Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins preseason begins TONIGHT in Montreal!

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

The Penguins are headed to Quebec to play their first preseason game of the year against the Montreal Canadiens! Patrick and Hunter begin the show by looking at the Penguins' preseason opening roster, who they'll be watching, and who needs to have a strong debut as camp continues. (0:00)Then, they take a look at the other bench and run down who will suit for the Habs. Who should Dan Muse and company have an eye on, and who will present a challenge for the Penguins' roster tonight? (13:18) Finally, the Penguins were back to work on Saturday at the Lemieux Complex for another day of training camp. Hunter gives us his observations from another intense day of practices, and they look at two young defensemen who have been making a case to be on the big club. (22:14) Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/lockedonright now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.FanDuelDownload the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins.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.

The weight is long over. The Pittsburgh Penguins will play an actual hockey game tonight. We have made it. Hunter and I are going to get you ready for Penguins Habs. Preseason game number one right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.

Your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins. Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4Wet. Joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. You can also find us on Instagram at Locked on underscore Penguins. And of course, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. Don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. And if you follow us on YouTube, be sure to hit the notification button. That way you can be

among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Hunter, let's get right into it. The penguins are going to play hockey tonight. And, well, if you want to watch it, you're going to have to do some searching on them internet's because it's going to be on 105.9 the X here in Pittsburgh if you want to listen to the game. But watching the game, you're going to have to do some deep internet searching because it might be on NHL network.

It might not. I have been trying to figure this out myself all morning. And I spend a lot of time on the internet and I'm still struggling to figure it out. So we'll see what happens. But obviously we're going to do our best to find this game, get some notes for it, get you a recap tomorrow.

But before we do that, we got to preview it. for you. Let's start with the Pittsburgh Penguins. As expected as they head up to Montreal to take on the Canadians at the Bell Center for their first preseason game of training camp. None of the big boys are playing. This is a lot of prospects, a lot of minor league guys, and a lot of people that we probably won't see in penguins uniforms all that often this season. Some of the names that are standing out to me, Hunter, I want to get your opinion on this. Obviously, we've got Tommy Novak, who you and I have kind of argued over, but not really.

Sam Poulan, Tristan Brose. We've also got Valteri Pustinen, Rafael Harvey Pinnard, a former Montreal Canadian. First round pick Ben Kindle. We will also get our first look at Matt Dumba in a penguin's uniform, and then the goalies. Head coach Dan Mews announced this morning that Yowell Blumquist will get the start, but him and Sergey Murshov will split duties tonight. So we will see both goalies, Hunter, for the Penguins roster going into this game.

What is standing out to you? Kind of what you said. A lot of the top prospects are taking part in this game. I do think you are going to see the Pickering Brunich pairing that we have been seeing at training camp, at least the first three days, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That was one of the feature pairs when that group was out there. And they were getting a lot of time with the main NHB.

a squad player. So if I had to guess, because right now, Pat, there are seven defensemen on this roster. One of these defensemen is not going to play. But if I had to make an educated guess, I would say that Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunick are going to be paired together. They have shown some chemistry during these training camp practices. And I want to see how it translates over to game action, even though, again, it's a preseason game, but I still want to see how it translates over. Forward-wise, you do have Robbie Fabry, Pat, who has been an established NHLer. He is trying to make this team on a PTO. He'll be in a this lineup. Tommy Noback, I'm not too surprised that he's playing just because he's only

played two games with the Penguins. So you got to get him some reps. I know you're playing with a lot of prospects, but you still got to get him some reps for the sake of it. Anthony Mantha, not surprised either. You're going to get him some reps. This is his first season with the Penguins, this first preseason game. But then after that, you know, you have some of these other younger players. Avery Hayes, it looks like, is going to play. That's going to be fun. I want to see Ben Kendall play, even though it's just one preseason game and he's probably going to be reassigned to the Calgary Hitman soon. So I want to see how he does in his Penguins preseason debut.

You have Tristan Bros. Same thing there. And then, you know, Connor Clifton, Matt Dumbah, how do they perform? So that's what really is standing out to me. I guess if you want to do a little revenge factor with Raphael Harvey Pinnard, I guess you can say that even though it's preseason. Blumquist is going to get the first half. And then the second half will go to Sergey Murshov.

