year, one-way deal, has an initial experience. He's going to be gunning for that backup spot as well. That's another battle I'm really interested in seeing. And, of course, the battle on defense,

especially on the left sign. You have Marcus Pedersen who's going to be there. You have Chris Tang on the right side who's going to be there. Yon Ruta is going to be on the team. Right now, Jeff Petrie is there. Ryan Graves is going to be on the team. But who gets that last spot on the right side between P.O. Joseph and Ty Smith.

I thought Joseph showed a lot of offensive improvement this past season, but I also thought he wore down down the stretch, especially defensively, where he was missing on some of his assignments, was coughing up the puck a little too much. much in his own zone. Now he's going to be competing with Smith, who I and a lot of others, whether it's in the fan base or people

who cover the team, thought that he was going to be on the team to start the season. The only reason why he wasn't on the team was because the penguins legitimately had no cap space. That's how bad Ron Hextall bungled the cap. But he had a great camp and a great preseason.

He is going to be dunning for Joseph's job if both are still on the roster. So that's another battle. I'm very interested in seeing the top six. I think that's said some combination of Gensel, Gansel, Gelsorosby, Raquel, and Russ, maybe you move Raquel and Russ, you know, up and down, back and forth,

whenever you want. But for the first time in quite a while, there is more than one training camp battle for the penguins heading into mid to late September. And I also didn't even mention Sam Poulan and Valisari Pustin. they're going to be gunning for jobs as well. I'm sure they both think that they belong at the financial level, and they will be doing everything in their power to make the team out of camp. Maybe that forces someone to get traded a la John Moino just a few years ago

when Rutherford had to trade good ransom. It's probably more unlikely in that case because they would have a lot of people to beat out. But crazier things have happened. I'm really hyped for camp this year, a lot more than I normally am. but the forward competition is going to be fierce, and I'm excited to see what Mike Sullivan does for the bottom six on opening night. They usually split these groups, or split the players, excuse me, into three groups at the start,

three to four groups, I should say. And then it kind of goes down to one or two, once some cuts are made after the first few preseason games, that's when it's going to get really serious. Heading into those final couple preseason games of all the players who are on the team, seeing how they do in those games, that's when it's going to get a lot of fun.

And these two signings just means that I'm ready for some action, that's for sure. But that wraps up this second segment of the podcast. Coming up to end the show, I'm going to dive into the topic of whether the Penguins are a playoff team heading into this season, even though I have them fourth in the Metropolitan Division after I did have been rankings last week.

That's coming up right after this. All right. And I'm back to in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. Follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter at L Orangeville Penguins. And 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.

So as I discussed in my Metropolitan Division power rankings last week, my post-July won power rankings, I should say. I have the Penguins 4th. But some years, that's not good enough to make the playoffs. Some years you have five teams from a division make it, and three in the other. Other years you have four and four. That's just how it goes sometimes. But when I look at the penguins right now, I do think they are one point better than they were last year, which would have gotten them in the playoffs.

And I especially think they are better than the Islanders who finished a point or two ahead of them this past season as well. I love the top six. Riley Smith of the Jason Zuckers replacement will give you 20 to 25 goals. Jake Gensel will give you 30 to 40 if he stays healthy, which I think he will. Sidney Crosby, if he doesn't go down a little bit, he'll probably give you 85, 90 points. I'll be getting Malkin is probably good for 70 to 80. Rickel is good for 20 to 25 upwards of 30 goals. Brian Russ could have a big bounce back here.

Love that unit. Bottom six, as I've discussed throughout this episode right now, I feel better about it going into the season than I did last Thursday. that's because it has a decent mix of offensive players and more defensive players. I still think it could use a little more offensive umph if they wanted to sign someone else out there, though they don't have the cap space right now. But that's a discussion from their day. And honestly, they could probably accomplish that at the trade deadline if the Penguins are not getting what they thought they were going to get out of that unit during the season. But right now, that unit is better than the one from last season.

defensively, Chris Leng is going to have, I think, a monster year. He went through hell and back this past season with his stroke. Stad pass his way, his broken foot. He's going to be training like hell this offseason. And I think you're going to see a big year from him, Marcus Pedersons, coming off. I think the finest season of his career, Ryan Graves is there. Jeff Petrieffernal is there. Maybe Eric Carlson comes over.

