Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Should the Penguins extend Marcus Pettersson this summer?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Penguins have some big decisions to make with their restricted free agents this summer, and Pat and I are going to discuss what those decisions are 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, Honer Hodes, you can follow me on Twitter at Hunzer Hodes. join by my host Patrick Damned. You can follow him on Twitter at Sun and Furwet,

Starting point is 00:00:37 and you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. Understore 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, today's episode is brought to you by Game Time, down the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on MHL for $20 off your first purchase. So happy Tuesday to everyone out there.

Starting point is 00:00:58 And we want to start today's show by getting into the restricted free agents that the Penguins have this upcoming summer. If you look at the roster right now, there's not too many RFAs, but there are still a couple of pretty important ones, namely P.O. Joseph. If you were to ask me what I would do with this player at the halfway point of this season, I probably would have said to move on. But then Joseph had a great end to the season, a really strong second half, but also a really good last four to six weeks.

Starting point is 00:01:28 played on the top pairing quite a bit with Chris Lange. Also spent some time on the bottom pairing. And he had some really sound numbers, even away from Lutang, 20 games without him, 96 minutes of five on five ice time. Without being with Latang, he had a 58% expected goals for rate, seven goals for, four goals against. I saw him knowing when to pinch, knowing when to not pinch. I saw him play really well in his own zone.

Starting point is 00:01:55 I also saw him driving more offense than normal. it looks like he's worked on his shot quite a bit. It's not just a quote-unquote muffin-like shot from the point, as we saw earlier this season and then last season as well. He really started coming into his own in the second half of this season. And if you're asking me right now, Pat, I would bring him back. I don't think he's going to get that big of a raise. I mean, if you go to Cap Friendly right now, he only made 825K on his last contract.

Starting point is 00:02:21 So he'll definitely get over a million, of course. But if you can get him for, I don't know, 1.5.5. million per year, maybe somewhere in that range, 1.5, 2 million per, I think you're totally fine for a bottom pairing defenseman. I don't even know if he'll get the 2 million, but I do think this is a player that you bring back specifically for at least a bottom pairing role next year. Yeah, I don't think he's going to double up his salary or anything into next year. I don't think he'll cross the $2 million threshold. But I agree overall. I liked his game the second half of the season. And he really appeared to have some chemistry with Chris Latang.

Starting point is 00:02:56 And if you remember, there was a feature near the end of the year about Jack St. Iveney and Ryan Shea. And one of the things Shea brought up was that you look at the pairings that have worked well this season. Those guys weren't just good on the ice together. They were close off the ice. They talked about how Carlson and Pedersen really got along and became friends away from the rink. And we know how tight P.O. Joseph and Chris Latang are. And I think that's really a pairing that could work moving forward. because they showed some real chemistry together.

Starting point is 00:03:30 Part of it, yes, is that P.O. Joseph really started to discover his game and really just started to look comfortable as a regular NHLer. I think overall, that was his biggest impediment in the lead up to this season. He never really looked comfortable in a consistent NHL role. He would have three to four solid games and then he would kind of disappear for two to three weeks. He could never really put any kind of consistent. consistency together. And now in the back half, and you had the numbers up, he looked really good, fairly consistently, the back half of the season. And if you're the coaching staff, if you're Kyle

Starting point is 00:04:07 Dubus, this is a tough decision to make. Obviously, I think the easy decision is to bring him back. The tough decision is going to be where to play him because I like that pairing of Joseph in Latang. Now, I don't think we have enough evidence because it was only the last handful of weeks of the season, if that can work for 60, 70, 80 games. But at the very least, right now, early returns on the end of the season and where he was placed on the roster is encouraging. I agree. Though it is tricky because, yeah, I liked him with Latang at times, but I don't know

Starting point is 00:04:45 if he's going to play that well over 70, 75, 80 games on the top pairing throughout a season. And I still think they need another top four defenseman. And we all saw what Dubus just said about Ryan Graves. It looks unlikely that he's going to be moving on from him after year one of that contract. So what do you do with Joseph? That's going to be the big question that Dubus has. Again, I would bring him back. But if you are hell bent on bringing Graves back, he's probably going to get a top four spot again. And you don't want to go out and get another defenseman, then okay, you can bring Joseph back. But if you do want to go out there and get a defense. from the market or the UFA market, excuse me, or the trade market, then I think bringing Joseph

Starting point is 00:05:26 back has some complications overall because he has shown that he belongs in the NHL no matter what. As for the other RFA that's at least on the roster right now, that is Neil Benjamin who was acquired during the season for the Penguins, 900K, heading into being an RFA. During his time with the Penguins, three goals, five points in 24 games, he was never going to score six to have that pick go up to a third round pick. I just didn't really see enough from him throughout his 20, 25 game sample to make me want to bring him back for next season. I understand making that move during the season just because you're trying to get a spark

Starting point is 00:06:06 in your bottom six, but the production wasn't there. I'd rather see him go somewhere else in my opinion. It's become a common phrase among a lot of hockey analysts. He's a cardio merchant. He's got some speed. he's got a nice little shot, but he just doesn't really do much of anything else. And I'm right there with you. The idea of getting him to provide a bit of a spark for the bottom six seemed like a good idea at the time.

Starting point is 00:06:33 You know, Nylander wasn't really working out as a penguin after all those years. He, similar to Joseph, showed flashes, but there was never consistency there. So you try to get anything for him and you got that guy. He did fine enough, but I mean, if they let him watch, walk. It's no scale off my nose. Yeah, you can find better production for cheap on the UFA market, on the trade market, someone that will give you more than three goals in 24 games overall. But those are the two players that are on the roster right now that are RFAs.

Starting point is 00:07:07 There are still other RFA slash UFAs that are not on the roster, but are helping Wilkesbury in the playoffs this week. A couple of those. One, same plan, makes a little over 860K going into his RFA year. I think they bring him back just because they want to give him a shot to make this team for next year. He has had a pretty sound year in Wilkesbury. He didn't do too much with his brief NHL sample, but that seems like a no-brainer to bring back. I'm fine with bringing Poulan back.

Starting point is 00:07:37 I mean, but this has to be it. This has to be the end of the road for him. He either figures it out this year or it's so long, see you later. Best of luck in your future endeavors. Because like I said, when he was up during the end of the end of, of the season. I know that Sullivan catches a lot of rightful flack for pulling the plug on young guys very quickly, but in Poulan's case, he didn't really do anything worth getting more of a look. He was in the lineup, and that's really the best I can say about what he did. I didn't expect him

Starting point is 00:08:10 to light it up. I didn't expect him to come in and score a pile of goals and move up the lineup and just a handful of games. But in the limited minutes he got, it was the worst thing you can say for a guy like him, and it's that we just didn't notice him. Yeah, you got to stand out when you have a chance like that, and he wasn't able to, which was a little unfortunate. We'll have to see if he gets that chance next season, but still, I'm fine, bringing him back on a two-way contract overall. A big one, Jackson Ivaney.

Starting point is 00:08:38 He was tremendous for the penguins down the stretch. It's looking more and more like a clone of Tadro-Weedle. Each game you watch of him, he has a very active stick in his own zone, was great one-on-one against players coming in the Penguin Zone was great from the Blue Line, just has a knack of playing really well in all three zones. He's more than ready for the NHL. He should be the favorite to be this team's number six defensemen next season. He's not really going to cost you anything,

Starting point is 00:09:05 just like Trevor Wheatel didn't really cost the Penguins anything when he was on the bottom pairing for the last several years. Easy one, slam dunk sign, if you're asking me. Oh, for sure. I mean, and it's not going to cost you a lot because he's a young guy that doesn't have a ton of game experience under his belt. He's not exactly going to be due for any sort of gigantic raise. You look at him right now.

Starting point is 00:09:26 He makes all of $857,000 against the cap. And for the role he's going to play, you're not going to pay him any more than a million, 1.2, something like that, just because he's not a high-end prospect. And that's no disrespect to him. Just the game that he plays is not a flashy game. It's not high octane.

Starting point is 00:09:47 It's not offense. just a very solid two-way defensive game. And what he showed us in the last few weeks of the season, show me that he belongs on this roster in the number six spot. It's funny, you know, you give someone like that a chance. He ran with it. And I'm just really happy that he played that well down the stretch. A couple more hurry here before we head to break, though.