Really excited also to see Murshov in this game. I think he has been the best goaltender at camp. It feels like he's not even trying when making saves. They just look that routine to him. Like a player will be coming in on like a breakaway during a drill. He'll just stand there and he'll easily make the save. It's just like you can tell he's almost like not even trying. He obviously is trying people, but it feels like he's not.

So I'm excited to see how he does in the second half. But this was the type of lineup that I expected. A lot of the younger pieces, a lot of the prospects that, you know, may not make the roster. You have some of the prospects that are really pushing. and then you have sprinkled in with a few veterans who are also either A, definitely going to be on the roster like Mantha and Novak, or B,

fighting for a spot, you know, like a Robbie Fabri, you know, like a Dan Hinen, for example, you know, etc.

So it's a nice mix. For sure. Two players, and again, Hunter said it, I will reiterate it. It's the first preseason game. You don't want to put too much stock into it

simply because we'll get into, who Montreal is putting into the lineup later on in the show. But there are two forwards that I'm keeping a close eye on. And I think that they're flying a little under the radar this training camp as to be expected when you look at a lot of the new faces, some of the younger players that were pretty excited about hopefully going to get a chance this year. But two players in this game tonight, I want to see how they perform both tonight and throughout the rest of the preseason and training camp is Sam Poulan and Valteri Pustan.

It's a phrase I have brought up on this show a lot. It is a phrase I've brought up a lot in writing. For Sam Poulan, I feel like it applies and we know this. For Valteri Pustan, he's getting very close, in my opinion, to that designation. And it's what I refer to as quad A players. They are probably both too good to be career HL players, but they're probably not consistent NHL players. I want to see what they do in a camp that has been this competitive with this many new faces

because for Valteri Pustin for the last two years, he's shown some flashes. He's had some moments where you think, okay, this kid could be ready. he could be a solid contributor for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And then he goes through lulls. For Sam Poulan, we have been waiting for a while for him to take that step. And it feels like, especially for Poulan, we're getting to kind of the end of him, maybe being a penguin. For Pustan, it feels like he's running out of chances to really make his mark on the NHL roster.

I felt like last year was Sam Poulan's kind of quote unquote last stand wasn't he still with the organization now I still feel even stronger about that that I feel like this could be his last stand I agree to an extent that he's probably too good to be in the AHA but I just haven't seen enough from him

to the point where he can be a consistent NHL I know some people will say well he hasn't had a lot of a big sample size well he needs to earn that ice time like you look at the the battles they have at training camp I think he's been fine, but has he been good enough to the point where he deserves a spot in the top 12, top 13 yet? No, he has it. It's only been three days, people, let's be real.

But the games are where he really has to stand out. This can obviously change and he could go out here in the preseason, perform well, really up his stock a little bit. But right now, he's low on the total pole when it comes to the NHL roster come October 7th. I'll Terry Pustin, he's a bit higher than this game pool in, but I also need to see more. I love his release. I think when he uses it, it's fantastic. But I feel like he doesn't use it enough on a consistent basis. And you just don't notice him enough when he plays some of these initial games.

You've noticed him at times. And it's like, man, if you could just do this a bit more consistently, you'd be able to stick. But like a lot of these other HL guys that come up, you know, they start a little quick, but then they go through these lulls. And they're not able to recover from that. When you're coming up from that league, you're going to have a lull. But it's how you recover from that.

Like, can you get back to being. a bit more consistent. Neither of these two guys have been able to do that. They're going to have another opportunity here, but it feels like, honestly, in a way for both, definitely for Poulin, a little bit less for Pustin, but still, could be one of the last dances for at least one, if not both of these players. So I do agree with that. I want to see how they do tonight if they both play. Because again, Pat, there's 13 forwards. There's going to be a healthy scratch somewhere in here. They didn't really do line rushes during the morning skate this morning.

