Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Who stood out during Sunday's two Penguins preseason games?

Episode Date: September 25, 2023

The Pittsburgh Penguins finally played a couple of actual hockey games on Sunday with two split-squad preseason games. Before Hunter and Pat get to those games though, they discuss some of the first roster cuts and if anything stood out. They also look at how the Mark Psysk injury affects things for the No. 6 defensive spot as he's trying to make the team. They look at how it's good news that he wasn't outright cut so hopefully, the injury isn't that big of a deal. After that, they analyze who stood out during the two games, starting with Brayden Yager. The two marvel at his shootout goal and how the moment doesn't look too big for him. They discuss how long he's going to be kept in the fold before likely heading down to junior. The two also marvel at how good Alex Nylander is as he continues to push for a spot. Hunter then brings up Austin Wagner's goal and how it was a gorgeous backhand before they analyze Sam Poulin and how great he has looked. Finally, they end the show with what to expect at camp and in the preseason this week.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet fifty percent off your first DoorDash order up to a twenty-dollar value when you use the code locked at checkout. Limited time offer, terms apply.Jase MedicalSave more than $360 by getting these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical plus an additional $20 off by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Penguins made their first round of training camp cuts on Monday. Pat and I are going to have our thoughts on those cuts, plus thoughts on the two preseason games of the Penguins played on Sunday 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, Hunter Hodes, to my right, is my co-host Patrick Damp. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can follow these shows, Twitter, at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can follow Pat on Twitter at Send him for Wet. 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.

Also, happy Yom Kippur to all my fellow Jewish people out there. We are struggling right now through this fast of 24 hours. And I don't know if I'm going to make it till 630 or 7 tonight. Let's just put it out there. but I think had to include that of course but there are some big news in penguin lane today pat the first round of training camp cuts were made by Kyle Dubas and company most of these I would say are pretty expected to say at least I'm actually going to put on my glasses that I know I need fixed here because these look absolutely ridiculous I know don't worry I need to get new glasses

you know Hunter before you get into that I do want to say something here it's a little bit cloudy and overcast, a little bit chilly here in the city of Pittsburgh, but was it not a little bit easier to get out of bed this morning? Pittsburgh Steelers are first place in the American Football Conference, North Division. Penguins are playing actual hockey. It's just a good Monday, as far as Mondays go. It's a victory Monday for all the Sears fans out there. I know everyone's listening to Chris Carter of Locked on Sewers, but how would you all come over here as well? recap some of those two penguin games that they played and of course the roster cuts which we'll get to right now again i'm going on these glasses

Dylan hamillick sam hood jagger joshua evan veerling going down to wilkesbury as well as taylor gochi forward matt philippe i apologize if i mispronounced his last name they are all going down to wilksbury peter abendonado has been released from his pto and then matt soto has been assigned to his o hl team michael simpson has been assigned to his o hl team and then Andrei Anania, if I apologize for his pronouncing his last name as well, if I did. He's also assigned to his OHL team. And then the biggest news, I think, from these moves, Mark Pissick has been moved to the injured list at Penguins' training camp.

He got a bit banged up during one of the Penguins' preseason games on Sunday. Really sad just because he's been gunning for that number six defensive spot to try to play with P.O. Joseph, who we expect to get that number five spot on the left side. He had looked like he was doing pretty decent in camp. I thought he was having a decent performance during his game on Sunday. I didn't really notice when he got hurt. I think this is just kind of new news to everyone. But it's very unfortunate considering his injury history and how, you know,

this might be one of his last big shots, I think, to maybe get on an NHL team considering how banged up he's been. Yeah, that's a tough, that's a tough thing for Pissick, because as we've talked about on the show and we talked about with Josh on Friday, he's looked pretty good in practices. and I say this all the time about bottom pairing sixth and seventh defensemen. They're at their best in games when you just don't notice them. And you didn't notice him because a player like him,

you really only notice when he does something incredible or makes a big mistake. So he's fitting in or was fitting in depending on how long he's out and if he gets a chance to bounce back. But he seemed to be fitting in and making a serious. case for that sixth defenseman role. And being that it's on a PTO, it wasn't going to be somebody they had to break the bank for. And that's almost found money by Kyle Dubus and management at that point. So I do kind of hope that this is just a little bit of bumps and bruises and he can bounce back this week and be back and make another impression. But you know, you get put on the

injured list early in camp. And it's not a good sign for your ability. to make the team on a PTO. Right. And at least the good part for him is that he wasn't just outright released from his PTO like the other player. Abandonado was on this list of cuts. They're keeping him. I don't think this injury is that serious, which is good.