We'll have to see. There's really been no update when it comes to that. Got P.O. Joseph, Ty, Sniff. Chad Rueito, Jan Ruta, Mark Friedman. Still a decent defensive group. I think Gray is obviously a big improvement over Duneland and it will be a big asset in transition and in the offensive zone. And if the Penguins do get Carlson,

I think if you stabilize him with someone like Grazer-Peterson, it will work. Goaltending-wise, if Tristan Jari stays healthy, I think he's one of the best 10-11 goaltenders in the league. And I will die on that hill. When healthy, he has put up. to good numbers. You don't just finish, again, 919 in one season and 921 in another by being a bad goaltender. That's just that's not how it works. When healthy, he's good. If he can say that way,

I like the Penguins' chances of making the playoffs heading into the season. And when it comes to the teams around them from this past season, I'm not a big believer in the New York Islanders. I'm sorry. I just don't see it. Barzell's great. Sorokin's one of the best goalies in the league. Anders Lee is great in front of the net. Bo Horvett had a good start to his islanders tenure, but he kind of faded down the stretch. But I don't think they're that deep. Outside of Pelican Poo-Lock on defense, I don't think there's that much there. Sorokin will have to carry them to probably get at least some of the wins. But right now, I think the penguins are a better team than the Islanders heading into the season. Panthers, that's going to be interesting.

They're going to be without Montor and Ekbot, it looks like. through December, January. That's why they've been kind of linked in the Noah Hannathan talks with the flames. Alex Lyons no longer there. He went on a huge heater to end this season to bring the Panthers into the playoffs

with him no longer there. How is Sergei Babrovsky going to do in a full season's workload? Because we all know how great he was when the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup final. Is he going to continue to do that? Or is he going to turn back into the pumpkin that he was, honestly for most of his panther's tenure so far?

So that's a big question I have about the cats. And in terms of the teams below the penguins, like the Washington Capitals, who I'm sure we'll be gunning for a spot, the Buffalo Sabres, who had a really good year this past year, the Detroit Red Wings, who just traded for Alex to Brinkett. I don't think they've done enough yet to pass the penguins, even though the penguins miss the playoffs,

past season. So right now, I do think this is a playoff team, especially if they can stay healthy and especially in that case, Tristan Jari. He gives them at least average goaltending to a bit above average goaltending. The stars produce. The bottom six doesn't get caved in the way it did this past season. This team is in the playoffs next season no matter what. And hey, it's July 10th. there is so much time to tinker with the roster. I still don't get the sense that Dubis is done. They're kind of in the waiting game for Carlson. San Jose being very patient.

I'll see what happens with that. Carolina also hasn't done the DeAngelo trade. I'm sure there probably have other irons in the fire. Pittsburgh, that is. If Carlson falls through it, maybe he goes to Carolina, maybe a mystery team comes in and trades for him. But I don't think for a second that Dubus and company are done.

But right now, if this is the final product heading into the season, I think this is a playoff team, but there'll be a wildcard team. They'll probably finish seventh or eighth in the eastern knot in one of those top three spots in the metro. At least right now, that's my opinion. But that will do it for this episode of the Locktime Penguins podcast. I really appreciate all of you listening slash watching this episode of the podcast. Let me know what you think about whether this team, is a playoff team down in the comments if you're watching on YouTube,

or you can send me a DM on social media if you are there. I'll be back with another episode for you all on Tuesday. Remember, this is the last full week of daily episodes before the podcast goes down to three episodes a week. My goal for that starting next Monday will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday until training camp starts in mid to late September. So again, thank you all so much for listening to us watching. I really, really appreciate it.

I'll be back with another episode for you all on Tuesday.