So it's anyone's guess as to what the lines are going to love. look like tonight. And you hit the nail on the head there. I want to circle back to that real quick before we head to break is that we have, we know that we have wanted for quite a few years now, the penguins to give some opportunities to their young players because we saw a lot of veterans who were underperforming. We saw a team that desperately needed an infusion of youth. But that was in conflict with the fact that guys like Poulan, guys like Pustan and a couple of others, when given a chance, you certainly could, and we did make the case that former head coach Mike Sullivan gave them a little bit too short of a leash, but on the same, at the same time,

they also didn't do a lot to help their own case. Not that they had to come in and light the league on fire and become the best player on the roster. That was never going to happen. But they also didn't really take full advantage of the opportunities they were given. And that led to to where they are now and they continue to do a good job or at least a good enough job in the American League, but then it doesn't fully translate. So eventually, we have to be honest here that some of these young players aren't taking full advantage of the opportunities they are being given. And it's frustrating, but they're going to get the chance this year.

Kyle Dubus has said that. If young players show up and put up a good performance, they're not going to be blocked. So the door is open. They just have to walk through it. But that is going to do it for this opening segment. When we get back, we'll take a look at Montreal and who they're bringing to the game tonight. Talk a little bit more about the penguins. So stick with us.

We'll do that when we come back right after this. Before we do that, though, we've got to tell you about today's first sponsor. And that is Monarch Money. Most people can't name all their financial accounts or what they're even worth, whether it's 401K's properties. investments, savings, you name it. When you don't have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That is why there is Monarch money.

It's an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy-to-use interface on your phone or your laptop. Monarch, it's built for people with busy lives. If you've put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. It does all the heavy lifting for you, and you can link all your accounts in minutes, see clear data visuals, get smart categorization of your spending, and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. You guys know me, not a math guy, never have been.

I've got a longstanding rivalry with Excel. It annoys me. And thank God there's Monarch money because putting all that together, I didn't have a great view of my financial picture. And now with Monarch, it's all right there. My banking account, my credit card, savings, 401k, all of it, it's right there. It makes it easy for me.

And you know, I need that easy when it comes to money and when it comes to numbers. So don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with the code locked on NHL. back here on the Monday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp. I'm Ray alongside Hunter Hodes. And let's take a look here at who is going to suit up for the Montreal Canadians in this opening preseason matchup at the Bell Center.

They have a first line. They actually did release the lines courtesy of Arpin Basso. And that is their first line. Line A. Capinen, not the one we know. Don't worry. Line A. Capon and Demadov. second line of Anderson Evans Gallagher, third line of Farrell, Beck, Mezzar,

and then fourth line of Davidson, Belizez and Condata. In net will be Sam Montembow and Fowler. We don't know if it's going to be the same as the penguins for their goalies. We don't know if Montembow is going to play the full game or if they're going to have a split. Then on defense, they have Matheson with Dobson, Struble with Engstrom, Delgasio, with Clermann. So very similar to,

the penguins. This is a lot of prospects, a lot of in-between guys, sprinkled in with a few veterans and a few known names, obviously with people like Linae, Dobson, Demadov. We know those names. They are going to be players who see a lot of time with the Montreal Canadians, but obviously those are younger guys. They want to get them reps. I'm very curious to see what this Montreal team does tonight because they have taken a lot of steps forward. over the past couple of years. Their young guys are really coming along. It really seems like they're starting to turn a corner.

So very curious to see how the Montreal Canadiens play tonight. Buddy, I can't wait to watch Ivan Demadoff tonight. I didn't get to see him play against the Penguins last year just because he came up too late. I watched him a little bit just because I watched a couple of their games once he came up. But they weren't against the Penguins. I know it's only preseason. Ivan Demadol is a freak though. And I think if he's not the favorite to win the culture,

this year, I think you're probably doing it wrong. I know, Schaefer is going to be there. I think he's going to start on the Islanders for this year. There's going to be a couple others, but I think Demadav is the favorite going into this. His game is beautiful to watch. His stick handling, his puck handling, his shot, his skating. It's all there. Like, he makes dazzling plays with a puck that makes your jaw drop.

And I'm excited to watch him tonight. I like the Noah Dobson trade that they made. I really like that quite a bit. and, you know, Jaden Shrewball looks like is playing, obviously Penguin, former Penguin Mike Matheson, that is, is going to get some time. You know, some of these guys, I'll admit, I don't really know who they are, just because they are prospects, but you know, Josh Anderson's been around for a while. Brendan Gallagher has been around for a while.

So you know you're going to get with those two. Jake Evans, you know what you're going to get with him as well. Patrick Line, I'm just glad that he's back playing, just considering everything that he has been through Pat. But, you know, I'm most excited for this Canadian squad to see how the Penguins go against Demadov. Again, only preseason, but he's going to make some plays. He probably will that are going to make you be like, holy crap. So Sam Montembo, he's their starter.

He's even getting the rep in this one. It's funny. I think all the Canadians released their entire lineup, and they have the lions and the penguins. They didn't want to do line rushes. They have 13 forward, seven defensemen. You're kind of making educated guesses on what the lines are going to look like, and Montreal's like, we're just going to make it easy for everyone for their preview. But still, that's what I'm excited to see from a Montreal perspective and how

the Penguins defend against it. Yeah, you brought up Demadov, man. He was at their prospect challenge a couple weeks ago and had zero business being there. And obviously, again, he joined them late last year. So he still is kind of adapting to North American professional hockey. But at the end of the day, you do want to get that kid reps. You want to get him as much ice time as possible so he can continue to grow. and he can continue to develop.

But you look at the way he plays the game. This is not a kid who needs a lot. I don't want to say doesn't need a lot of reps because a young player absolutely does because there is nothing like North American professional hockey. It is a very unique beast on its own. And you see it a lot with young players. They rock it out of the gate. They have a great first half.

and then when the grind of NHL hockey or even AHL hockey really starts to set in, they're just not used to that. But for Demadov, it looks like this kid is the real deal. And it looks like he is going to be a problem for this league for quite some time. Very curious, too, to see what they do in net if they're going to have Montembo play the full slate. Because very up and down goalie when you look at him, he has flashes where, he looks like he could be a top half goalie in the NHL. I don't want to put him in the elite category or very good category,

but he is a goalie who shows flashes of being a genuinely reliable starter. And then he has moments where you're kind of like, wait, why are they starting him? Can they get an upgrade and goal? So I'm curious to see what happens with that. And then obviously, I'm right there with you. Their trade with the Islanders to get Dobson was a really, really shrewd move by Montreal.

And I know that his time in Pittsburgh was a little bit chaotic, a little bit ridiculous, but you put Matheson with somebody like Dobson, he has value. So if that's a pairing that they go with into the season, I don't think Matheson's suddenly going to be great. So let's not get carried away here. But he is one of those defensemen where you put him. with somebody good, he is able to bring value to your line. All gas, no breaks on that pairing, my friend.

That's all offense, no defense. You're not getting any defense from Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson. He's a bit better defensively, but we all know his game is based on a lot of offense as well. So not sure if we'll do that. I think tonight, just when you look at the depth chart, pat for them, I think they kind of have no choice in my opinion. But who, I don't know. They're going to get some time during the regular.

season. I'll be curious to look up the numbers and see some of the eye test as well for how that pairing does when they eventually do it. So we won't get to see Lane Hudson tonight because he's eventually going to be on Team USA. And I love watching him. Like he kind of plays almost like a mini Quinn Hughes, except I want him to improve a little bit in his own end. But still, there's some really good young talent on this Montreal roster. That's going to be a good test for the Penguins. So I'm excited for this one. For sure. That is 7 o'clock tonight at the Bell Center. it is on 105.9 the X on the Penguins radio network. And like I said at the top,

if you're going to try to watch it, you're going to have to do some deep interneting because I have not been able to find anywhere to watch it. But at the end of the day, it is Penn's Habs in the preseason premiere at 7 o'clock. Tonight we will obviously keep our eyes on it and have a recap for you on tomorrow's episode. Sometimes they do stream the games on the Penguins website,

not to interrupt you there, but we'll have to see. They may announce it like an hour before. Sometimes these games are streamed live on the website. Haven't announced it yet. Don't know if they're going to. At worst people, you can listen to on 105.9 to X.

