Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins have arrived in Sweden and are practicing...shootouts!

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

If you’re worried about shootouts, so are the Penguins, and they’re back to practicing them again! Patrick and Hunter begin the show by discussing notes from the Penguins' first practice in Sweden, which included working on shootouts for the first time in a long time. They also look at some line combinations and what they’re expecting to see later this week. Then, it’s time to take a look at how the Penguins’ prospects are developing in college and junior hockey. Many of the Penguins’ draft picks are off to hot starts and are showing quite a bit of promise. Finally, it’s time to discuss the NHL going international. Is it worth it, is it working, and how can it be better? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DripDropRight now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order.Go to https://dripdrop.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNHL. 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.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at https://monarch.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.

If you're concerned about the penguins' performances in shootouts, well, guess what? So are the Pittsburgh Penguins. We are going to bring you some notes from practice in Sweden, as well as give you an update on the prospects and more 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. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, 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 Lockedon underscore Penguins, as well as TikTok at Locked-on Penguins. Of course, as always, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. Don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube.

And if you follow us on YouTube, which you should, make sure you've hit that notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we get started, this episode is brought to you by Fandul. Download the Fandul app now by heading to fandle.com, and you could win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. More on them later. Hunter, it is no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins in shootouts stink. Artur Shilov's in shootouts stinks. The penguins as a whole over the past few seasons in shootouts. have stunk. And if that is a cause for concern for you, well, guess what? They heard your concerns all the way in Sweden because now that they are over there for their international games against the Nashville Predators later this week, the shootout was a big point of emphasis in practice today under Dan Mews. And for me, the single best thing to come out of this, more than anything,

We're reporting from a lot of the people who are over there with the team right now that after practice, a lot of the players were kind of annoyed that Artur Shilovs wouldn't let them score. So they are in on the joke as well. But all honesty, I know that it's not the biggest part of the game. I know that it's not something that you need to put a big emphasis on because they don't happen as often as they used to. But with the way this team has performed in the shootout the past couple of seasons, it's an area of concern and an area where they need a lot of improvement.

So it is for the better that they are working on this right now. Right. And most of their games aren't going to go to shootouts, even though they have been to three to start the year. But by the end of this season, it's still probably not going to be that money. but they've already dropped three points from shootouts. One of them, the forward's actually scored, but Archer Shilov just kept giving up goals.

You know, the last one they played against the Devils, Jake Allen was very good. Both have been problems over the last three to 40 years where they haven't been able to score or they're not making moves to score, and their goalies just can't, you know, south of beach ball, especially Archer Shilov's this year, where he's been one for eight in stopping shootout attempts.

If you want to add that penalty shot, He's one for nine on shootouts and penalty shots combined. So has not been very good this year. At least, again, he Malkin was having fun during the shootout today. Michelle Krakkeolo, the Penn's Inside Scoop put a video up of him doing a funny celebration after the shootout. So he at least was enjoying it. I'm glad they're at least doing a little bit of work. You don't need to do a lot of it.

But, hey, maybe once a week during practice, you can spend the final, I don't know, five-ish minutes doing a small little mini shootout. And the losing team gets to do. you know, suicides or something like that. I don't know, at least keeps the competition flowing at the end of a practice. I mean, I will make this point. If you remember the early and even into the later middle years of this era of Penguins hockey, we were in, the Penguins were damn near automatic in shootouts. And there are a lot of criticisms to be had of former head coach Dan Bilesma and all the

things that he did. But there's a reason that they were pretty good at shootouts. They practiced them a lot. Mark Andre Fleury was seeing shootout breakaways a lot. The skaters were getting these breakaways in practice a lot. And there's not a whole lot in practice that you can replicate for a game. That's one thing that you absolutely can. So if you're the goaltender seeing 15, 20 or more shootout breakaways a week in practice,

