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| Of the forwards who played with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Scott Wilson's game best translates to success at the next level. |
Part Two takes a look at the Penguins' forward prospects who competed in the AHL this past season, where several rookie forwards made an immediate impact and balanced the talk about prospects away from just, "Look at Defenseman A and Defenseman B, oh how many intriguing defenseman there are in the system."
After the jump, a look at the W-B/Scranton Penguins forwards from the 2014-15 season.
Jean-Sebastien Dea (21 years old) - Grade C+
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2017-18
Regular Season AHL Stats: 43GP, 10G-11A, +1, 16 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 4GP, 0G-0A, Even, 0 PIM
Dea started off the regular season on a tear, tallying 18 (8G-10A) of his 21 points in his first 25 games of the season while put in a scoring role. When moved to the 4th line as the team's depth at forward was restored, there was an obvious drop off in offensive production.
The undrafted rookie out of the QMJHL was a goal-scoring machine in junior hockey, but his first season of pro hockey was spent learning to play a 200-foot, two-way game. In a top six role next season, Dea could better showcase his offensive abilities as one of the Penguins prospects with the highest ceiling in terms of pure offensive ability and goal-scoring.
Nick Drazenovic (28 years old) - Grade C+
Contract Status: NHL UFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 25GP, 8G-11A, +6, 18 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 3GP, 0G-1A, Even, 0 PIM
Drazenovic missed most of the regular season due to injury, missing six weeks including the month of November and into mid-December as well as missing from mid-February up until the second round of the postseason.
When in the lineup, Drazenovic was a solid top-six center with offensive ability but unfortunately he missed too much time to be much of a difference maker in the playoffs. The injury concerns might be too much for a return to the organization.
Bryan Rust (23 years old) - Grade B+
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2016-17
Regular Season AHL Stats: 45GP, 13G-14A, +6, 14 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 3GP, 2G-0A, -1, 0 PIM
It was a very productive season for Rust, who in his rookie season of pro hockey turned some heads and earned an NHL call up where he appeared in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While in the AHL, Rust was able to use his speed to cause problems for opposing defenders and power his way to the net to put home 13 goals in 45 games while with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
It will be interesting to see how much his game has improved over the summer as he enters training camp in the fall. He'll likely be a top-six winger in the AHL who will be honing his skills and be itching for another taste of NHL action in 2015-16.
Tom Kuhnhackl (23 years old) - Grade B
Contract Status: NHL RFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 72GP, 12G-18A, +10, 19 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 0G-2A, +1, 0 PIM
It was a bounce back season for Kuhnhackl, who finally stayed healthy in the third and final year of his entry level contract - appearing in all but four of the AHL Penguins regular season games. Kuhnhackl was always known as a guy with good hands and a great shot, but was most impressive in a third line checking role while in the AHL this season.
Kuhnhackl's play away from the puck and his determination and work ethic to play in all three zones of the ice earned him trust from the coaching staff and it showed last season. He's a restricted free agent this summer and likely won't be highly sought after by other teams, so a simple qualifying offer from Pittsburgh should ensure that Kuhnhackl gets another year to develop in the AHL.
Josh Archibald (23 years old) - Grade C+
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2017-18
Regular Season AHL Stats: 45GP, 5G-8A, -1, 24 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 3GP, 0G-1A, +1, 0 PIM
The former University of Omaha-Nebraska standout delayed the start of his pro career with a shoulder injury in the final practice before the regular season, but once in the lineup was a noticeable player for the AHL Penguins.
The coaching staff has instilled in Archibald that they want him to be a competitive player along the boards on the forecheck and be an energy guy. Archibald has the high-end speed and skating ability to create problems for defenders and has the hands to finish off plays. It will be important for Archibald to stick to his role as a smaller, undersized forward in order to make an impact.
Matia Marcantuoni (21 years old) - Grade C+
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2017-18
Regular Season AHL Stats: 59GP, 4G-10A, +4, 20 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 4Gp, 0G-0A, -2, 2 PIM
Marcantuoni is making his niche as a bottom six penalty-killing center with speed and tenacity and it was evident down the stretch and in the postseason. The jump from Kitchener (OHL) to the pro game came with a bit of a learning curve, but it was certainly a positive learning experience for Marcantuoni in 2014-15.
Look for his role on the penalty kill and starts in the defensive zone to be increased in 2015-16. Like many of the rookie forwards that came through Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this past season, Marcantuoni is another guy with quick feet and high-end skating ability.
Carter Rowney (26 years old) - Grade A
Contract Status: AHL UFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 63GP, 10G-21A, +14, 31 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 2G-2A, +1, 4 PIM
The former North Dakota University product had a breakout season with the AHL Penguins this past season while on an AHL-only contract. Playing as mainly a 3rd line center, Rowney was a complete player - tough to play against in the defensive zone and good down low and in the dirty areas in the offensive zone.
Rowney is surely due another contract with the organization, but it will be interesting to see if he's offered an NHL contract with either the Penguins or another NHL club or if he's brought back on an AHL contract for another year.
Anton Zlobin (22 years old) - Grade Incomplete
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2016-17
Regular Season AHL Stats: 6GP, 0G-0A, -3, 0 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: None
Zlobin had season-ending shoulder surgery after a hit he took from Norfolk's Nathan McIver on October 31st - his second time injuring that shoulder that caused him to miss the beginning of his rookie season in 2013-14.