Sorry that stream is down. It's fun. See you. You'll be able to listen to Hunter Hodey's twin, Mr. Block, who Hunter did meet, but that's something we don't have to talk about. We can leave it there. When we come back,

the Penguins did have Saturday practices at training camp. And of course, you know our guy on the ground. Hunter Hodes was there. We'll get his observations from the weekend at training camp when we come back right after this. Before we do that, though, we got to tell you about today's last sponsor. And that is Fandul. The NFL season, it's in full swing.

We just had week three with a big Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the New England Patriots. And Fandul is making sure you're ready for kickoff with a can't miss. offer. Right now new customers can bet just $5. and if that bet wins, they'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Fandul, it makes every game more exciting, whether you're watching your Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday or if you're just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It's quick, easy, and the best way to add a little bit more energy to those NFL Sundays. So if you're ready to play, download the Fandul app now by visiting fandul.com to get started.

That's fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. All right, closing out the Monday edition of Locked-on Penguins, I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. Penguins did have an off day on Sunday. They wanted to watch NFL football before their first preseason game and who can blame them. But they were at work on Saturday at the Lemieux Complex and Hunter. I know you were there, and I know you've seen quite a few things. and there's a few things you want to discuss about being at Penguins training camp this weekend.

So my friend, the floor is yours. Other than waking up really early on Saturday morning, which I'm not used to, this was a really fun practice. Again, very intense, very competitive. Group C started off. That's the group with Ricard Raquel and Brian Rust. Philip Hollander was skating with them. And he's been getting some time with them over the last two training camp sessions.

We'll have to see that continues on Tuesday. by the way, Tuesday. That's the last, like, really long day of practice. And I'm talking, Pat, 8.45 a.m. all the way to, like, 3.30. That's the last day with, like, the three main groups. I imagine, like, after a couple of games this week, they're going to make some cuts and really trim these groups down.

And you're going to see, you know, group A and then group B. So this is the last big day. So you want to get there, get the early. First group goes on at 845. Last group goes on at 2 o'clock till 3.30, 90 minute sessions, 45 minutes on each ranked and then they switch. But I like seeing Hollander with Rust and Raquel. I think it shows that the coaching staff is really so far considering him for a full-time

spot in the NHL. He's obviously not going to be with Rust and Raquel during the regular season. That's going to be Cindy Crosby or Fgeny Malkin. But I think it shows that the coaching staff does have some trust in Hollander that he can handle it. And so far, I think he's done a really good job. You know, as to Raquel, I thought he enjoyed his best practice so far on Saturday. he was really one of the only players to beat Sergey Muroshov during drills, and one or two of those goals were just beautiful one-timers bar down

that Moroshov had no chance on it. Anything else, Maroshov was gobbling open. Speaking of that, I kind of already discussed it on Saturday, but he's a freak. Sergei Miroshov is an absolute freak. He's not NH already yet, but I think within a year, year and a half, I think he can be NH already. I think the goal for him this year is to become the full-time starter in Wilkesbury,

get those reps, assuming he does well, make sure you can think about having him on the roster. I just think it's a little too soon. You don't want to rush someone's development like this. But he has been a freak. I'm not sure how this is all going to translate to the NHL level, but there's a lot of traits there that I think I can see him being a really good NHL goalie, assuming he keeps going on his development path.

Outside of that group, you know, you had Group A, Cindy Crosby. Ho-hum, he's doing Sydney Crosby things during training camp. I don't really want to spend too much time on that. Owen Pickering was, again, paired with Harrison Brunick. And, you know, Brunich kind of talked about it after practice. He said he thinks it's going really well, being paired with Pickering. They're taking it each day. They're learning and growing together.

So it's been a lot of fun. Again, I think you're going to see that pairing tonight during the training camp game against one, not the training camp game. The preseason game, excuse me, against the Montreal Canadians. Eric Carlson was having the time of his life. The amount of profanity that he was using on the ice. I'm not going to read that on the show because this. is a PG show, but let's just say he was cussing up a storm after some drills and even during

some drills that he's on one rink, right? The other rink is right across. I think people on the other rank could hear what he was saying because it was that loud. He was just like smacking his head after Ty. He was having a blast. It was just a prototypical Eric Carlson. Yay. Another player from that group that I think is being a bit underrated. He was a HL signing Ford A. McDonough. I think he's at a pretty solid camp. He's not going to make the NHL roster, Pat, but has an underrated release, has some strong puck skills.