you're going to get better at them. If you're a shooter getting four or five attempts at shootout breakaways in practice, you're going to get better at them. It doesn't need to be a big point of emphasis for this team. They're not going to go to a lot of shootouts, but it should be a tool that you have in the bag. And it should be something that you can go, all right, it might not be an automatic win, but it's a lot better than right now where it looks like as soon as the clock hits

zero and overtime for the penguins the last few years, you've gone, well, they're not getting the extra point in the shootout. Right. And people can, like, joke about it. At times, at least it was funny at the beginning. Now it really is true where it's like you can just turn the game off because you know they're not going to win it. And there was a stat after the devil shootout, Pat, they've now lost 11 of their last 12 shootouts. That is also at least a small part of the reason, you know, you go back to a couple of those years when they just missed out in the playoffs, Pat.

Look at those shootout losses. If you just win a few of those potentially in. Again, it's a small part because they had other bigger issues as well. But it's still an area that you can focus on. And when you're trying to, as of right now, at least because they're in a playoff spot, when you are trying to get back to the playoffs and the core has said that is their goal, you need at every point possible. And three points you'll drop so far from shootouts.

If you get two of those, your record is automatically at least a little bit different compared to what you're seeing right now. So I'm glad they're taking at least. a little bit of time to work on it. And again, how will you do it once a week, last five minutes of practice? I think that will be totally fine so that they have at least a little bit more experience going into these shootouts because so far this season, you know, I've been at a lot of practices, Pat, they haven't practiced them at all.

And you can tell because the goalie doesn't know what he's doing. He's guessing like a goalkeeper does in soccer on a penalty kick, and the forwards are just out to lunch most of the time as well. Otherwise, from this practice, Philip Larson, join the team as a third goaltender for the global series. So, Wilkesbury, the goalies have just been,

you know, taken. Obviously, U. L. Blumquist is still hurt right now. He's not back

yet. So, you know, Mershov is here. Larson's here. Pat, they are, they're going through

the ringer right now with goalies. They'll get Larson back after the global series. But he's here.

You saw Brian Russ with Sidney Crosby and Ben Kendall, Tommy Novak with Evgeny Malkin and Anthony Manta. And then you saw the

bottom six kind of shuffling with Dantinin, Blake Lazzott, Connor Dewer, you know, Kevin Hayes, Ville, Coivvin, Bill Tomasino, et cetera. The defensive pairings, though, were the exact same. So Watherspoon Carlson, Shea LaTang, Graves, Clifton, Dumba Brunich. I will be curious to see if Brunich does play on this.

TBD still. He's there on the Trip at least, Pat. Yeah, and like I talked about yesterday, I think that at the very least, it's good for his development in the chemistry development with the rest of the team because even if he does end up getting sent back to junior, he's going to be a part of this team in the future. And you want him to have comfortability with the organization, with the team. You don't want him to start from square one at the start of every training camp from this point on.

You want him to be familiar with everything, whether it's the staff, whether it's other players on the team, whether it's just the way this team operates for travel. practice you name it you want him to be comfortable you want him to be familiar with it still very TBD if he plays or even remains with the penguins obviously only time is going to tell at the very least I do think they will send him to the world juniors and that is the right decisions so that he can play in high stakes games just because he's been scratched a lot that should be a no-brainer for the organization in my opinion oh for sure get a elevated role with the world juniors play some very good hockey and really develop.

I'm going to definitely be on board for that. And I like, I will say another note from practice, I do like what you said about the bottom six. I do think I want to see that fourth line kept together for now because I think they have been very good. But at this point, you're not in a rut, so to speak, because we talked about it yesterday. I think they played pretty well for, let's say,

five and a half periods out of the amount. that they played but still it's two losses there's nothing wrong with trying some new things out trying to give the team a spark especially when you're going to be playing in brand new conditions this isn't going down to bridge stone arena where a lot of these guys have played plenty of times before you're playing in a whole new environment you're playing on a completely different continent so at the very least try some things out with the bottom six the third line see what sticks and hopefully it provides you a little bit of a spark. Yeah, I hear you.

