Ossa wrote:I don't understand how Brian Dumoulin and Morrow are leading. They're already really good and should be the favorites heading into camp, not darkhorses. Brian Dumoulin was a Hobey Baker finalist for heaven's sake. He isn't coming out of no where, unless you've just recenlty heard of the guy then maybe he'd be considered a darkhorse for some.
If I had to pick a darkhorse I'd have to go with Matia Marcantuoni. Guy is insanely fast and I'm looking forward to see other aspects of his game. I'm not expecting him to make the team by any stretch, but I think he is a guy everyone will be talking about after camp is over.
I could also see Anton Zlobin making some noise at camp. He'll really need to prove himself.
I'd say they're all dark horses at this point. None of them are 'expected' to make the team out of camp...Dumoulin and Morrow included.
I'll go with Scott Wilson. He had an excellent freshman year for UMass-Lowell in a good conference (Hockey Eaat). Played at ~170 lbs dripping wet, since he had mono last summer and wasn't able to train much at all going into the season. If he can eventually get himself to ~190 lbs I think he could be a factor someday in the NHL. Seems to have good vision, and a decent shot from the couple of games I was able to see. Also isn't afraid of physical contact. I will be interested to see how he looks in this camp.
Ossa wrote:I don't understand how Brian Dumoulin and Morrow are leading. They're already really good and should be the favorites heading into camp, not darkhorses. Brian Dumoulin was a Hobey Baker finalist for heaven's sake. He isn't coming out of no where, unless you've just recenlty heard of the guy then maybe he'd be considered a darkhorse for some.
If I had to pick a darkhorse I'd have to go with Matia Marcantuoni. Guy is insanely fast and I'm looking forward to see other aspects of his game. I'm not expecting him to make the team by any stretch, but I think he is a guy everyone will be talking about after camp is over.
I could also see Anton Zlobin making some noise at camp. He'll really need to prove himself.
I'd say they're all dark horses at this point. None of them are 'expected' to make the team out of camp...Dumoulin and Morrow included.
I'm not expecting anyone to make the team out of camp either. I'm just saying there are top level prospects and mid/bottom level prospects. Dumoulin and Morrow are top prospects and shouldn't even be on this list. Everyone should expect a good camp out of these two. If you're talking about a true darkhorse then it should be someone that surprises everyone and moves from a prospect nobody cares about to a guy everyone will want to follow out of camp. That's how I think of a darkhorse.
I don't really care about prospect camp because these guys aren't competing about NHL talent. Someone can look great now and look like he shouldn't be a pro in 2 months. Tangradi would dominate this camp. Its for the players benefit to improve down the road. Its fun to watch but its not for our evaluation.
Last edited by Idoit40fans on Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
meecrofilm wrote:He shouldn't be a "sleeper" but I picked Bennett anyway as one of my three because some people think he's going to suck or something. He's 200 pounds now and has been doing his off-season training with T.R. Goodman, who is one of the best in the country. Real character builder too.
Beau needs to know how to stay in the lineup...i.e. healthy.
Beau needs to dump the roller hockey approach to the game and play like a kid who is currently on an ice hockey team. Size is a part of that, but the dipsy-doodling has to stop. He needs to start skating through guys and initiating contact. This is the biggest concern for me, personally.
When was the last time Bennett played in a meaningful game? Can we know much about his style at this point?
meecrofilm wrote:He shouldn't be a "sleeper" but I picked Bennett anyway as one of my three because some people think he's going to suck or something. He's 200 pounds now and has been doing his off-season training with T.R. Goodman, who is one of the best in the country. Real character builder too.
Beau needs to know how to stay in the lineup...i.e. healthy.
Beau needs to dump the roller hockey approach to the game and play like a kid who is currently on an ice hockey team. Size is a part of that, but the dipsy-doodling has to stop. He needs to start skating through guys and initiating contact. This is the biggest concern for me, personally.
When was the last time Bennett played in a meaningful game? Can we know much about his style at this point?
47 games at the collegiate level is a pretty good indicator of how the kid plays hockey.
He was starting to get engaged a bit more physically and going to the net more last year at Denver before his season was ended. I know he once received a charging major and game misconduct for boarding someone from behind. Just has to do it more consistently.
meecrofilm wrote:He shouldn't be a "sleeper" but I picked Bennett anyway as one of my three because some people think he's going to suck or something. He's 200 pounds now and has been doing his off-season training with T.R. Goodman, who is one of the best in the country. Real character builder too.
Beau needs to know how to stay in the lineup...i.e. healthy.
Beau needs to dump the roller hockey approach to the game and play like a kid who is currently on an ice hockey team. Size is a part of that, but the dipsy-doodling has to stop. He needs to start skating through guys and initiating contact. This is the biggest concern for me, personally.
When was the last time Bennett played in a meaningful game? Can we know much about his style at this point?
He's always been a highly skilled player with the puck. We're clearly not talking Datsyuk skill, but that kind of street-hockey mentality while carrying the puck.
@joelperetic Standout for team 1 at Pens prospect camp: Matia Marcantuoni. Beau Bennett obviously has elite skill also. Nick D'Agostino impressed as well
Can Morrow be a darkhorse? He is probably our top prospect. Anyways I went with Zlobin, Morrow, and Bennett. Zlobin scored 40 goals last year and had 76 points in 66 games, a late round steal? Morrow will probably make a good case to make the team again this year. And Bennett, he was hurt for a while but I think he might be pretty good. Hopefully he comes in and looks great.
Admittedly, I have no kept up tabs on Bennett, but it seems to me that one person a long time ago made some kind of roller-hockey comment and now people go right for that comment.