Starting point is 00:10:09 We got Ryan Shea, he's a UFA. He made 775K this past season. I'm fine with bringing him back as the team's number seven, number eight defensemen. at the start of the season, I wasn't too impressed by his play. I was like, oh, here's a guy who really doesn't look ready for the NHL, was making a lot of mistakes in his own zone, wasn't bringing anything offensively. But towards the late stages of the season, after getting called back up,

Starting point is 00:10:32 he looked like a completely different player. He looked like someone who got some seasoning in the AHL, looked like someone who really worked on the defensive side of his game, brought a little bit more offense to the table. I could definitely see them bringing him back as a number seven, number eight guy and I'm actually probably in favor of it. He's 27 and similar to St. Ivan, he does not play a very flashy game.

Starting point is 00:10:55 His upside isn't gigantic. He's not going to be a top pairing guy. He's definitely a third pairing guy and maybe his ceiling is second pairing if he really develops over the next couple of years. But again, it's a good depth option that showed that he can hang in the NHL when needed. So again, similar guy. If they bring him back, I'm not going to be upset.

Starting point is 00:11:16 If they let them walk again, I think there's a handful of guys you can find in free agency or the draft or even in your system right now that can play that same exact role as your seventh or eighth defenseman who plays on a top pairing in the AHL and then comes up and fills in well in the National League. And he'll come cheap to. A lot of these players are going to come back really cheap for the Penguins. And speaking of that,

Starting point is 00:11:38 Dalton is really the last player that I want to get to. He's actually a UFA heading into this offseason, but someone that I very much want the penguins to bring back. I was worried when he first came up because I thought he was going to be just like the other Wilkesbury callups that you saw throughout the season for the most part, but he quickly became not one of the regular call-ups. His shot is awesome, really good playmaker at the NHL level. Yeah, he cooled down the stretch a little bit,

Starting point is 00:12:06 but he's still someone that I want in this lineup on an every night basis. He brings that youth, that speed that this team really needs. And if you put him in a third or fourth line role, I think he can flourish. I would definitely want him back on this team next year. He's all the 24 years old. He showed a lot of promise this year. He did burn out in his first stretch and then cooled down at the end of the season. But the tools are there for him to be an impactful NHL player.

Starting point is 00:12:34 And when you have a guy at that age with that kind of cost control, it's very easy to make that decision to bring him back. And I think going into training camp and going into next year, he's going to push for a consistent role in the NHL. And similar to the other guys we've talked about, they didn't do so well that they're going to command a big pay raise. So you can get them to work on the cheap, and they can give you some big production.

Starting point is 00:13:01 And as Kyle Dubus has spoken about at length since the season ended, and even since the trade deadline, it brings you another injection of youth into a lineup that so badly needs it. 100%. And there is Jonathan Gruden. He is also an RFA. I'm fine with bringing him back on a two-way contract. I at least liked him a little bit in the NHL, but I don't think he is a long-term player in this league at this point overall. But those are our thoughts on the Penguins' main RFAs for the season and a little bit of their younger UFAs as well. Who do you think they should bring back from that crop? Let us know down the comments. You can send us all a DM on social media and all that good stuff.

Starting point is 00:13:39 But that'll do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, Pat and I are going to discuss players other than Cindy Crosby that are eligible for extensions this offseason that Kyle Dubas could look to sign. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about game time. It's now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets even faster and easier. Prices on the game time map actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch with killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest price guarantee. Game time takes the guesswork out of buying tickets.

Starting point is 00:14:11 You can save up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, etc. You can also save even more with exclusive in-app deals on select seats ahead of the game or event. You can also save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats for you. You can get a great view from receipt in the app before you buy. Also, the lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference. take the guestwork out of buying tickets with game time down the game time app create account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create account and redeem code locked on NHL for $20 off down at the

Starting point is 00:14:51 game time out today last minute 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 hodies join on my host patrick damp so yes outside of sydney crosby there are a few candidates in mind that could extend with the Penguins this summer, one of which is Marcus Pedersen, who had another tremendous year for the 2023-20204 season. I think when you look at this season as a whole, he was the Penguins' most consistent defenseman. And I hope that's not a hot take just because there were plenty of times where Eric Carlson had a lot of bad plays in his own zone. You also had Crystal Tang, had a very rotten end to his season, last four to six