I would keep that fourth line together just because Dewar and Lazot have great chemistry, and they've had that the entire season. We all know how great of a four-checker doer is on the fourth line. Lazot has been really great, I would say, over the last week or so. He's been a hound on the park. He's been fantastic to watch. So I would keep those two together,

even though it looks like the bottom six was rotating. I would keep Vili Coivin in a third-line role. They're really just waiting for some guys to get healthy. I think that's the big thing. Once they can get some of these guys back, it allows the bottom two lines to kind of come into focus a little bit more, especially the third line now that Kendall is up on the top line.

I still think that is more, you know, it's not permanent. It's just for the time being before someone like a Justin Brazo comes back and then once Perkel is able to come back, you can slide Kindle back down where he was dominating on the third line. I think him and Coyvenin were starting to get even more chemistry. I think Kendall and Novak also had good chemistry. you're also seeing, and I wrote about this for the hockey news

in the off season, Novak and Malkin already have some strong chemistry on that second line. They already hooked up for a goal against the Kings. I want to see more of that going forward because I do think those two can cook together and you can bounce him on and off the second and third line because I think Novak's going to go down to the third line eventually, but there's still an opportunity for him to get more chemistry with Malkin before Berzot comes back. Yeah, it's a huge opportunity for Novak. He's got to take it and run with it.

Early returns, been pretty solid. I want to see him continue that, but that is going to do it for our opening segment. When we come back, it's a good time for a break for the penguins, as we have talked about. But it's also a good time for a break for us, because now we can give you a good update on a lot of the prospects in the penguin system and how they're performing. We will do that when we get back right after this. Before we do that, though, we've got to tell you about our first sponsor. today, and that is Fandul. The NBA is back, and there is no better place to get in on the action than Fandul,

the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you just want to ride the hot hand, Fandle has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for an even bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making that late push. Right now, new customers can get $300 in bonus bets when their first $5 bet wins with Fandul. So head to Fandul.com to sign up and play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Back here on the Tuesday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast, a bit of a break edition for the Locked on Penguins podcast because we don't have hockey.

until Friday as the penguins prepare for their international games in Sweden. So that means Hunter, let's take a look at some of the prospects. And there is but one that we need to start with. And it is our boy in Michigan. First round pick, Will Horkoff. He is lighting it up in the NCAA. He is having himself one hell of a start to the season. He has 11 goals in the NCAA right now.

now. And for a lot of us, we went into that pick and kind of said, yeah, it's maybe not totally first round caliber, but you can see the talent. You can see it's there. He's got the NHL family pedigree. So it's a bet worth taking, but obviously not making a one to one comparison here, but it's kind of looking a lot like Ben Kindle in the sense that we're like, did anybody see this coming with Will Horkoff? Yeah, I mean, he's been fantastic in the offensive zone throughout the year. That last goal that he scored, the move that he made of the blue line, the way that he knifed around that defender,

and it was just a video game maneuver. And the way he was able to finish off that play, beautiful stuff. And he looks like so far a completely different player than what we saw last year, once he got to Michigan, halfway through the year again, only had four goals, 10 points in 18 games, was good at the world juniors, two goals, four points, and seven games. This year, though, he's basically had a goal per game. He's over a point per game so far, and he is just sniping shots virtually on

an every game basis. And I want to see more of his game develop. I like how he's playing a little bit more defensively this year, but I still want to see his playmaking get going a little bit more. Pat only has five assists so far this season. So there's other parts of his game that I want to see he developing, but his shot is still very much there. His shooting percentage is still a little bit high.

It's probably going to come down a little bit. But this has been a great start for him. And I'll keep saying it. He is at a great place for developing. Michigan is one of the best collegiate hockey programs in the country. And you can see already how much he has grown as a player from the end of last season with Michigan to this full season with the program. So I'm excited for him and I hope he keeps it going. But this has been an awesome start for him.

That really is key for me. looking at Horcoff's development is not only that is he in a great place being at Michigan, it's a fantastic place if you're a developing prospect that has NHL aspirations. They very frequently produce NHL players, but it also gets into what you and I said about him in the lead up to this year where he kind of bounced all over the place going into the draft and didn't really have a chance to assert himself anywhere he went. the U.S. development program didn't really know how to use them.