Hopefully he'll be able to come back within the next, I don't know, a few days to a week because he's got to play in at least a couple more preseason games to really see what the penguins have in him. And if he's not able to do that, there's just no way he's going to be making the team. You can't just show off your skills in practice. You have to have that translate over to games. And here's hoping that this is not too serious because, you know, as you said,

he looked like he was performing well in camp. I thought he was having a pretty decent game on Sunday as well. It's just unfortunate that he got hurt. And, you know, he's always had decent underlings throughout his career. I think he's probably still, when he's healthy, a bit better than someone like a Chabar Wheatle, but there's not much he can really do at this point other than watch and just hope also that his injury recovers pretty soon. Were you surprised by any of the other cuts?

Obviously, Jagger Joshua, the best name out there, sends down to Wilkesbury. I think he's going to have a pretty decent year down there. But, you know, the likes of Braden Yeager and some of these other young players survive their first round of cuts. They did. And, you know, I'm very sorry. I hope you can get over Jagger Joshua being sent to Wilkes. But I do think he's he's a player that is going to be one of those prospects that we kind of

don't think about for a while. But when we see him again, he's going to make an impact because by all accounts, he had been pretty effective both in the prospect challenge and the first week of training camp. He wasn't a standout. He wasn't light in the world on fire like a couple of these guys are. But he definitely made his presence felt. And it's a good. sign for the organization that all of a sudden, while they don't have a ton of blue chips, I think at this point they only have maybe two or three at the most, and even that's a stretch to call them blue chips. But they're starting to show that they have some prospects in the system that should they develop correctly, will be able to come up to the NHL in a couple of

years in make an impact rather than having to trade away roster players or trade away picks to get depth pieces. So that's a good spot for the organization to be in. But overall, you see some of the names that got sent down today or that got cut today and not a ton of surprises. Right. And I think another one of those players that you can throw into that category that you just discuss is Dylan Hamillick.

I thought he was pretty decent during the Prospects Challenge and, you know, came back in the Air Carlson trade. I think penguins want to see what he can do in Wilkesbury. I don't expect him to be one of the first call-ups this season. I don't expect him to be in the NHL this season unless the penguins are just hit with like 10,000 injuries. God forbid here, people. But I think he's someone who maybe could make an impact at the NHL level in maybe a few years, something like that, as long as he continues to develop the right way.

But otherwise, yeah, no really big surprises from this group, I don't think. I mean, the biggest thing is that of all people, Braden Yeager survived. And that's not the right word to use, honestly. No. And we'll talk about it in the next segment when we talk about the split squad games. But this kid has not looked out of place at all. And again, early training camp, we talked about it with Josh.

And Mike Sullivan said it. Don't overreact. Don't go too crazy. But the kid has looked good. And I was, there was a part of me when I, I got the email and the alert that, hey, they made their first round of cuts. They've trimmed the roster down. I was like, are they going to do it?

Are they going to send Yeager back to his junior team? And sure enough, I opened it up, read it, and didn't see his name. So big moment for that kid. And again, we'll talk about it here in the second segment. But man, kids make an impression. Right. And he was tremendous during that first game against the Blue Jackets. That release in that shootout goal was something to be hold.

And speaking of that, coming up in this second segment, Pat and I are going to discuss who stood out during those two games on Sunday, just before the Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off at 8.20 p.m. Eastern on Sunday night football. But before we get to that, we got to discuss the Jace case. Everyone should be empowered to care for themselves and their loved ones during the unexpected. That's why Jace Medical offers the Jace case. The Jays case provides five lifesaving antibiotics for emergency use and gives you a peace of mind so that you are not just hoping to you have. have access to medication in an emergency. Jace Medical, make sure you have the medication in hand. They are very simple.

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on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts on Trojody's whom I write is Patrick Damp. I just wanted away up this stupid flyer. It keeps trying to fly around my desk. I don't know why that's happening. But we didn't have a guest schedule today. Get out of here. Trying to try to, trying to, try to kill it. But nothing's been really working for it right now. But for these two preseason games, I think the biggest player that stood out to me in that first one, I will say this. I didn't watch all of it live just because I was at my best friend's birthday party for her year old son. He turned two on Sundays. That was nice to go to. I was able to go back and watch just most of the game in a more condensed version, but really liked the way Braden Yeager played

as I teased coming into the second segment. Pat, that release in the shootout was beautiful. The way he came to the center of the rank, cut left, and then comes in and just fires that top cheese, beautiful shot. And his release has been on display all throughout camp was on display throughout the Prospects challenge. It's been on display throughout his junior years. He has looked fabulous so far. And again, it's not going to make the team. He's not even going to get that tryout or anything like that.

He's going to hook a head back to junior at some point. But he is showing everyone why he was picked where he was. And hey, maybe he will get up to the Penguins sooner rather than later because he's been tremendous. Yeah, the shootout goal is going to get the headlines. That's going to get the retweets. That's going to get the shares. Everybody's going to make their memes about it.

But watching that first game, the game at PPG that he scored the shootout winner in, that was just the tip of the iceberg for him. He was an impact player in that game. Now, I said it to you when we were texting about the games, but I think of all the preseason games that they play, the first split squad game that they usually play with Columbus, is the least relevant one. because even though a lot of Columbus regulars played in the second one in Columbus at Nationwide,

the first game was all prospects, depth players, and none of the real big names played in that game. But with that said, that's the game where you want someone like Braden Yeager to make an impact because he's not going up against the Johnny Godrose of the world, the Patrick Lines, the goaltender is not Elvis Merslikins. So that's the game where you want him to make his presence felt. And he did so. Watching him in that game, every time he was on the ice, he more often than not did something productive,

did something well, whether it was forecheck, whether it was making a good breakout pass, whether it was being defensively accountable. And I think I said it, but even if I didn't, he was a monster in the offensive zone. He was not afraid to go to the corners. He was not afraid to go to the front of the net. And when he had opportunities,

he wasn't afraid to look for a shot. And that's always a concern with a young player when they get to this level. Even in the preseason, they are a little bit deferential to their teammates. They kind of, you can call it a hockey mentality, a hockey player mentality of you want to put the team above yourself and I get that. But this kid came out and played with a purpose. He played definitive hockey.

And watching him in that game and now knowing that he made it through the first round of cuts, I do think there is a plan here in place by Mike Sullivan once the big names start playing in the next couple of weeks. they want to see what he can do when he's with the big guys. They want to see what he can do when this starts to actually look like NHL hockey. And right now, all signs point toward this kid is not going to shrink in the moment. He's going to rise up to it. And we keep saying he's going to get sent back to junior. And while I still very much believe that, if he keeps making impacts like this,

it might be a tough decision for Dubus and the coaching staff because I'm going to go for a real, real long, long ago throwback. But we remember when Jordan Stahl came in for the Penguins, his rookie year, it was the same deal. He's going to, you know, he's a good little prospect. Little he was frigging huge. But he's a good prospect. He's got potential.

He's going to be a good third line, maybe second line center one day. He had such an incredible camp in preseason and did so well in that eight or nine game tryout that you get before you have to burn a year of a contract. that they had no choice but to put him on the roster. So do I think Braden Yeager is going to do that? We'll see. But right now, the kid is, the stocks are way, way up on this kid. Buy high on him.

But I really hope that he survives quite a few more rounds of cuts, excuse me, and then gets to the end, one of those final couple of preseason games, where it's mostly just the regulars who you know are going to make it. maybe a couple of the outside guys who are still fighting for those bottom six spots. And then maybe someone like your top prospect in Braden Yeager and Mike Sullivan is like, okay, go out here and play with Sidney Crosby. Go out there and play with Epgini.

We know where you are development-wise, but we want to see what you can do with these top players. They kind of did something similar with Daniel Sprong about close to a decade ago. At this point, do they do the same here with their top prospect and Yeager? I would be very curious to see that. again, I don't expect him to make it, but I do think it's going to be a really tough call if he continues to play like this in these preseason games. Another player who I thought really shied out to me in that first game, Pat, Alex Nealander.

The Nealander fan club is happy today on this Monday. He had that really nice first goal, went to the dirty area right in front of the net, was able to get that goal. Also, really nice move by Redeems Zohorna to get that puck to him. He had also had a really strong game. I don't expect Zohorna to make the team out of kick. camp, but I expect him to be one of the first call-ups from Wilkesbury when he's probably sent down in a couple weeks.

