Faceoff Factor

Encyclopedia of Pittsburgh Prospects in WBS

Kyle Dreibelbies | WBS "Baby" Penguins

Jan 10, 11:27 AM | Hype this story!

Now that we have made it nearly to the halfway point of the AHL season, let’s take a look at Pittsburgh Penguins prospects who are playing for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. You will find stats for each player as well as a small evaluation and likelihood of an NHL call-up.

FORWARDS:

C Tim Brent – 34 GP, 6 G, 27 A, +3, 35 PIM
Brent came to Wilkes-Barre in a summertime trade that sent Stephen Dixon to the Portland Pirates. Since then, he has been an excellent playmaker and defensive forward. Especially since the recall of Tyler Kennedy and Jeff Taffe, Brent has taken on the responsibility of being Wilkes-Barre’s top center and has centered a very productive line of LW Chris Minard and RW Kurtis McLean.
NHL Potential: Low. Realistically, he won’t be up unless Pittsburgh loses about half of their forwards to injuries, especially since he is a center.

C Nathan Smith – 35 GP, 10 G, 19 A, +3, 35 PIM
Smith was signed away from the Vancouver organization and was expected to fill a penalty-killing/checking line role. He has done much more than that after being named team captain. Smith has simply become the most complete player on the Baby Pens roster at the moment.
NHL Potential: See Brent.

LW Chris Minard – 34 GP, 17 G, 11 A, +5, 18 PIM
Minard had been known as somewhat of an enigma during his career. He had piled up points while playing in the ECHL on a line with Scott Gomez (of the NY Rangers) but no one knew if that was a result of Gomez’ play or Minard’s. He has scored two hat tricks this year, but only 11 goals in the other 32 games, showing his streaky scoring. When he’s hot, he is a sniper. When he’s off, it’s very frustrating to watch. Good work ethic and great on his skates.
NHL Potential: Probably second in line behind Connor James among wingers on this team. More of a scorer than James, but not as good defensively.

RW Connor James – 33 GP, 7 G, 15 A, +9, 16 PIM
James proves the sports cliché that speed kills. Despite being undersized, he has had two short NHL stints, one with the LA Kings and one this year with the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is due to his willingness to leave everything on the ice. James will hit, play defense, kill penalties, and pop in the occasional goal while staying very disciplined and staying out of the box himself.
NHL Potential: Right now, he is the most NHL-ready wing on this team.

LW Tim Wallace – 34 GP, 6 G, 8 A, +10, 28 PIM
Wallace is the prototypical 3rd-line wing. He hits, plays defense, and can score occasionally. After working his way up to Wilkes-Barre last year while on a one-year AHL/ECHL contract, he was rewarded with an entry-level NHL contract. Wallace responded by taking his game to a higher level.
NHL Potential: This year, very low. Next year, expect him to compete for a 4th-line spot out of training camp.

RW Jonathan Filewich – 32 GP, 6 G, 7 A, -2, 10 PIM
Filewich had a monster first-half last season, finishing with 30 goals, and has seemingly lost his scoring touch since then. Last year, he was an AHL All-Star and won the Fastest Skater competition that weekend. Expected to compete for an NHL job this year, he has been a huge disappointment.
NHL Potential: Unknown. The bigger question is: will this team re-sign him as he hits restricted free agency this year?

LW Joe Jensen – 18 GP, 1 G, 1 A, -8, 23 PIM
Jensen fell off the radar very quickly this year. He followed the same path as Wallace in earning an NHL contract after an AHL/ECHL deal last year. Jensen needs to score to be effective though. In the offseason, some experts were predicting a 20-goal season from Jensen based on his progress last year. He’s on pace for 2.
NHL Potential: If he does make it, it won’t be this year or probably even next year. Jensen is a long-term project or a career AHLer.

DEFENSEMEN:

D Mark Ardelan – 35 GP, 2 G, 15 A, Even, 21 PIM
Ardelan is an excellent two-way defenseman and veteran leader on this team. Every AHL team needs a defenseman like this who can eat up minutes and play in every situation.
NHL Potential: Very low. Career AHLer.

D Alex Goligoski – 34 GP, 6 G, 8 A, +4, 24 PIM
Goligoski may be the most-hyped prospect on the Wilkes-Barre roster now. He follows in the footsteps of Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch and Kris Letang as highly-touted defensemen who hope to make the transition to the Pittsburgh blueline corps. The weakness of his game right now is lack of strength. He has the willingness to take on players against the boards and in front of the net, but he doesn’t have the strength to move them or win the battles.
NHL Potential: Second pairing two-way defenseman.

D Alain Nasreddine – 24 GP, 4 G, 4 A, +4, 27 PIM
You always know what you will get with Nasreddine, a steady stay-at-home defensive game. Another excellent leader who started the year in the NHL and was sent down when Letang was called up. His four goals this year are a lot for him. He is a much different player now than he was before getting his big chance in the NHL last year.
NHL Potential: Any injury among Pittsburgh’s defensemen will bring Nasreddine back to the NHL. A solid 7th or 8th defenseman.

D Deryk Engelland – 35 GP, 1 G, 4 A, -3, 81 PIM
Engelland was signed to his first NHL contract after playing out an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. He has elevated his game while playing in every game this season for the Baby Penguins. Engelland is a very physical defensive d-man who will drop the gloves fairly often.
NHL Potential: 7th/8th defenseman. He is a long-term project, possibly an injury call-up next year.

D Paul Bissonnette – 7 GP, 0 pts, +1, 32 PIM
Everyone’s favorite headcase defenseman in the Pittsburgh organization, Biss went from nearly making the Pittsburgh roster pre-lockout to floundering in Wheeling of the ECHL. Since getting the call to come back to Wilkes-Barre this year, he has changed his game from a slow-footed two-way defenseman to a slow-footed physical defenseman. He has fought with just about anyone who will drop the gloves with him. *NHL Potential:” Probably not going to happen. His skating may have been able to pass in the old NHL, but he is way too slow to make it now. Either way, it will most likely be with another organization.

GOALIES:

G David Brown – 6 GP, 4-2-0, 2.85 GAA, .900 SA%
Brown was expected to be the better of the two rookie goaltenders. He has been very solid, using positioning and rebound control to keep his team in games even when he hasn’t had the best night.

John Curry – 10 GP, 6-3-1, 1.99 GAA, .921 SA%, 1 SO
Curry was an undrafted free agent who worked his way from Wheeling backup goalie to the Wilkes-Barre starter. Along with a sub-2.0 GAA, he played well enough to get consideration for the AHL All-Star game and was named AHL Rookie of the Month in December.

Note: This list does not include players on AHL-only contract as they can be signed by any NHL team and are not strictly Pittsburgh Penguins property.