Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Should the Penguins take a flier on Filip Zadina?

Starting point is 00:00:01 Hello there, everyone. I am Hunter Hodes here with the Locked-on Penguins podcast, recording my intro for a third time, because the Penguins decided to do a little bit of business after I finished recording and editing Friday's episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. First, they signed Vinnie Hino-Sroza to a one-year $775,000 deal. And then they signed Andreas Yonson about an hour later to a one-year $800,000 deal. Kyle Dubis continuing to sign cheap, debt. Depth forwards to bringing in a training camp. Camp is going to be a lot of fun this year. Seeing them go up against Drew O'Connor and Alex Nealander and the other players that Kyle Dupas brought in on July 1. And these two players, they can play. Hennestroza ranks in the 68th percentile for finishing at five on five so he can finish his chances for sure. Andreas Yonson, he's a former 13 goal score and a former former 20 goal score, excuse me. in the NHL. So these two guys are definitely going to be gunning for jobs at the NHL level. I will have a full breakdown in analysis of these two signings for the Monday edition of the

Starting point is 00:01:11 Locked on Penguins podcast. I figured I would do a little insert to begin the show just by giving my few quick thoughts on these two signings. So without further ado, here is your regularly scheduled episode for Friday of the Locked on Penguins podcast. 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.

Starting point is 00:01:54 I am your host, Hunter Hodes. I'm going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L.O. 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. Joining me now is Doug Glacky of the four checking TV. He's back on the Locked on Penguins podcast for the first time since,

Starting point is 00:02:17 funny enough, Kyle Dubus was hired and we've seen Kyle Dubus do a lot of things to the team since that date on June 1st. But Doug, really appreciate you coming on for this Friday edition of the show. Absolutely, man. Thank you for having me. Yeah. So the bottom takes on. that I thought will be a good topic to discuss on today's episode is Philip Zadina,

Starting point is 00:02:40 previously of the Detroit Red Wings. He was placed on waivers earlier this week, was not claimed, and that led to him having his contract terminated by the Red Wings. Well, the contract termination was pretty mutual. Zadina wanted a fresh start. So he is now a free agent and can sign with any team. Made $1.8 million this past season was the number six overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft. So it's no secret that he's been a bust so far, to say the least. Doug, when you look at this player, even though the penguins do not have cap space right now, but that could change if they're able to move some salary out even in an

Starting point is 00:03:15 Eric Carlson deal or for something else. Would you take a flyer on Zadena in the bottom sex? I definitely would. I feel like this is the exact type of player that Kyle Dubis should be taking a chance on. You know, it's not, yes, Zadina's been a bust to the standards of a sixth overall pick, but when you look at his underlines, you can see that there's still potential for him to be a very serviceable bottom six player. It's just all about figuring out the right way to deploy him and the right way to help make him work. And I think a good example of how they could do that would be deploy him in a way that the Cracken were using Daniel Sprung last season.

Starting point is 00:03:58 you know, put him in a low event role, put him with somebody who's okay at driving play, maybe somebody like Drew O'Connor or Alex Nealander, and just let them put up a bunch of points in low event situations. I also could see that maybe putting him with Noel O'Chari, someone who's a bit more defensive, but Zadina can do a little bit of the offensive work, because when you look at the underlines, he ranks in the 82nd percentile for five-on-five, even-strength offense among four-finers. That's pretty solid.

Starting point is 00:04:28 that I do like about his game as well. His defensive impact used to be bad. It's overall for his career, he ranks in the 41st percentile for five-on-five, even strength defense. But for this past season, he ranked in the 75th percentile. This was the player,

Starting point is 00:04:44 the last couple of seasons before this one, who ranked in around the eight percentile, 10 percentile. So he has really worked on that side of his game. I would take a flyer on him as well, maybe for league minimum, maybe a little bit more than that. I don't think I'd go over a million or anything like that.

Starting point is 00:05:01 I would send him to a one-year deal. But I think he is someone who, you know, could turn into a good bottom six player on a contender. He's only 24 years old as well. So he still has room to grow as a player. Not a good finisher only ranks in the six percentile for that. So you're probably not going to get too many goals out of him. But again, I still think there is a path to this player being a good bottom six. option with good impacts at both sides of the rank.

Starting point is 00:05:32 Yeah, definitely. You know, and the whole him being in 70th percentile last year is huge because, you know, in that situation, you could put him on a fourth line with Noel Achari. You know, let him be a good little second option on that line to help get the puck to Achari in some situations. As we know that we know Achari's capable of contributing offense, I don't think that out of all the bottom six guys, we've seen them signed a multi-year deals in the past four to five years. I think Achari might probably be the best at putting the puck in the back of the net.