It's not like that, but I like Nealander's goal there. His shootout goal, vintage, backhand, forehand, right outside of the pad there, kind of. I really appreciated that goal. And if he plays like that, he is going to make this team out of camp. He needs to keep stringing together, some strong performances. That's a really good start for Alex Neelander. It's like we said or I said about him when we talked about guys to keep an eye on his camp comes upon us. He has to show that he can be an everyday NHL player because where he is developmentally as a player,

he's done everything he can do in the AHL. He's a great NHL or AHL player. Now he needs to prove that he is more than that. And again, that's the game. similar like I said with Yeager, that's a game where he has to be one of the best players on the ice because nobody who's not a lot of guys who are playing for Columbus are going to play in the NHL this year. Few of them might just because that team's in the middle of a bit of a rebuild, retolling kind of area. But that's a game where Alex Neelander doesn't need to just make an impact.

He has to be one of the best players on the ice. And he absolutely was in that first game. to Yeager, every time he was on the ice, he did something positive. He stood out in a very positive way. His speed was on display. He was moving all game long, add in a goal and then a shootout goal. That's about as tidy of business as you can have. And same thing was Zahorna. I agree that I think he's going to be a go-between guy in the HL and the NHL,

but he was one of the better players on the ice in the first game. and for where he is as a player, how long he's been in the NHL, how many teams he's been with, this is what he has to do in a game like that. He's got to be a standout, and he absolutely was. The last player I'll bring up that was a standout in the first game for me was P.O. Joseph. Right. He scored a goal, and I said it to you in a text, yikes to whichever the goalies it was. It wasn't Aaron Dell yet.

He hadn't taken over, but he scored a mostly unsubored. screened barely off the ice, five whole goal from the point. But regardless of the goalie misplaying it or misreading it, that's what you want to see out of them. You want him to be definitive back there. You want him to make those decisions to show that offensive upside. And he made a really great play in overtime when the jacket's got a breakaway. And it looked like, that's game right here.

They're going to get a breakaway goal and send this one home. and he moved his feet to catch up with the guy on the breakaway and disrupted it just enough that it wasn't a penalty but it kept them from scoring a goal. So again, it's what you want to see from P.O. Joseph in a game like that. I agree. And I tweeted this at the time when I was watching it and then I went back to just look at a little more in depth. I want P.O. Joseph to shoot more this year. I think he is at his best when he is a shot happy defenseman from the full.

point that is also obviously playing pretty well in his own zone. You saw both of those things on display during that game. I don't think his shot is a quote-unquote hard shot in today's NHL, but I still think it's good enough where he can maybe fool some of the goalies around the league. And I think he also has room to improve it as well. But I really liked that goal that he scored. I want to see more offense from him this year. I think if he can add that to his repertoire and just be free, I guess, to be more active in the offensive zone. He's going to have a pretty good season for the Penguins. He had, what, five goals last year?

I expect him if he's able to turn it up a notch, maybe have seven, eight goals this season. I don't think he's going to push for double-digit goals. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities, though. But I think, you know, seven, eight goals, maybe, I don't know, 30 points, something like that overall. I don't think that's out of the ramble possibilities for him either. But I was also really impressed with him in that game for the second game. Paddock Allen

who stood out to me, Sam Poulin getting that goal, right place, right time, but really like the camp that he's having, really like the preseason that he's had to, playing some of his finest hockey, I think of his young career to date. And yes, still, right place, right time for him with that goal.

But I really like his overall game. I thought he was forechecking hard. In that game, I thought he was defensively responsible, always gunning hard for the puck. He's also making a pretty nice push for the roster right now. And even though he may not get it by the end of camp or preseason, I'm having a lot of fun watching him. Yeah, he, I believe, I can't remember who it was.

My apologies for not remembering he said this, but if there's one thing that I've seen from Poo-Lan in this camp, and I agreed with this, I had this same thought. It looks like he has hit the gym pretty heavily this offseason. He's playing some big boy hockey and for where he wants to slot into the roster, he's going to need some size. He's going to have to play a big game. And he looked that way. Again, you know, we're throwing out a lot of the hockey cliches of going to the dirty areas and getting to the net mouth and all that. But a lot of the guys who needed to stand out yesterday were doing just that. They were showing that they'll play aggressive. They're showing that they'll do

the little things that you need to do to be successful as an NHL player, especially if you're not going to be a big time contributor in the top six of the top pairing, you need to be able to do those little things around the game that bring value to the roster. And a lot of them have been doing that, at least did that in the first two split squad games, even if it's not really hockey yet. Right. I mean, I love the result. Even though the Penguins lost that second game, the Blue Jackets were icing their A minus B plus team and the Penguins were icing. their what, C-minus D team, if you want to call it that? And they still went to overtime and had a chance to win that game.

