What Was Learned at Development Camp

With the Penguins holding their development camp this past week from July 12th to the 17th, the team hopes to have learned a lot more about just what kind of players they have working their way up through the minor league ranks within their organization. Sometimes there is more to the game than simply a player’s on ice performance and that is where the camp really aids in the evaluation and developmental process. Coaches can tell as great deal about a player’s work ethic just by looking at their physical improvements from year to year. Chances are that if a player comes into camp looking similar to the way he looked the previous year he has been passed up by someone else in the organization in terms of progress up the ladder.

After declining to re-sign any of their veteran wingers this offseason, the Pens will definitely be looking for some of that progress to come from their forwards before the puck drops on the regular season this fall. Pittsburgh focused on defensive personnel additions when free agency began July 1st and forward Eric Tangradi explained at the first day of development camp why he thinks that was the case saying: “I think they felt like they had to pick up the (defensive) corps, and that’s what they did. They have confidence in that young group (of forwards), and we’re going to roll with that confidence and have a good training camp.” Clearly Tangradi isn’t short of confidence himself either and rightfully so considering the sky high expectations for the highly touted winger from around the organization. Although he believes in himself and thinks he has the abilities to become a top line winger sooner rather than later, Tangradi knows that the Pens have plenty of capable players in their organization vying for those spots as well. On that matter Tangradi said: “There’s a bunch of young guys that feel the same way. I think you’re going to see a really competitive (training) camp in September. This (development camp) is a stepping stone toward training camp. Impressions are everything. But all they can really ask of me, and all I can really do, is to work hard and be a leader right now. Come September, I’m going to be ready for the challenge.”

At 6’4” 221lbs., Tangradi is quite a talent and at only 21 years of age the team has to feel his upside is off the charts at this point. General Manager Ray Shero landed Tangradi as a part of the Chris Kunitz deal with the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Whitney which continues to look like a gem of a trade for the Pens. The physical element that Tangradi can bring to the table is quite impressive using his frame as an asset to shield the biscuit along the boards and facilitate plays from unthinkable locations. Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins Head Coach Todd Reirden was present at the camp over the past week and he talked about Tangradi’s improvements with the farm squad saying: “I think Eric’s growth throughout the season was outstanding. I think he really understood what it took to play a game on a night-in, night-out basis in terms of being a power forward, using his body.” Size is certainly one of the intangibles that sets Tangradi apart from the other candidates to become fixtures with the Pens this year. That is something that cannot be taken away from him, but one part of his game that he has been working hard to improve is moving his feet and never remaining stationary. Tangradi elaborated on that topic saying: “I’m a big guy, but the knock on all big guys is their footwork. Something in the gym I’ve spent time working on every day is my quickness. When you’re a winger, sometimes you’re flat-footed on the wall and you’ve got to get out of the zone and start the rush. I think that’s very important for me.” A quicker first step is definitely something that will aid Tangradi in the Penguins system where the team transitions from defense to offense awfully quickly.

Clearly the offensive success of the Penguins this season is going to be placed into the hands of some younger faces, but the defensive end might be a bit more youthful as well. Pittsburgh has a Boston hockey connection in their organization when it comes to defensemen with Brian Strait going to Boston University and both Carl Sneep and Phillip Samuelsson attending Boston College. Both Strait and Sneep share yet another link as they were selected just one round apart in the 2006 NHL Draft by the Pens before heading off to school where they would be fierce competitors as part of one of college hockey’s most heated rivalries. Sneep’s BC Eagles would win the collegiate crown in 2008 while Strait’s BU Terriers would do the same the following season in 2009. The two took diverging paths at that point as Strait chose to take his talents to the professional ranks while Sneep spent his senior season with BC.

Strait would find it difficult to make the transition last year at the development camp and spent to year in the AHL with the Baby Pens at Wilkes-Barre. His year was quite a success however boasting a plus/minus rating of plus-22 and really playing solid positional hockey for their club. After developing physically as well into a chiseled 6’1” 200lbs., Strait believes that this year will be his time to see some action at the NHL level saying: “This camp, this is just all about another impression. They want to see how I carry myself on the ice, but off the ice more so and see if I’m doing the work in the gym. I’m hoping I get the opportunity this year. Obviously, last year I was a rookie, I was younger, and they wanted me to go through all the stages and develop that way. It did wonders for me. I’m hoping to get my shot this year up here and, hopefully, get a couple games.” Even with the big name signings that the team made during the offseason on the blue line, Pittsburgh will still need a reliable seventh defenseman to have on speed dial should the injury bug bite during the course of the season.

With that in mind, the Pens also took the liberty of signing yet another potential player to fill that role in 26 year old Corey Potter to a one-year deal. As a draftee of the New York Rangers in 2003, Potter has only appeared in eight NHL games recording just one goal and one assist in those eight outings. The majority of his professional work has come at the AHL level where he has played in 246 contests with the Rangers minor league affiliate Hartford Wolfpack. His time there yielded 21 career goals to go along with 81 career assists for a total of 102 points. Potter was an accomplished player at the U.S. Junior level as well winning gold medals with the Under-18 Development Team in 2002 and also in the 2004 World Junior Championships. The defenseman has appeared NHL ready in his recent appearances with the Rangers so Shero is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with this signing for a little bit of nothing.

The entire development camp festivities wrapped up on the 17th with a friendly scrimmage between the gray team led by Wilkes-Barre assistant coach John Hynes and the Wilkes-Barre Head Coach Todd Reirden led black team. The game itself finished with a 2-1 victory for the gray squad, but much more was accomplished aside from wins and losses during this scrimmage and the week in its entirety. Pittsburgh saw marked improvement from last year’s first round selection Simon Despres who has been working on his shot during the offseason and looks like a player with real confidence on the blue line. There is also some optimism to be taken from this year’s first rounder Beau Bennett who showed off his stickhandling skills along the wall during the contest to facilitate a quality two on two breakout for his side near the end of the opening period.

There will be plenty of storylines to follow heading into training camp in September, but arguably the most intriguing is who will win out between Dustin Jeffrey and Tangradi in the contest for the sixth winger spot in the Pens lineup. Secondary scoring is always a huge factor in determining the success of team’s throughout the marathon that is the NHL season because everyone knows that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to score, but their complementary players are what make the difference. If Pittsburgh is able to develop one of their young wingers into a capable winger to play alongside either of their two superstar center icemen, the lamp may be lit quite frequently in the new Consol Energy Center and the scoreboard could be tested for durability.

Tags: Beau Bennett, Brian Strait, Carl Sneep, Corey Potter, Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, John Hynes, New York Rangers, Phillip Samuelsson, Ryan Whitney Ray Shero, Sidney Crosby, Simon Despres, Todd Reirden, Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins