The Pittsburgh Penguins All-Prospect Team

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

Jan 18, 01:24 AM | Hype this story!

A recent discussion on Hockeys Future got me thinking about what the Pittsburgh Penguins “Under 25” team would look like. So I decided to assemble one. Feel free to add your own suggestions and substitute players in as you wish. Remember, they have to be under the age of 25 in order to be eligible!

Offense

SC1: Angelo Esposito – Sidney Crosby – Evgeni Malkin

Talk about firepower. This is already the top line the Penguins ice every night minus Angelo Esposito. Esposito has proven he can be an elite player when surrounded by a supporting cast, and it doesn’t get any better than this. The puck possession and flair that this team would bring to each game would be absolutely astounding. Just think, this could be a true line within the coming years for the Penguins.

SC2: Tyler Kennedy – Jordan Staal – Erik Christensen

Staal brings up the center on the second line. These guys bring some good NHL experience to the table as they’ve all had a nose for the net recently.

CHK: Casey Pierro-Zabotel – Max Talbot – Keven Veilleux

I’m liking this as the third line. Talbot brings up the center and brings a solid defensive presence to the ice. Veilleux and CPZ will go to the net and cycle the puck down low. This line could be a real momentum shifter. They’ll play the body and generate goals with their good shots and their ability to get in front of the net.

4TH: Luca Caputi – Ryan Stone – Johnathan Filewich

This line would be downright tough to play against. Caputi provides the toughness and hard-hitting ability, Stone plays a very powerful style of hockey, and Filewich can control the puck and provide a bit of an offensive spark. One could make the argument that you’d want to insert Aaron Boogaard here as a little bit of an insurance policy for the top line.

Defense

Kristopher Letang – Alex Goligoski

Two of the best offensive puck movers in this age bracket on the same line.

Brian Strait – Ryan Whitney

The “Team Boston” pairing comes together to provide a little bit of everything. Strait is a solid backend defender and Ryan Whitney has that offensive flair and can really move the puck.

Robert Bortuzzo – Carl Sneep

These two compliment each other well.

Goaltenders

Marc-Andre Fleury

The fact that Fleury even makes this list speaks volumes as to where he is in his development.

David Brown / John Curry

Take your pick. Both AHL rookies are fresh out of the NCAA and either would be serviceable for Fleury on this team.

Comments

  1. Matt

    Jan 18, 01:47 AM

    wow, just wow.thats a great youth movement of a team, if that makes sense. great piece.

  2. Michael Farkas

    Jan 18, 02:04 AM

    Interesting piece Jesse, I was reading what inspired this earlier in the night, cool that you gave it legs…

    How close was Dustin Jeffrey to making the team in your opinion? Does he take Erik Christensen’s place when the lineup needs a shake-up, or are there others that come before him?

    Just out of curiosity, who’s your 7th defenseman? Alex Grant perhaps?

  3. Mike Adams

    Jan 18, 10:00 AM

    Yeah, I would think Jeffrey or Nick Johnson might be a better choice than Filewich at this point. There is no guarantee that Filewich will even be in the organization next season because of the terrible year he’s had. And after all the negative things you’ve said about Veilleux, I’m surprised to see him on here, too.

  4. Tim

    Jan 18, 11:07 AM

    Veilleux strikes me as one of those guys that you get excited and angry about at the same time. He’s a giant and has a great shot, and he’s also lazy apparently and doesn’t use his body the way he should. I heard he was putting up more points after he got traded. That list looks great and gets me excited about the Pens for years to come

  5. Jesse Marshall

    Jan 18, 11:28 AM

    Tim – You hit the nail on the head. He’s showing everyone what he’s Capable of in Rimouski, so I had to add him to the 3rd line based on what he COULD bring to that unit. That’d be a strong, puck-possession unit.

    Mike – You could certainly make a case for either Johnson or Jeffrey, I put in Filewich because of his experience at a higher level. As for KV, see above.

    Farkas, Both Muzzin and Grant could be potential 7th pairing guys. Jeffrey was close, but I liked the NHL experience that EC brings to the table for an exercise like this.

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