That at least is pretty cool to say at least. A couple other players who I thought stood out to me. Austin Wagner, really nice goal in that game. Did you see the way he had one hand on the stick was a very, and I'm going to stress this, a very, very, very mini, mini, mini version of a city cross-by backhand where Wagner has one hand on his stick and is able to backhand it past the Columbus goalie. Really nice goal from him, someone who was also battling for a bottom six spot.

Man, the Penguins just have no more than, I mean, no less, I should say than, what? 16, 17, 18 guys battling for those bottom six spots. I mean, you got probably more there, to be honest as well. And then another player who I thought also had a good game, Ren Pitt, like had a really nice zone entry to set up one of the goals, came into the left, fired a beautiful cross-ice pass to a player. Puck gets to the middle of the rank before getting to St. Pouan. I'm really intrigued by Pitwick, curious to see what he can do at the NHL level.

His numbers are kind of, meh, right now. He's not really getting too much, I guess, love at camp, just because there's so many other names like an O'Connor, like a Nealander, like a Poulan. But he can still play, and he's still gunning for a bottom six spot right now. Then also, of course, Jonathan Guden gets the other goal, right place, right time. Don't know what Elvis Merleekins was doing there, to be honest. But those are just the main other names that released it out to me for this one. And Ty Smith with quarterbacking the power play. Yeah, last person player I want to bring up was from the first game.

It was Alex Nadelcovic. I know that we have him penciled in as the backup, and it seems like by all accounts, that's what it's going to be. But he didn't give up a goal. He pitched a shutout for the half of the game that he played. And he looked really good. doing it because as we as we've said you know this wasn't a game where a lot of the big guys were in so it was a pretty evenly matched game but for about a period and a half Columbus got a handful

of good chances and Ndolkevick was there to make the save and that's what you want to see out of him you want him to be arguably the best goalie in that portion of camp and in that first half of the game that those first 30 minutes I thought he looked really good and that's what you want to see from the backup in these games. Is he making the easy saves? You want to make the hard saves at times, but I want to see if he can make the easy saves, maybe some of the ones that Casey DeSmith couldn't make at times over the past couple of years.

That's what I'm really looking forward with him, but no, he definitely did play well. That will wrap up this second segment. Coming up to end the show, Pat and I are going to get into what we're going to be looking for this week as training camp continues. And, of course, there are some more preseason games. But before we get to that, we've got to talk to you all about Fandul. Snap into action this NFL season with Fandul America's number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers get $200 in bonus bets.

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We're back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. To my right is Patrick Dam. So week two now of training camp, a couple preseason games down. We got another one coming up really soon. What are you looking forward to watching this week when it comes to the preseason and camp after the first round of cuts? So this is a bit of a silly week when it comes to preseason because they've got games on Tuesday and Thursday. So we're not going to see like we did last week two or three practices and scrimmages.

And I know that that's training camp and that's what we're told to not overreact to. But I do like seeing how these guys work together in scrimmages and camp, what they're saying, what they're seeing. So we're not going to get a ton of that this week. Like we've talked about, and if our listeners are getting tired of it, I'm sorry, but he's impressed. I want to see how long Braden Yeager lasts this week. And we're getting to the point of the preseason schedule. Now, it's going to be a little bit different this year because they have that Nova Scotia game in a couple of weeks. So that's probably when a lot of the really big names are going to play because that's one of those

promotional games where they're trying to go to a different market and put a little bit more out there. So we'll probably see more of the big names in that game as opposed to the Red Wings game tomorrow night and then the Sabres game on Thursday night. But I do think we're going to start seeing some of the roster regulars come in over this week during these two games. So this is what we're going to look for. This is what we're going to talk about is now that some NHL regulars are going to get some reps in these preseason games. How does Yeager respond to this? How does he adapt to this?