Starting point is 00:06:08 At least that's what I'm hoping. I agree with that. And before this season, at least, Zadina has had one good season at putting the puck in the back of the net just two seasons ago, had 10 goals, 24 points for the Red Wing. So that has the makings of at least a solid fourth liner, but you could. also build him up to a third liner. This is just a player that really needs to get his confidence back. That's the main thing.

Starting point is 00:06:35 I don't think he's going to be just a game breaker on any team that signs him, but he needs to get his confidence back. And that's really the big thing I'm looking for with him. Again, even though the Penguins don't have a lot of cap space, I would still look into him because what does it hurt you? It's a low risk, high reward signing for someone who will definitely, give you the defensive impacts, as are a lot of these signings that they made, you know, Lars Eller, Noachari, and Matt Nietto will all give the penguins really solid defensive

Starting point is 00:07:07 impacts. But if you can get, you know, a little more offense out of Zedina, especially with his playmaking ability that can help, you know, maybe some of those other players score a bit more. I think that's also big as well. So I would be really curious to see if the penguins do show interest in him, you know, in the next few days, weeks, however long it takes for him to sign. Yeah, I agree with that. You know, and like you said with him having the playmaking ability, I don't think it would be necessarily a bad thing to have somebody down on that fourth line to be a bit

Starting point is 00:07:39 of a facilitator in a sense, because that's something the penguins haven't had in a very probably since the two cups is they haven't had somebody capable of like being like a set up guy to help not the less skilled fourth line guys, but guys that you're not expecting a whole hell of a lot of offense out of, score more points and get the puck in the back of the net more. Maybe so on like an Eric Fair type role on the fourth line during like that 2016 Stanley Cup run. Someone who's good defensively can chip in can also, as you said, set players up as well.

Starting point is 00:08:16 So that's going to be something to monitor, I think over the coming days. Again, I think he offers the full package. If you can get him for the league minimum, maybe a little bit more. definitely be all over it when it comes to that. But that wraps up this first segment of the Locked-on Penguins podcast, 4 Friday. Let me know your thoughts about Phillips Adina. Down in the comments, if you're watching on YouTube or send me a DM on social media,

Starting point is 00:08:39 would you potentially sign him to a cheap deal and take a flyer on him, see what he can do in a bottom six role on a better team like the Penguins, even though he hasn't lived up to his billing yet for his career so far, 28 goals, 68 points in 190 games in 30 games this past season, finish with three goals and seven points. But before we get to our next topic, which will be Sam Poulan at development camp, and it's awesome to see him back with the organization. We do have to discuss Fandall. Take your first swing at betting MLB on Fandul and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to $200. That's right. Just bet $20.00. And you

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Starting point is 00:09:53 I'm back 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.O.N. Central Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch of the day. I am joined by Doug Glacky of the Forechecking TV. And if any of you all are on threads, which is the new social media app, you can find me there at H.H.H. underscore 279. So Doug, Penguins Development Camp wrapped up earlier this week. It was nice to see Braden Yeager going up against some of the other prospects in the system. I thought he looked pretty good from some of the highlights that the Penguins put out there

Starting point is 00:10:24 on their official website and on Twitter. Same with Owen Pickering. But there's a player that I think is getting not as much love, at least right now, or getting overlooked, I should say. And that was Sam Poulan, who was back with the Penguins, came back to the team in April after he was away from the team since December. He was focusing on himself and his mental health. And honestly, just sticking with that for a second,

Starting point is 00:10:51 I love seeing athletes opening up and sharing their experiences and normalizing mental health as someone who deals with anxiety on a daily basis. I can relate to and sympathize with Sam Poulan very much. And I'm very open about my anxiety on the show. So I really appreciated Sam opening up about his situation and just, you know, again, telling everyone that, you know, you're not alone. I got help and I'm doing a lot better right now. So I really appreciated Sam for doing that. but he seems to be in really good spirits. It looks like he's going to probably start the season in Wilkesbury.