Then he goes to Michigan, and he's thrown right into the middle of a season where they've already established chemistry, they've established systems, expectation, and he's just kind of got to ride the wave. Now he has had essentially their training camp, their preseason, and he's fitting in really well, which is exactly what we wanted to see from Horkoff going into Michigan. in this year. We also got to talk about maybe the best name in the Penguins organization, and he is also having himself quite a start to the year in the NCAA with Arizona State,

the Sun Devils, and that is our boy, Cruz, Lucius, eight goals, four assists, 12 points in 10 games, showing a lot of flashes of skill, and very similar to Horkoff. He is with a very good program in the NCAA for him to develop into a potential NHL talent. The kid's been pretty darn good. And we'll see what it turns into. But much like Horkoff, it's a very promising start for a kid that we've had our eye on for a bit. He's also finally healthy. That's the biggest thing.

Like he's been banged up over the last year. Now he's back healthy and he's producing, which is always big. So I'm curious to track him. I'm not sure about his potential to be an NHL player. but I'm happy that he's off to the start. Like everyone in the system, Pat, we all know. Not everyone is going to pan out, but again, I like the start that he is off to. How about the damn plant, too, by the way, seven goals this year in the NCAA.

He also has 19 points second in the NCAA and points. Former Ron Hextall pick, but he's finding his stride this year in the NCAA at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. So he's playing well. his brother is the only other player max to have more points in the NCAA this year and they play on the same team and they're on the same line so that's pretty cool i'm curious to keep tracking him as well how about also kale dock for the calgary hitman 10 goals 20 points and 18 games this year seventh round pick in the 2025 n hl draft remember he lit up the bc hl last year for almost 90 points

he's over a point per game this year if he lights it up this year i'm gonna be curious to follow him once he gets to Penn State for the 26-27 season. That'll be the next step for him in his development. And we got to talk a little bit about Jordan Sharon. He has been awesome for the Sue Greyhounds this year. Check this out, Pat. And only 48 games last year, he had 10 goals and 21 points. This year, he has only played in 21 games.

He has 15 goals and there's already equal the amount of points that he had last year, 21 points and 27 less games. He's already equaled amount of points. He has been a completely different player this year. for the Sioux looking like a nice pick so far and i liked a lot of his shot during development camp and again i know glorified practice glorified scrimmages but that that shot the puck explodes off his stick when he releases it and he's using that to his advantage he had a really nice short-handed goal last week where he just beat his player coming down the ice his skating i think

has improved at least since development camp in my opinion so he's also off to really good start definitely keep your eye on him too Unfortunately, though, it's not all good news for these prospects. But as Hunter and I have just gone over, a lot of them are showing a lot of promise. Obviously, as we like to say, it's no guarantee that they're going to become good NHL players. But seeing the progress at the levels that they are playing at currently is very encouraging. However, for the penguin's other first round pick, Bill Zonan, it has been a nightmare of a year so far for him.

he had a knee injury going into training camp that caused him to miss camp this year and then he goes back to his team and now he's suffered another injury and he will be out four to six weeks but looks like he will avoid having to get surgery so a nightmare for bills on and I still really think that's a sneaky good pick if he can get himself healthy and start to develop he looks like a player that should he get on the correct track get healthy and be able to play could turn into something for the penguins down the road his play style is also a lot of fun to watch is good around the net he's a little bit more of an east-west player but again i love him as a net front presence he has a good release i like his skating so when he's healthy

he's pretty crafty with the puck but again that's just been the biggest thing he hasn't been healthy for the last few months once he gets back healthy and he stays healthy I think you're going to see him have a pretty good year for his team in the queue. So not overly concerned, just sucks that, just can't seem to escape the injury bug. But this is someone that if he really hits, I think he can become a fan favorite. Oh, absolutely. That's maybe my biggest thing with Zahn and you brought up the way he plays. He is an absolute chaos merchant.

