Faceoff Factor

Part 9: A Saga Fitting For Earl Mann

Contributing Writers | Pittsburgh Penguins

Sep 13, 10:03 PM | Hype this story!

Editor’s Note: The following story has been written by our friend Pat of Doubt About It. Please take a minute to check out their great site.

The main concern heading into this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins training camp is one that could come only from the mind of a pessimist, as everything surrounding the team this offseason has been uber-positive. Sporting News has picked the Penguins to win the Cup. Ray Shero’s every move has been hailed as genius. Penguins players are delivering season tickets to their giddy owners. The hockey media seems to have made the youth movement of the Penguins represent all that is right and possible in this new NHL. All this and we are still three weeks away from the start of the season.

Premature praise, perhaps?

Who cares.

This off-season has been different than any of the other recent ones. Sure the Steelers may have gobbled up their usual amount of headlines, but for once, the Penguins appear to have avoided drifting too far away in the Primanti’s-laden conscience of the average Pittsburgh sports fan – they’ve certainly been at the forefront of ours.

In wondering just how high their ceiling is as a team, we keep coming back to our favorite videos, One from the Heart and Against the Odds. If you’ve never seen these classics, do a quick search for them on YouTube and watch a few clips. Every year, we ask ourselves, “Is it conceivable that Earl Mann (narrator of the series) could spin his marvelously exaggerated yarns to make Dick Tarnstrom and Milan Kraft look good?” The answer — as you can probably tell from the two names just mentioned — usually is “probably not”.

This year has been different, though. We’ve all been afraid to say “yes, this team is legitimate”, but we all know we want to. In fact, I’m so scared by the potential of this year’s Penguins team (and scared of having them fail under such enormous predictions and expectations) that I am just going to turn the preseason camp review over to Mr. Mann himself, who is surely dying to talk about the Pens after a 15-year hiatus. So without further ado, here is Earl Mann to discuss five key things to look for in camp and throughout the season.

Author’s note: if the next five paragraphs make less sense than Scott Gomez’s contract, then you should probably go watch the clips I mentioned above. Earl Mann impersonations are a little difficult to appreciate if you’ve never heard the real deal.

Defense The defensive unit of the Pittsburgh Penguins currently stands as a vicious brawl at the bottom of the blue line’s proverbial food chain. Men like Ryan Whitney, Mark Eaton, Daryl Sydor, Sergei Gonchar, and (probably) Brooks Orpik figure to stand guard on a unit that plays big-time yet no-name defense. With two spots left, one of which likely being scratched every night, Kristopher Letang, Rob Scuderi, Alain Nasreddine, and Mike Weaver must engage in combat to determine who shall go on this HISTORIC ride to capture hockey’s holiest grail. Though it is said that cutting off the head of a beast kills the body, perpetual incisions into the Pittsburgh defense this year could spell a tragic end for a team with silver chalices glinting in their eyes.

Goaltending When left alone to suffer without ample support from a shaky defense, Marc-Andre Fleury is capable of entering goaltender grooves that place him along the likes of Eddie Giacomin, Bernie Parent, Ken Dryden, and other Hall of Fame goaltenders. When he faces 23 sub-par shots, none of which matching the exquisite artistry of those launched from the blades of the 1992 Penguins, then the red light blares with the ferocity of a angry storm. But perhaps more so than Fleury, it must be seen in camp if the one they call Dany Sabourin has the will, the audacity, and the focus to sit contently on the runway all season, only then able to guard the twine come spring-time so that a new generation’s Paul Stastny can be sent into a dazed confusion when his puck incorrigibly finds its way into the safe hands of a Penguins backup goaltender.

Wilkes-Barre Line The Patrick Division was once prowled by an unruly group of hoodlums simply known as the Muskegon Line, and in order to embrace in the holy matrimony of sweat and silver this coming spring, a new line must answer the call for hooliganism in the Atlantic Division: the Wilkes-Barre Line. Erik Christensen, Max Talbot, and Colby Armstrong must show up every night, leaving the opposing team’s stars on the ice and the fans wanting more. New contracts figure to have them seeing a little more green in their bank statements and more ice time in camp.

Therrien Under the heavy plow of expectation sits a man responsible for molding this group of talented players into a team on the ice. He knows that heavy lies the head who wears the preseason crown, and it must be impressed upon his young players that championships are not built on talent, but the ability to lean on one another to daringly explore what each one of us is capable of in this beautiful struggle we call life. Like a square dance filled with dazzling dancers, Michel Therrien must be the song-caller who decides who is up to the challenge of trusting and following the team’s most skilled players. He must create lines so pristine, talented, fierce, and imposing that other teams sit idly in bewilderment, wondering how such talent has been fused into one magically-brutal hockey team.

Crosby Though the effects at preseason camp may be hard to gauge, a young Canadian will now be wearing the “C” on the ice, a young Canadian who, it has been prescribed by the gods long ago, shall come and raise the franchise to glory. Sidney Crosby’s skills are well-known, but it will be interesting to see in camp and moving onward just how much this talented leader can infuse his will into the steely hearts of his courageous teammates. Some say he is ready, some that he is too young. Camp shall start the glorious journey toward hockey’s apex; a journey where we will find out whether the young man’s skills are accompanied by a love for his teammates that is as tender as it is fierce.

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