Starting point is 00:11:26 But honestly, Doug, I think he's going to get a fair shot at training camp once it opens in September. And I think there's a chance that you will see him on the Penguins in some capacity this season. Even if he doesn't make the team out of camp, he's not in my mock roster to start the season. I think he's definitely going to be a call-up at some point if he plays well down in Wilkesbury. Yeah, I think that to start the year, he's like one of the first two or three guys that would come up. If injuries occur, you know, I think the big thing with Sam is just getting him back into games and getting him reacclimated to the day-to-day grind as well as they need to work him back in at wing, in my opinion. You know, whenever he first came up, they made it sound like it was a one-trick pony type thing where he has to play center. that's where his 200-foot game's the best.

Starting point is 00:12:21 They need to work on evolving his 200-foot game to the point where you can play preferably left-wing, I would say, in order to help him fit in the lineup more and have more versatility to move up and down the lineup. I would say that's pretty fair. I think at this point he's probably not going to be a pure 200-foot center at the NHL level,

Starting point is 00:12:43 but I think with his offensive ability, he's definitely better suited for that part of his game, on the wing played in 15 games for Wilkesbury this season, finished with four goals. Overall has 20 goals and 41 points in 87 AHL games for Wilkesbury. Also has played in three NHL games, has one assist in those games. I think once he starts getting some games under his belt, getting just back to playing hockey, he did play in the last two games for Wilkesbury last season on April 7th and April 10th before Wilkesbury season ended.

Starting point is 00:13:16 but that's still really only two games of hockey since what? December basically. So you've got to get him reacclimated. He's got to go through training camp. If he doesn't make the team, he'll go back down, spend some time with Bokesbury, play some games. And when the Penguins injury bug hits, and it usually does at some point during the season,

Starting point is 00:13:36 he should be one of the first players called up because I think all of us expect Drew Connor to make the team out of camp. I think Alex Neelander, is also in that equation. But outside of those two, you know, people like to look for that quote unquote next wave from Wilkesbury. I think Poulan is definitely in there with someone like a valetary Pustin, who is also getting close to being an NHL player.

Starting point is 00:14:02 In terms of call-ups, those two are probably the first ones when injuries occur. And I'm just excited that he's back playing hockey because I am really intrigued about him coming into this season. And I also think he's worked on his defensive game quite a bit down in Wilkesbury. Honestly, I think he can be in all situations type of player with the Penguins in a bottom six role if he does come on the team in some capacity this year. Yeah. And I think that that's what they need him to be, you know, especially with the potential of there might come an opportunity where Drew O'Connor is going to have to move over to center and become a full-time NHL center. So they're going to need more winger options. And I think with Sam, I'm intrigued too.

Starting point is 00:14:51 I think that there's a lot of good qualities there. It's just a matter of, you know, the team in Wilkesbury, as well as the development team up in Pittsburgh, doing everything in their power to try and get those qualities out of him on a consistent basis. Because we all know that when it's good, it's great. And whenever he's bad, he can be really. bad. I agree with that. And, you know, that O'Connor thing at center, that intrigues me a bit as well, because if he can play 70, you know, he's played basically wing for all this

Starting point is 00:15:24 initial game so far, that could allow other players in the Penguins lineup to maybe slide down a bit or go into different roles that suit them a bit better. For example, maybe Lars Eller. I know people have kind of mocked him to be the Penguins' third line center this season, which I think it's a little ridiculous because he doesn't have the offensive capabilities to be in that role. When I think of a third line center, Doug, I'm sorry, I'm getting away from Poulin a little bit here, but when I think of a third line center, I think of someone who can put up 30, 35 points, maybe even upwards of 40 points. I don't think that's Lars Eller anymore.

Starting point is 00:16:02 And if he's on the fourth line and he's putting up 20, 25 points, I think the Penguins are doing just fine with that. So if you have O'Connor as a center, maybe that's even on the 3rd. third line or something if you want to try that out for a few games and you maybe have Poulan on the wing. I would be intrigued about that on a third line with whoever you want to put next in. Maybe that's like a Nolachari. Maybe that's a Alex Nealander.

Starting point is 00:16:25 You want to go full young kid line right there. You can put Alex Neelander on a mock line like that with Drew O'Connor and St. Poulan. I would be pretty interested to see that, to see how the underlines would look. But O'Connor at Center opens up a lot. lot of possibilities, especially when Poulan is on the team, because I think those two could work real well together in terms of generating offense in the offensive zone. Yeah, I agree.