Starting point is 00:15:36 weeks of the season. He was flat out awful. But Pedersen was consistent throughout there really weren't too many instances where his play dipped. And he makes a little lower $4 million on his contract right now. He's expected to be a UFA for the 2025, 2025, 26 season. This is a player that I keep yesterday. This is a player that I keep today. And this is a player that I keep tomorrow. I think this is going to be a very big contract. If I had to guess, six to seven years, max term somewhere in there. Over 5.5 million per season, he is worth it, in my opinion.

Starting point is 00:16:11 I know he's going to be well over 30 during a lot of that contract, but that is someone who you don't let go. I shuddered to think about what this team's defense would look like without him there. You have to sign him, in my opinion. I agree with you. And you look at cap-friendly going into that season.

Starting point is 00:16:30 I mean, the penguins are going to have more than $40 million dollars available in cap space. And that's obviously, we don't know what's going to happen with Sid this summer. They obviously are signaling that they're going to sign him to an extension. So, you know, you'll probably have, instead of 42 million in cap space, you'll probably have somewhere between 35 and 34. But that's also going to be a big summer for Kyle Dubus and the Penguins, because he'll have a really good opportunity in front of him going into the 26, 27 season,

Starting point is 00:17:01 to really reshape the roster because you look at it as it stands right now. And this also, again, does not take into account a potential Sydney Crosby extension, which we know is going to get done. You'll only have left on the roster, Brian Rust, Ricard Raquel, you'll have Eric Carlson, Chris LaTang, and Riley, or not Riley Smith, Ryan Graves, excuse me. So there is a lot of opportunity for them to really shift the balance of this roster. and where it's going into that season.

Starting point is 00:17:34 And Marcus Pedersen should be a part of it. Now, I don't know if they're going to go into a rush to put them to an extension because, as you can tell, there's a lot of love between the two, the organization and Marcus Pedersen. He likes playing here. They like having him. It doesn't feel like it'll get contentious. It feels like it'll be a, hey, this is a business type thing and we'll work on you

Starting point is 00:17:56 into next year and get something figured out. But overall, I'm right there with you that this. is a guy you lock up. This is a guy you keep. He's a steady defenseman. If you can get him on five, six years with not a super heavy AAV, that's a contract that can age really well. Agreed. And I know there's going to be talk about potentially trading him before you sign him or something like that, but I'm just not really interested in going down that route. Sure, you could get quite a haul for him. But without Marcus Pedersen, who on this, defensive core is going to play lockdown defense for you on a nightly basis. With all due respect

Starting point is 00:18:36 to Chris Littang and Eric Carlson, they are not as good in their own zone as Marcus Pedersen is. And neither is Ryan Graves. Is P.O. Joseph as good as Pedersen is in his own zone? No, Jackson, Ivey. No. So if you go down that route, you have to have a replacement ready to go for them. And they don't have that player in house right now. And even if you go to the UFA market at that rate or the trade market, I don't know if you're going to to get as good of a defenseman as him if you do move on for him. So I did want to end with that. A couple other players to keep in mind for potential extensions this offseason. Another one, Drew O'Connor, 16 goals, 33 points this past season really came into his own overall. He's only making $925,000 heading in the next season, Pat. Then he's a UFA this season after.

Starting point is 00:19:26 If I am Kyle Dubis in the front office, I think I might get a head star on that extension. because if he goes off even more this upcoming season, and I'm talking about 20, 22, 23 goals, maybe he's someone that gets over 40 to 45 points in a third round role or even a top six rule at times. He is going to get quite a bit of money on that next deal. I would try to get ahead of that if possible. It really feels like that's a guy they've ticketed as they want to be part. They want him to be part of their future.

Starting point is 00:19:56 So you might as well just get it done and lock him up. He's a younger player. He's shown a lot of upside. And again, given what he's done up to this point, if you can do that extension now and get him to agree to it, you can get him to work cheap again. And he's going to very much outperform that contract. And that's good news for you because you look at his body of work up until the end of this season. It's not worthy of some back up the Brinks truck kind of extension. If you can get them locked in early, that's a very savvy move.