And we know this city, if you can create some chaos and pop a couple goals in, you will become a cult hero in the steel. city. But that's going to do it for our prospect update for this Tuesday episode. When we come back, we're going to take a look at the Penguins on International Ice and have a quick discussion about games overseas. So stick with us. We will do that when we come back right after this. But we got to tell you about today's second sponsor. And that is drip drop. When I'm hydrated, everything just works better. my focus, my energy, my mood, even my skin, and that is why I have been using drip drop.

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us. It's really good. It tastes great. And it gives me that boost for hydration that I need after a tough workout. Or, you know, before I go have a couple, let's say pops after my beer league hockey games on Monday night. So huge fan of it, tastes great, gets the job done, keeps me hydrated better than usual water. Definitely recommend it. And right now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off their first order. Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code locked on NHL.

That's dripdrop.com promo code locked on NHL for $20 off. Stock up now before we get back to those summer months when the heat's really hit. and keep your body in mind performing at their best with drip drop back here on the tuesday edition of the locked on penguins i'm patrick damp right alongside hunter hoodies and let's just get this part out of the way hunter i wanted to have this discussion with you about these international games that we have been seeing kind of crop up a little bit more and more over the past couple of years in the NHL. We obviously know the NFL is all in on international games.

They love their Sunday morning football across the pond. You can have your thoughts on that. We're here to talk hockey. But I just want to know what your thoughts are on these international games because I like them because they're unique and they're different. You're playing in a different arena. It's basically a neutral site depending upon who's on which. team. At the same time, I look at it like hockey's already a pretty global game. It's not like

the NFL where you're taking a uniquely American sport in showing it to an international audience. Hockey's pretty popular across the globe. So I get it. But at the same time, I'm like, do we really need to be doing this? It's funny. I actually have that reaction to part of the NFL like they already have enough international games where I'm like okay I don't think we need it virtually every week of the season like I know they're doing it in different countries even outside of England for example but I've been kind of like do we really need this every Sunday at 9 a.m. in a different country I think with the NHL it's a good idea to grow their game a bit more you are correct that it is already a pretty global sport and you know having it in a

country like Sweden is awesome because Swedish hockey fans, we all know how awesome they are. We saw it at the Four Nations last year, Pat, where, or earlier this year, I should say, where, you know, their Sweden fans were out there in bunches, Finland fans also as well. You're going to see the same thing at the Olympics next year in a few months, but it's still an opportunity for the NHL to grow their game in different countries. And you don't need to do it as often as the NFL does. Well, obviously, you know, the NFL, it's every Sunday where they have it during the season. but I think, you know, ones or maybe even twice a year you can go to different countries

and, you know, promote the game a little bit more. And that doesn't even have to be Sweden, Finland, etc. It can be, you know, other countries, other continents, for example, where you can play a game there if it's all good and you can get more fans into the NHL. So I actually like these quite a bit and I really don't have any problem with them. I think, again, it's more of the NFL where I'm. I'm like, I don't think we need all these. The NHL, I think I'm good on, you know, one, maybe even two a year where you're going

to different countries promoting the game more because, let's face it. The NHL doesn't really do that. Could have a job of marketing itself. I feel like this has been a pretty big problem for a while. I mean, hell, Pat. It took so long to get international hockey back with Team Canada, team USA, and all that. So that's one of the reasons. And there's plenty of others that we can go into, but we're at the end of the show right now.

So the more that the NHL can market itself with our. opportunities like this for me, the better. Yeah. And I do think to your point, they're hitting the right note in the sense that they're not overdoing it. There's not, no, there's not 12 teams playing international games this year. They're not doing it every other weekend. They're keeping the novelty on it, which I am good with, because you want to keep that novelty. You don't want it to just become another game. You don't want it to become basically the joke everybody makes. makes about the Jaguars in England every year. It's like, okay, so the Jacksonville Jaguars are

also the England Jaguars. So I'm good with the way that they're doing it now, where once, maybe twice a season, you see a couple teams overseas. It keeps the novelty. It gives you the promotion. But you brought up another point that I think is a good one. You look at a lot of what they have done over the past however many years with the global series. They're going to places that already have either close to or established hockey programs. Sweden, we know that they're a good hockey country last year. They do Finland. Finland may not be near the top, but we have seen plenty of Finnish stars in the NHL. The year before that, Czechia. Come on, we know Czechia is a good hockey nation. Sweden again, Finland again, Sweden again.