I think he can have a decent season in Wilkesbury and be some good depth down there after playing 16 games last season with the Charlotte Checkers was a point per game player down there. So again, just so I want to keep an eye on if you're really wanting to watch Wilkesbury even more this year, in my opinion. And then Group B, Archer Sheelov as well as the best goaltender once again. I think he's been the second best goaltender at camp, in my opinion.

So those were just some of my. standouts, Evgeny Malkin and Anthony Manta at the end of the session to end the Saturday practice. They were taking turns, firing slap shots, which were turned into goals during a mini three-on-three drill where Pat one net is at the left side in the offensive zone. The other net is on the right side near the boards, and they were kind of doing a little three-on-three there, and Malkin and Manta were just blasting slap shots for goals. It was really nice to see. But other than that, that's all I got for you from Saturday. I'm excited to get back out there on Tuesday. Sally, though, people, Pat cannot make it out because it's his mom's birthday.

Yes, I got to spend time. And I say this like it's an obligation. It's not. I love my mom. I can't wait to hang with her. My sister, it's going to be a very fun day. But let's get back to hockey real quick before we end the show. One thing I do want to say, and I don't want to get each other and our listeners too overly excited. But it really does feel like that the Pickering Brunick-Brunick pairing is making a big statement here. I'm still skeptical that Brunick is going to make the team. I think that they're probably going to give him one more year in junior and let him cook and try to get him on a better team so he can grow more.

But the way those two have been playing, we saw how good, not how good, I don't want to overstate it, but we saw how not out of place Owen Pickering was in his NHL stint last year. we have seen Harrison Brunick really impress. And it does kind of feel like the organization is almost daring them to send them back, where they're like, we're going to put you in every conceivable position to succeed. Make us keep you.

And early returns, I want to see how they do tonight. But early returns, it feels like they're really, really given them the chance to make the team. I think that's totally fair, especially as Teddy wanted to join. the show here for a few minutes because she was like in the hockey discussion. But it's small but noticeable during these practices. On one side of the rank, especially in Pickering and Brunick's group, there's the group of, you know, the H.L guys, the other prospects that you know are not going to make the roster right.

And then you have the other end where Pickering and Brunick are there with Sidney Crosby and Dillac Coyvenin and Justin Brasso. And that's on purpose. This isn't an accident. They want to see how these two players are holding up against. NHL quality competition to kind of say, hey, we think you guys are good enough to be here. We want you guys to keep pushing. You've earned these reps.

See what you can do. You're going to go out there tonight. See what you can do. Obviously, you're playing with more prospects, but there are some veterans in there. Tommy Novak, Anthony Mantha, Robbie Fabry. But in a way, I think you're right. They're almost like daring both of them to make it. Pickering to me has the best chance of making it just because the left side is not very good.

Brunick is going to take another five-star camp and maybe even then some to make it. Still can maybe get the nine-game trial, but I don't know. They might have no choice by the sending back to junior, especially just because we're not getting that CHL agreement as of right now, Pat, it's September 22nd, and the season starts in only a couple of weeks. I just don't think we're going to get it in time at this rate. But still, it's good to see that they're giving them a lot of these opportunities. And after, you know, after they fly back from this game on Monday,

You're going to see them paired once again with each other on Tuesday. But I'm so excited to see how it looks in game action. Me as well. We'll keep an eye on that for tonight. But I agree. It does feel like they're giving them every opportunity. And so far through a few days, I think the returns have been good. We'll see what happens.

Like you said, with Brunich, again, it's going to take a monumental effort. And he still might not make it just because of the numbers game and because of eligibility. So tough to see. But at the end of the day, if he continues to. perform as much as they may say they don't like it. Coaches and managers do love it when they're given a tough decision like that to bring a guy into the fold. But that is going to do it for our Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

Hunter and I will be back tomorrow with a recap of the game as well as some of Hunter's thoughts from another day at training camp. So expect a little bit later of an episode because again, Hunter will be at camp, giving us his observations. But for now, that is going to do it for the Monday edition. For Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always for tuning in. And we'll be back on Tuesday.