Starting point is 00:20:27 but that also brings into the other side of the discussion of, is that what he wants? Does he want to get locked up longer term early? Or does he want to take a bet on himself and have a big year and go look for a pay raise, which he very much could? Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if he did do that. It's just I would love if they could get him to an extension before he potentially breaks out even more because I think he might just be scratching the surface here when it comes

Starting point is 00:20:57 to how much potential he has in the NHL. This next one, it's a bit of a lower possibility, but we do have to throw it out there. Lars Eller, he still has another year left on his contract right now. If you look at Cat Friendly, he is making $2.45 million for this next season before becoming a UFA for the 2025-26 season. He's 34 right now.

Starting point is 00:21:19 So again, low possibility, but we do have to put it out there. Eller had a really good year for the Penguins this year, 15 goals, 31 points. think he's really going to be looking for a raise on his next contract, considering he's going to be into his late 30s at that point. But he's still someone that I could see the Penguins maybe signing to a one-year extension or something like that. I just don't want a repeat of the Jeff Carter contract, for example, where he really falls off after having a pretty sound year. One-year extension, I could see it. But again, still low probability, but wanted to put it out

Starting point is 00:21:53 there for everyone. To me, that's a summer of kind of deal. You don't extend him ahead of the time. Fair. Yes, he did have a very good year. Yes, he exceeded expectations. But again, we talked about this with him all year long. If you're a contender, he's not your third line center. He's your fourth line center. And that's no disrespect to him. That's just the kind of game that he plays. And for the Penguins, I think the smartest thing would be let him play it out. If he has a good year again next year, you engage him in talks next summer. see if you can get them back on the cheap for a year, maybe two. And if not, thanks for the memories, thanks for all your help.

Starting point is 00:22:30 Best of luck down the road. Right. He'll be able to go to another team to a one or two-year contract with probably a little less pay just because he'll be in his late 30s at that point anyway. One more player before we kick this to break. Yes, he'll be a UFA. The season after that. I just want to see him get actual playing time this season

Starting point is 00:22:51 because I want to see what they have in this player. I think when he finally got into the lineup, you saw the potential that he had for this team. It's just that Mike Sullivan kept scratching him for players that were worse than him. Hopefully that's not going to be a problem this year. And if he is able to have a pretty good year and get back to the level that we've seen him play at in other places, he could also be an extension of candidate. And he's not really going to cost you much either.

Starting point is 00:23:18 No, and you don't have to extend him this summer. You got to let him, you got to make them prove it this coming season. One of the probability, but had to put it out there. Yeah, let him prove it this season, have a bounce back year, be in the lineup consistently, like you did the last few weeks of the season, where he had a great game against Carolina and really proved that he belonged in the lineup for the remainder of the season. So you want to have him build off that. And if he has a good year next season, when you're about 75%, or all,

Starting point is 00:23:50 the way through it, you can sit down with them and figure out what he's figuring and what he wants long term. Agreed. And I think that I'll do it for this second segment of today's episode. Coming up in the final segment, we're going to take a look at the farm again as we only got a big win in their playoff series on Monday. Plus, Wilkesbury has added quite a few reinforcements as they are going all in for the Calder Cup this year. But before we get to that, we got to tell you a lot about about a couple sponsors, including Fandall. It's playoff time in the NBA and NHL. Baseball is in full swing, and Fandle is your place to bet on every single game.

Starting point is 00:24:26 Right now, new customers get $150 and bonus bets, guaranteed. That's $150 win or lose, bet on everything from slap shots to home runs to slam dunks, all on an app that is safe, secure, and very easy to use. What are you waiting for? Visit fandle.com slash locked on and make your first bet an automatic win. that's Fandu, America's number one sports book. And we're not done. We still got to tell you all about PolicyGenius,

Starting point is 00:24:53 which is the country's leading online insurance marketplace. It saves you time and money so you can provide your family with a financial safety net starting today. With PolicyGenius, you can find life insurance policies that start at just $292 per year for $1 million of coverage. Some options offer same-day approval and avoid unnecessary medical exams. Policy Genius also helps. that you compare your options from top companies and their team of licensed experts is on hand to help talk you through it. Talk to a team of award-winning agents who will walk you through the process step by step. You can also easily compare quotes from America's top insurers