Just you go down the list. They're going to the same countries over and over again. You can also do other new ones as well that maybe don't have an established fan base, but you can develop them into potentially becoming not just NHL fans, but hockey fans as well, like internationally. Exactly. And that leads into what I was going to say in our quick talk about this. The NHL kind of did this in the year 2000 with the penguins and the Predators, funny enough, when they played two games in Japan.

Now, it was very much the NHL being the NHL. It was pretty successful. There was good turnout, the attendance for both games, just under 14,000 people at both games. And you should build off that momentum. But then you look at the rest of the NHL's records here. They do that on October 6th and October 7, 2000. They don't play regular season games again overseas until 2007. They go to London for two.

They send the Anaheim ducks in the Los Angeles Kings, and then in 2008, they're back in Czechia, and then they're in Sweden. And then they're in Czechia again. And then they're in Sweden. So I look at this and I think they're hitting the right note, but late, because they kind of did this as we talked about on yesterday's episode, 2008, 2009 season, they send the Ottawa senators and the penguins over to Sweden. But at the same time, they send over a young, talented penguins team with Sidney Crosby, Gennie Malkin, and the rest of the gang. This is how I would want to see them do this better, is, yeah, it's cool that they're sending over the penguins and the predators. But right now, Penguins and the Predators are two pretty well-established teams with superstars who are getting older. This should be your Connor Bedard's going over, your Connor McDavid's going over, your Maclin Celebrini is going over to show the rest of the world.

Hey, check out this next generation of stars who are going to carry the league. Now, I agree with you on that. I think that makes a lot of sense if you wanted to do a Blackhawks, Oilers, little two game series in a different country that you haven't been to before. I'll be down for that. If you want to even do Sharks Blackhawks, for example, I know both teams are still in the rebuilding process, even though they've been playing well as of late.

if you want to do two games with Bedard and Celebrini. That would also work really well. Hell, if you want to send over the Islanders with Matthew Schaefer and get fans a glimpse of, hey, this kid is already disgustingly good in his first year in the NHL, well, it wouldn't be this year, but maybe even next year, for example, or the year after, hey, this kid's already disgustingly good after a year or two in the NHL. Come watch him.

I think that would also make a lot of sense. When Gavin McKenna gets drafted this next year, whatever team he gets on, and Angel can be like, hey, take a look at this, next potential star that we have in the making in the league wherever he is so i think that could also make some sense so i agree with you in that respect it's all about again finding different countries to go to to promote the sport and as long as n hl does that i'm good i'm good with this i really like this idea yeah i'm with you on the idea of it i think it's smart it's a good

idea but they really got to find a better way to execute it because as i was saying international know who Stephen Stamco's is. International audiences very much know who Sidney Crosby is. So it's fine that they're sending over some established superstars, but at this point, I want to see the torch passed, and I want to see the NHL promote its young, up-and-coming stars on an international stage. But let's try to get it to a couple different places other than Chequia in Sweden, because they are already pretty good hockey countries as it is.

But just a reminder for everybody, we'll keep reminding you this week so you don't forget 2 p.m. on Friday, the Penguins will play the Predators in the first of two of the Global Series, then Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Penguins and Predators in the Global Series. We will be late with our episode on Friday. We're going to wait for the game to be played, and we're going to hop on here, recap it, and preview it on Friday evening, you'll have that for your weekend.

And then obviously we'll get Sunday's game recapped on Monday. But that is going to do it for this Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. For Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you as always for tuning in. And we will be back on Wednesday.