Faceoff Factor

Camping With The Pens: A Quick-Hit Summary Of Day 2

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Sep 15, 07:16 PM | Hype this story!

I’ll start off by saying that this piece is meant to be a quick-hit look at what stood out to me.

Check out LetsGoPens.com for exceptional camp reports by longtime poster “netwolf.”

Now onto my thoughts…

Four Players Stood Out
1. Tyler Kennedy was relentless, and looks like a more talented Max Talbot on the wing. While I like what I saw, I still am of the belief that there is too much third and fourth line competition for him to make the team out of camp.
2. Angelo Esposito was flying out there, despite obviously favoring his groin. He’s a lot smaller than I expected — even knowing that he was a small guy. Regardless, he was unafraid to take hits and to dish them out as well. Based on what I saw, he has the tools to play in the NHL right now, but another year in the QMJHL would serve him good, as he has some bulking up to do.
3. Kristopher Letang is proving why management was so adamant in mentioning his name as a “penciled in” member of the defense. Both his wrist shot and slap shot launch from his stick like cannons, while his skating is smooth and effortless. His defense sure seemed much improved, as well — though I’m sure no one will confuse him with Niklas Lidstrom anytime soon.
4. Erik Christensen may have found himself a new home on the right wing boards. It’s tough to tell long-term with this streaky player, but he sure seems to look good with Evgeni Malkin and Gary Roberts. If he can maintain this level, I could see him scoring 30 goals. His consistency, however, is an issue — so I am cautious with the above analysis.

The Lines Seemed Odd
1. Mark Recchi, Sidney Crosby, and Petr Sykora looked to compliment each other well, but I wonder who might play the physical role on that line? How about the defensive role? And who will score the garbage goals from in front of the net? This line just doesn’t seem like it will be as successful as it could be with a player like, say Jordan Staal, to utilize his size.
2. Roberts, Malkin and Christensen also looked like they had some chemistry. But I question Roberts’ ability to play a full season with top-two line minutes.
3. Ryan Malone, Staal, and Colby Armstrong make up one big line. In theory, I love this line. It’s comprised of three big dudes who have scoring ability, defensive ability and checking ability. In essence, this is a hybrid checking/scoring line. What I dislike is that I believe Staal should be playing with other elite talents, as his defensive skills and size are much needed, especially when the biggest player on the first line is, quite possible, Crosby.
4. Georges Laraque, Tim Brent, and Jarkko Ruutu seemed okay, as well. I tend to think Laraque could find his way into the press box, though, as he seemed to bog down the line at times. Brent looked good, but not necessarily better than Max Talbot, who was bumped to the line of extras.
5. Esposito, Talbot, and Adam Hall. Why is Talbot considered an extra? While he certainly was no all-star last year, I can’t see him as a press box kind of guy. Hall looked good and played hard, which very could force management to keep him around. And Esposito possibly could find himself a nine-game tryout, but as I said above, I see him heading back to juniors.

1. Sergei Gonchar and Daryl Sydor spent much time together. I was under the impression Sydor was brought in to help mentor Letang. I guess not.
2. Brooks Orpik and Ryan Whitney have remained a pairing and looked to pick up where they left off. No complaints here.
3. Letang and Mark Eaton paired up to form the third unit. I tend to think Letang would be better of as Sydor’s partner, as the two certainly will be on the second powerplay unit together. Why not keep them together full-time?

Management
It was interesting to see the team management — primarily scouts and the front office — sitting in a taped off section of the crowd, just behind the penalty boxes. Maybe more interesting was that many of them were wearing Sidney Crosby’s new SC87 RBK shoes.

That’s All Folks
Well, that about sums it up. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments section below, and I’ll be glad to answer as best I can.

I had intentions of taking pictures, but, to be honest, my camera’s zoom just isn’t powerful enough to see anything worthwhile. As a result, I have little more than distant shots of players who can’t be distinguished. So I have decided not to post them for viewing.