Starting point is 00:25:29 in just a few clicks to find your lowest price. Your work life insurance policy may not offer enough protection for your family's needs. Even worse, it may not come with you if you leave your job. Policy Genius gives you unbiased advice from a licensed expert support team. They have no incentive to recommend one insurer over another so you can trust their guidance. Check life insurance off your to do-list in no time with PolicyGenius. Head to PolicyGenius.com slash Lockdown NHL or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save one more time. That's PolicyGenius.com slash locked on NHL.

Starting point is 00:26:07 All right. We're back here in this episode of the Locktown Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host Patrick Dam. So Pat Wilkesbury, they added quite a few really sound prospects to their Calder Cup roster as Wilkesbury, again, is going all in 40 playoffs this year. They added Owen Pickering, Billy Coyvinen, Emil Pianney Nemi, and Cooper Foster to the roster for really strong prospects in the Penguin system. Cooper Foster is someone who really doesn't get talked about enough, but had a really good year this year in the OHL. 59 games, 21 goals, 52 points in 59 games. And in the playoffs for them, he had two goals and six points in 10 games.

Starting point is 00:26:48 He was also great in the OHL last year with 36 points in 63 games. But he had a pretty big jump this year overall. Really strong shot, good playmaker. I'm curious to see how he does in the AHL now. You can really tell right now that Kyle Dubus is going all in on the youth movement here in Pittsburgh because you look at previous years, a lot of these guys who, few were they, but that were in the system, they kept them in juniors, they kept them in college and told them next year, next year, next year, this year, pretty much anybody that's got a chance to get an extended look coming into camp this year is going to Wilkes Bear, is going to Wheeling, is getting a chance to prove themselves at the professional level.

Starting point is 00:27:36 And I think this hints to us that when we get to camp in August and September, that a lot of these younger guys are going to get extended looks. It's not going to be you're there for the first week, you're there for a week and a half, and then we kick you back to whatever college or junior team you came from. These guys are going to get a legitimate opportunity to show that they belong at the professional level. and it's long overdue. And again, I do think that while a lot of these guys still aren't exactly NHL ready, there is no better development than giving them the chance to prove themselves.

Starting point is 00:28:17 Give them the chance to play. Give them the chance to understand what playing at the professional level means and give them a chance to fail. Give them a chance to screw up and learn. Because this putting them in a hermetically sealed bubble and they got, got to do everything perfect. And as soon as they screw up, kick them back, let them learn because the easiest way to figure out what you do well and what you do wrong is to do things wrong and learn from it.

Starting point is 00:28:44 So I'm excited to see how a lot of these guys perform with the nailers, how they perform with the baby penguins. And another big experience, even if it's at the Calder Cup playoffs, is to go on a long run, to understand what the grind of a professional playoff is like, especially in the because it's not the National Hockey League where you finish the game, you got your nutritionist right there, you got the gym right there, then you go on the plane and you fly into a nice hotel and you get all the amenities and everything.

Starting point is 00:29:14 No, this is, you finish the game. There's a chance you play the very next night. And then after that night, you jump on a bus and you bust your way to the town. And then you're not in the best hotel. You're not going to get the best food. You got to learn how to deal with it. You got to learn how to play through it. And I think this is huge for these guys.

Starting point is 00:29:30 Do I think any of these players will be on the opening night roster next year? No, but this is a great chance for them to further their development. And for some of these guys, experience playing in North America for one of their first times. That's another big thing that I'm looking forward to as well. And then for Pickering's case, I've been kind of, what's the word I'm looking for here? Back and forth about his development over the last couple of years. He just hasn't developed at the pace that I thought he was going to. year, he did have seven goals, 46 points in 59 games for his team in the WHL, had seven points