Starting point is 00:16:54 You know, and the whole thing with Drew is I think that he can develop into a 15 to 20 goal 40 point third line center, which is something that they've been needing for a very long time now, let's face it. You know, it's going to be, it's going to be interesting to see how things shape. out because, I mean, opinions might be differing here, but I think you know that I'm of the opinion of the third line right now as compared to what it could be on opening night. You're probably going to be two completely different things. I think that Dubus is still trying to make moves and create cap space in order to develop

Starting point is 00:17:31 that flexibility. And who knows, we could have a completely different third line in terms of what it could look like if he makes a trade or two before October. I agree. And I still want to see another score down there, maybe someone that can put up 16 to 18 goals. But if injuries do hit, I really like the possibility of Sam Poulan coming up, coming up, excuse me, from Wilkesbury and playing a few games, getting some more NHL experience, because I do see him as a full-time NHLer at some point.

Starting point is 00:18:06 He just needs to develop a little bit more. in my opinion. But I'm just happy that he is back just to wrap things up here with this segment with the organization and that he's just back to, it looks like himself. But that wraps up this second segment. Coming up to end the show, we're going to look at some potential changes to the power play this upcoming season and what I want to see from the Penguins in that department and also get Doug's thoughts. So that's coming up right now for this break. All right, I'm back here in this episode of the Walked on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. I'm joined here by Doug Glocky.

Starting point is 00:18:43 So this past season, Doug, the Penguins ranked 14th in the league in power play percentage, 21.7%. I'm sorry, that's unacceptable, especially with the talent that this team has at its disposal, Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, Chris LaTang, Rickel, Jake Gensel, there are no excuses for that unit to be outside the top 10, even though a good chunk of those players are 30 and above. They are still very much elite players in the league. And there were so many instances this season where the Penguins just, their power play gave games away.

Starting point is 00:19:17 They had chances to win games with that unit and that unit couldn't take advantage. And I think that's one of the biggest reasons why they couldn't get just a single point to make the playoffs this past season. And when I look at potential changes to the power plate, this is also without Eric Carlson right now. I know it took me almost 24 minutes to go without an Eric Carlson. Carlson reference for today's show. I'm proud of that. Trust me. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:19:47 I can always talk about Eric Carlson so much. But don't worry. We'll get to Eric Carlson in just a second. But when it comes to adjustments for this upcoming season for me, I want to see the power plate go through Evgeny Malkin a bit more. I thought Tar Reardon and Company got away from that this past season. They're not setting Evgeny Malkin up for his quote-unquote, Gino bombs from the right side of the ice that he just blows past any goaltender.

Starting point is 00:20:11 They need to do more of that. The zone entries also have to be better. The amount of times I saw that stupid slingshot pass backwards, you have to go backwards to go forwards was so awful. I hate that because it gives the penalty killers on the opposition more time to set up. And the opposition knew what the penguins were going to do on their power play because it was so vanilla.

Starting point is 00:20:39 And those are the two main changes. that I'm looking at heading into this season on the power play when you look at this unit Doug what changes do you want to see made well you got me thinking with the whole setting up for the for the gno bomb he should just play the right wing on you know that maybe potentially take him off the point and like let in this case ricard rakel or jake run it um you know i think that that might be something they could benefit from um obviously stop with the drop pass zone entry that's something that's needed to stop for multiple seasons now at this point. Probably four or nine, to be honest.

Starting point is 00:21:17 Yeah. Like we're going on that five-year mark of that, which is crazy. You know, and I think a lot of it's just trying to shoot more. Like, I think that they need to shoot at will. Like, they, you know, like I think that. Doug is a shoot at guy, everybody. He's one of those guys who yells shoot in the crowd. I'm not that guy, but I am, you know,

Starting point is 00:21:41 know sometimes i think that but um no i think a lot of it is going to have to be let it run through malk and a lot more i mean we all know that he has that wicked one-time shot and um you know i think also utilize jake a little more you know i i see how i've said this on the show before like how dallas runs their power play through rope hints they could easily do the same thing with jake gensel and have jake just put up a just boatload of points you know, but other than that, I think that that's like what I would change. I also am kind of interested of the idea of Ricard Raquel at the Halfwell. I think that he's a good shooter and he has a great shot and that would help get deflections in front for Sid and Jake.