How does he play when he's with guys who are going to see NHL action consistently this year? The other thing I want to see is, and we got a little bit of a taste of it. In this point, I'm talking more just preseason games and I am training camp overall. I'm not encouraging them to go out and take penalties. because they took a boatload of them in both games. But now that some of these regulars are going to be on the roster, and this will be different than the split squad game when you have the assistant coaches, the minor league coaches on the bench,

you're going to start seeing Sullivan and staff on the bench. I want to see what this penalty kill looks like. We know this power play is going to be a fully active battle station come the season, but I want to see how this penalty kill adapts because there's a lot more aggression in these box. six players and there's a lot of they honestly to quote gregg wischinski could have a power kill this year where they might throw out an eric carlson a chris le tennie krosby a guinea malkin jake gensel drew o'connor whomever these guys who have offensive upside and could

be a threat when they're on the ice so i want to see what kind of penalty kill they run and i want to see how it kind of works all together now that some NHL regulars are going to play. And like I said, want to see if Brayden Yeager makes it another week. Yeah, I mean, speaking to the PK, I think Brian Russell will be out there at times, killing penalties. Riley Smith, I think we'll be out there with how good he is off the rush, especially I think if you can get him and someone else on an odd man rush on a two-on-one on the PK eight or nine times out of 10, that puck's going to be in the back of the net.

I just want to see them be more aggressive on the PK this year. I've beaten that. See, this is the funny thing. It's true. This is the funny thing about it being training camp is I was sitting there like picking my brain of like, who are the regulars? Because we're so talking about these guys on the fringe of the roster that I was like, I know I'm not going to talk about Crosby, Malk, and Latang Carlson. And then like I somehow forget Rust.

I somehow forget Smith. These guys have been here. Smith just got here. Russ's been here forever and Smith's a big name and I'm like, well, who am I for getting here? And of course, you bring that up and fill that gap for me. There's so many names on this scene that could actually kill penalties. It's crazy. But those are just two I felt like I had to mention because, you know, they've done it before

and they're usually pretty good at it, to say the least. One thing I'm watching for this week with that Mark Pissick injury, who's going to step up? Who is going to come in and take that number six defensive spot? is it going to be Chad Rweedle, who, you know, some will argue that he serves the Penguins better as a number seven or number eight. I think he's good enough to be the number six, but that's also just my opinion. I think he's when he's on his game, he's defensively responsible. He can maybe bring you at least a little bit of offense. It's not that much.

That's why POJ or someone like that is there. But for the defensive reasons, I think he's the best of the bunch. Is it going to be Mark Freeman who went through hell and back during that first preseason? It feels like every time Mark Freeman is on the ice, Someone wants to take a run in him. It's not even just the Flyers. It started out as just the Flyers. And now it's turning to every team taking a run in him.

I understand the guy is a bit of a troll, but I can't fathom the whole league hating poor Mark Friedman. But I'm curious. Yeah, the first game yesterday was Mark Friedman in the very bad, no good day. Because he initially looked like he either busted up his knee or hurt his foot. He left the game for all of like two minutes. came back on the bench, was right back out there playing again, and then he gets hit with a shot in the face.

Like just an absolutely rough day. But again, we talked about this when we talked about the broadcast, the broadcast stuff. I was listening into it in the first game yesterday because the first game was the Penguins broadcast, and Bork brought it up. He said, listen, a guy like Mark Friedman brings something. I've talked about this team needing for a while now,

and that's toughness. and I'm not talking about dropping the gloves and being a goon, but having a guy out there who if you crash the net, he's going to be right in your face. He's going to throw some hits. He's going to make you pay a price if you're going to go into the corner. He's going to make you pay a price if you come across the blue line with your head down. And I still agree with that point.

I don't think the penguins need to become a big tough team, but it's not going to hurt if they have some guys in the bottom of the lineup who they're going to make you have to go get the ice bag after the game because you're going to be a little banged up. He can definitely lay the body. That's always been one of his best parts, I think, of his game. He's also a total troll. You know, there's a reason why they had that Lord Farquod shirt for him just a couple years to go. I wish I could get my hands on it because it was a tremendous shirt. I don't know if people still wear it on the team. It was a great shirt for Mark Friedman. But that's one thing I'm watching this week. Another thing, I think Greg

Wosinski was at Penguin's training camp last week and he spoke to Mike Sullivan who told him that like, we're ready to, and I'll quote Wysinski here, unleash Chris Lutang and Eric Carlson on the powerplay. Are we going to get that more in camp this week or in a preseason game? I understand there are still quite a few players on this training camp roster right now. So would you probably see that on Tuesday? Doubtful, but maybe Thursday for the fourth preseason game. Could you see a lot of the regulars playing two of the maybe Carlson and Lattang and you put them out there on the top power play to try to, you know,

unleash them. Yeah, why not? You say you want to do it. Let's see it in action during the preseason before you head over to the regular season. And I know the preseason doesn't mean that much. I mean, we saw that for the Stewards, obviously, with how their offense looked, and then it turned into a disaster in the first game. That's obviously Chris Carter and locked on Stewards and everyone else has done a great job with that. But you're seeing my point there. I want to see the preseason, but it's also not the end-all be-all. But I'm so curious to see if we get that this week. That's another thing I'm kind of looking out for. I agree to an extent.

I also think we do have to keep in mind that these guys are in their mid-30s. And I know it's more of an NBA term and it's never really going to be a thing in the NHL, at least not for a while. But they really do have to keep an eye on load management for these guys. Because even though the big names at the top of the roster are still pretty darn good, you don't want to have a scenario like last year. as great as Crosby and Malkin were playing all 82, you could see there was fatigue by the end of the year.

And part of that was that they had to drag that team kicking and screaming to a bubble position to ultimately miss the playoffs. But you do want these guys to have a lot left in the tank once you get to April. And like Josh told us on Friday, and not a groundbreaking revelation. I think if you've watched the Penguins long enough, you know, they don't think about winning the division. They never have. Winning the division is not a priority for them. For them, it's get to the dance and let's see who can match up with us.

It's been like that for a long time. You're 100% right. Heck, you know, the one year they won the Metro, what happened, Pat? We all know what happened. They didn't go anywhere that year. But I agree with that one. Is there anything else you're looking forward to this week? I guess one smaller thing.

I want to see more of Altarey Pustin, I think, in the preseason. He's someone that's really intriguing from Wilkes. I don't see only one game of NHL experience, someone who I know is talked up a lot by a few different people who cover the team. But I want to see more from him. He had a really good year in Wilkesbury this past year. I don't know if he's going to make it out of camp. He'll probably be one of the first call-ups.

But I want to see the improvements that he has made to his game during the preseason. That's another player who I'm going to kind of have my eye on as this week goes on. Yeah, that was the last one that I had to. And the reason, for me, it's kind of a similar but different reason. Like you said, he gets talked up by everybody who keeps an eye on the minors that he's been really great in the H.L. And I know he's still young, so I don't want this to come off as mean or cold. But at this point now, I'm looking at him like, okay, you've done great in the American hockey league. that's fantastic.

There's nothing wrong with being a great American hockey league player because make a nice living, play into your 30s, play hockey, play a kid's game until you're in your 30s. But at this point, I need to see that at the very least, I don't need to see him make the team. I don't need to see him become an impact player right away. But I need to see some flashes from him that say, okay, I'm ready to take the next step.

Does that mean he makes the team? Not really. But he needs to get himself to, a position where we can say, all right, there's an injury, somebody's in a slump, somebody's not playing up standard, whatever. This is a guy that was going to be heavily considered to be called up. And if and when he is, he's not just going to be a passenger. He's going to make a difference in some way or another.

So that's what I want to see from him. I need to see more from him. I need to see that he's ready to take the next step in his development as a prospect in this system. And we've seen the goal scoring and the playmaking ability from him in the HL these past couple of seasons, but it's time to maybe get some of that to the end of the actual level. I don't expect him to be a 2025 goal score like he's been for Wilkesbury.

But, you know, if he can translate again, some of that to the angel level where he can score if he's a regular at some point, you know, eight, ten, twelve goals a season, that's pretty solid for a player who, you know, about a year or two ago, people really didn't know that much about. But I agree. I want to see more from him. But I think that will do it for this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for listening slash watching this one. Pat and I will be back for another episode on Tuesday where we may potentially preview the game for the third preseason game. We'll have to see. Hopefully the lineup is out by then. And if it is, we can look at who we're looking forward to seeing and all that good stuff. And then on Wednesday,

we will recap that game and a couple other things as well. But again, thank you all so much for tuning in. Really appreciate it. We'll be back with another episode for you all on Tuesday.