Starting point is 00:30:05 and nine playoff games. But I still have been wanting to see more from him overall. This will be a big opportunity for that. I don't think he's going to be ready to play. Next year, I think he's still at least a year, if not two, maybe even three years away from being a contributor at the initial level. But I still want to see if he can take that next step in his development, maybe in the playoffs here and then heading into next season as well. Really excited about him. And then Billy Coyven and man, he was awesome in his last. League, La Liga overseas this year. 22 goals, 56 points in 59 games, and in the playoffs, he had five goals and 13 points

Starting point is 00:30:39 in 12 games for his team. He was on a loan for that team. I'm super soaked to see what he can do in the HL after coming over in the Jake Gensel trade a little over a month ago, really excited for him. Yeah, and then on the other end of it, you also have the guy that we were infatuated with in training camp, and that's Brayden Yeager. who's absolutely lighting it up for Moose Jaw right now with seven goals and 14 points in 9 WHL playoff games.

Starting point is 00:31:07 So while the farm system isn't restocked yet, there's a lot of potential there. Right. Yeager, if his season ends early, they have Memorial Cup aspirations right now. But if his season does end early, I can one million percent see Wilkesbury being like, okay, you're going to come here and you're going to help us try to win the colder cup. And I would love to see him come to Wilkesbury because I think he could be an impact. player right away for them. I again love how Yeager got back to basics this year. He used his shot quite a bit. I still don't think he's NH already yet this season. I still think he's at least a

Starting point is 00:31:40 year, if not two away, but his development is going really nicely overall right now. I'm in for P&Mie. He's a player who I'm also intrigued about. He didn't put up too many flashy numbers this year, but he's kind of more of a defensive defenseman in his own zone. I'm curious to see how that goes as well. But Pat, I'm going to hand this over to you now. How did your former employer win last night as willing is now up two games to one in its series. Big W for the Nailers last night in game three. They had a couple of blown leads against the indie fuel, but just 30 seconds into overtime.

Starting point is 00:32:19 Justin Adamo scores the winning goal for the Nailers at West Banko Arena to get them a huge game three victory to take a two to one series lead in their opening. round series. And I mean, again, we talked about this a little bit yesterday. You know, it sucks that we don't have Stanley Cup playoff content to talk about with the penguins, but both the nailers and baby penguins are very much in go for it mode as a team. And I already said it on this episode. There is no better experience than winning. There is no better development than winning. Winning, as we know, is a habit, is contagious. And, you know, I look back to the first full season that I worked for the Wheeling Nailers, which was 2015-16,

Starting point is 00:33:04 they made a run all the way to the Kelly Cup final. And that was a team with guys who carved out, whether it was two-way deals, other places in the NHL, or guys who came up and played for the Penguins. So this is a very good sign for the organization that you have your minor league teams playing competitive hockey. Because I remember I brought this up at the start of the season where I,

Starting point is 00:33:28 Kyle Dubus filled out a lot of the organization with guys who can play at both the ECHL and AHA levels because you want them to be playing meaningful hockey. You don't want them just going to the ECHL or the AHL in thinking, all right, if I do a season here and I do well, I'm going to go up and then I'm going to get my shot. No, you want these guys going there and playing actual meaningful hockey and having something to play for because it's going to bring out the best of them and it's going to further their development and give the penguins more depth and more options in their system

Starting point is 00:34:03 when they are needed to be called upon. I know the penguins aren't in the playoffs this year, but it's great to see both farm teams doing really well this year. Overall, game four set for Tuesday at 7 o'clock, and then remember, game five this weekend from the UPMC, Lemieux Complex, up in Cranberry. If you want to go, tickets will be available if you want to go check out Wheeling.

Starting point is 00:34:24 And then for Wilkesbury, just outside of the reinforcements, it's going to be great seeing players like Poulin play, Pusin, St. Ivany, Blumquist will be getting starts, and then of course, Ponamara. I mean, he's also going to be an option for this team in training camp to make the team, curious to see how he does as well. There's a lot of really fun storylines

Starting point is 00:34:44 when it comes to Wilkesbury's playoffs this year. But unless you had anything to say about the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday night, I think that would do it for this Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this episode. Pat and I will be back with another episode for you all on Wednesday as we continue to chug along with the offseason. So for Patrick Camp, I am Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in.

Starting point is 00:35:10 We'll talk with you all on Wednesday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Should the Penguins extend Marcus Pettersson this summer?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.