Starting point is 00:22:29 But other than that, that's pretty much it. You bring up a good point about Raquel. There were a few instances, excuse me, last season where I kind of thought they were trying to run the power play through him. And he kind of reminded me of that Phil Kessel presence on the powerplay, someone who is a deadly passer and can really rip the puck, whether it's a one-timer, whether he's using his beautiful wrist shot from the left half wall. I would be curious to see if Tar Reardon gives him more reps with him, maybe quarterbacking the unit from that half-wall, because I don't think the Penguins have truly replaced Kessel on the power play ever since he was

Starting point is 00:23:10 dealt to Arizona in the trade that brought back P.O. Joseph and Alex Galkenio. I also want to see Chris Lange not be so hesitant at the point. I think that was a big thing on the unit. He would get the puck. Think about shooting it. No, he would defer. Dude, use your shot more. It's a very nice slap shot. I don't think he used it nearly enough this past season. And sure enough, this is where maybe Eric Carlson comes into play. If the third, Penguins are able to get him. Doug, you want to imagine a power play that looks like Sidney Crosby, Evgeny, Malkin, Jake Gensel, Chris Littain, Eric Carlson, or maybe you even take

Starting point is 00:23:50 Latang off, which, I mean, you would probably be a little upset about that, but whatever, and you put Ricard Raquel there. They might be cooking with gas. Either way, Carlson can really run a power play would kind of remind me of some sort of a Gonshire vibes, to be honest. The truth is, I think that if they do do this and they, and Kyle does go and at Eric Carlson. Latang and Carlson both have to be on the same unit.

Starting point is 00:24:15 I'm perfectly fine with PO quarterbacking the second unit, P.O. or Ty Smith in this scenario. But what I would do is Carlson's at the left half wall. Latang's at the point. Jake's up front, tipping, Sid's working it down low, and Malkins at the right wall. Just ripping it. That should be a top five power play in the league.

Starting point is 00:24:38 it could honestly probably be like one of the most deadliest power plays of our lifetime, like if they are able to stay together for that many years. I don't think it's going to be the Edmonton Oilers powerplay of this past year. That was at 32%, which led the league. Those are numbers that are ridiculous because Connor McDavid and Leon Drysidal are absolute wizards on the powerplay. But I think you could see a power play be what? 25, 26%, something like that. It should be a top 5 unit,

Starting point is 00:25:11 especially when you have Carlson up there running things because he is a great power play quarterback. We all know how great he is at 5 on 5 with his offensive ability, but he can really quarterback of power play. Penguins fans have seen that up close numerous times. Heck, he was great against the penguins in the two games with the sharks, especially. Even though the penguins split those two games,

Starting point is 00:25:32 Carlson was a one-man wrecking crow both five-on-five. and especially on the power play. So that would be a lot of fun as well. But overall, this unit needs to be better this upcoming season. Honestly, both special teams units need to be better. You saw the Penguins and Free Agency. I think they really tried to fix their penalty killing issues. And now, especially if they do this Carlson trade,

Starting point is 00:25:56 they're really going to potentially fix some of their powerplay issues. And even if they don't, I still think they can with the right deployment. and the right fixes with his own entries. Latang maybe being a bit more shot happy, Raquel running in a bit more from the left half law. And of course, I've got him allkin firing a lot more pucks to the net because Jake Gensel, I think, is one of the more underrated net front presences in the league. Most definitely, most definitely.

Starting point is 00:26:23 And you make a great point about the PK. I'm looking forward to seeing what Riley Smith can do on the PK, as well as a lot of the other guys they signed. And plus, we have to keep in mind, like, all those guys they brought in, and Mike Sullivan's still probably going to find a way to work Brian Rustin because Brian Rust was not bad on the penalty kill whenever he was called upon. Agreed. And I think the PK overall is going to be a lot better this season.

Starting point is 00:26:49 All these players they brought in have great impacts on the PK. But Doug, I think that will do it for this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Let everyone know where they can find you on social media and what's coming up next with Forechecking TV. All right. You guys can follow me on Twitter at Doug underscore Gladkey. You can follow Forechecking TV on Twitter at Four Checking TV. And as for us, I think a lot of it's just trying to figure out when we're going to record next. I know that personally my plan is, is I'm waiting to see what happens with this Carlson stuff.

Starting point is 00:27:25 But if it goes on another week without anything happening, I think we have no choice to record again. So my dog was about to just bark at something outside. So that's probably a good reason to wrap this thing up. Thrawn, it's okay, buddy. You don't need to be barking at something you see. But you all can go check out Doug there. You can follow him on social media. The show will be back on Monday of this upcoming week. Obviously, I have a different setup right now for those watching on YouTube. I am on vacation at my parents' house. I'll be heading to the beach on Saturday, but I will still have content for you all Monday through Friday of next week. be the last week of daily episodes until training camp starts will go back down to three episodes a week but again thank you all so much for listening slash watching hope you all have a wonderful weekend and i'll talk with you all on monday

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Should the Penguins take a flier on Filip Zadina?

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