Zlobin was slumping to start 2014-15, going pointless in those six games with a minus three rating before the season-ending injury. He's now missed key development time and it will be very important for Zlobin to bounce back in 2015-16, before his entry level contract expires at the end of next season.
Jayson Megna (25 years old) - Grade B+
Contract Status: NHL RFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 63GP, 26G-13A, +18, 40 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 1G-4A,-3, 2 PIM
In his third season of pro hockey, Megna has become the classic case of a player who excels at the AHL level but isn't quite the same dominant player at the NHL level. Despite missing 13 of the AHL Penguins games in the regular season, Megna led the team with 26 goals.
His speed and skating, along with puck-handling and ability to finish are about where they need to be. Megna's play away from the puck is improving - he's seen extended time on the penalty kill this year at the AHL level - but it's important to remember Megna got a later start playing ice hockey than almost all of his peers.
I think the most interesting offseason decision among the AHL forwards will be what the Penguins decide to do with Megna, a pending restricted free agent.
Scott Wilson (23 years old) - Grade A
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2016-17
Regular Season AHL Stats: 55GP, 19G-22A, +14, 30 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 3GP, 2G-2A, -3, 0 PIM
Wilson was another impressive rookie forward for the AHL Penguins - perhaps the most intriguing performance among the first year players. He was injured in his NHL debut, but upon returning to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was the same gritty two-way player with skill he was before he got his first taste of NHL action.
Wilson ended up in Pittsburgh's postseason lineup and could be a darkhorse candidate to fill the NHL club's bottom six next fall depending on what the organization does in free agency. I've said it to those in Pittsburgh earlier in the season that of the forwards with the AHL affiliate that Wilson's game best translates to success at the next level. He will certainly have a chance to prove that to the Pittsburgh brass in training camp in the fall.
Bobby Farnham (26 years old) - Grade B-
Contract Status: NHL RFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 62GP, 7G-7A, +3, 226 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 0G-0A, -2, 14 PIM
Fan favorite and well-known agitator Bobby Farnham is a spark plug on the ice. He does the little things to get under his opponents' skin and what he may lack in terms of high-end offensive ability he more than makes up for with heart, hustle and determination. Will Farnham make it to the NHL and stick in 2015-16?
Andrew Ebbett (32 years old) - Grade A-
Contract Status: NHL UFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 44GP, 17G-27A, +19, 12 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 1G-6A, -1, 2 PIM
Ebbett was as good as advertised in the AHL, a point-per-game veteran player who played the power play and centered the team's top line. He also served as a depth option for the NHL club, appearing in 24 games with Pittsburgh (1G-5A).
An impending unrestricted free agent this summer, Ebbett provides a relatively inexpensive option for both NHL depth at the AHL level as well as experience to mentor the plethora of the young forwards.
Dominik Uher (22 years old) - Grade B
Contract Status: NHL RFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 72GP, 13G-13A, +11, 60 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 2G-2A, +1, 0 PIM
Uher has continued to develop in each of his three seasons of pro hockey as a gritty checking forward capable of shutting down the opposing team's top offensive players. This past season, his offensive game also saw improvement as he nearly doubled his goal total from the year before.
Uher should receive a qualifying offer from Pittsburgh and continue to hone his skills in the AHL as a shutdown type of player with the ability to keep his opponents off the score sheet. He got a taste of the NHL last season and when injuries arise in the NHL club's bottom six, Uher is as good an option to step up as any in the team's pool of forward prospects.
Adam Payerl (24 years old) - Grade C
Contract Status: NHL RFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 41GP, 2G-7A, +1, 76 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: None
It seems as though Payerl lost confidence in his game as well as lost the trust from the coaching staff as he was a healthy scratch in all but two of the AHL Penguins' regular season games in April. Payerl also found himself out of the lineup for the duration of the team's postseason run.
It will be interesting to see if the Pens tender Payerl a qualifying offer this summer. He's got all the tools (6-3, 218 and tough as nails) to be a power forward, but hasn't put it all together on the ice.
Tom Kostopoulos (36 years old) - Grade A
Contract Status: AHL UFA in 2016-17
Regular Season AHL Stats: 72GP, 16G-28A, +3, 62 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 3G-2A, -1, 12 PIM
The captain and face of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey has re-signed another 1-year AHL-only contract to return for the 2015-16 season. It will likely be his final season of pro hockey, ending his pro hockey career where it all began back in 1999 in the AHL Penguins' inaugural season as a franchise.
Kostopoulos brings experience and a perfect mentor to the younger forwards in the organization. His production at the AHL level hasn't dropped from 2013-14, and as long as he stays as the net front presence on the power play his numbers should remain where they are at. Wouldn't it be nice if the Penguins could send off Kostopoulos with a Calder Cup championship?
Pierre-Luc Leblond (29 years old) - Grade C+
Contract Status: NHL UFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 55GP, 2G-4A, +1, 241 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 4GP, 0G-0A, -1, 7 PIM
Leblond has been the team's enforcer the last two years and while that role is diminishing across the professional hockey world, he's been effective playing 6-8 minutes a night on the fourth line - being hard and physical on the forecheck.
He's an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and it will be interesting to see if the Penguins want to keep an enforcer-type around. Leblond was one of the team's alternate captains last season.
Oskar Sundqvist (21 years old) - Grade Incomplete
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2017-18
Regular Season SHL Stats: 41GP, 9G-10A,+15, 34 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 1GP, 0G-0A, -1, 0 PIM
Sundqvist's team in Sweden went all the way to the championship round, delaying his arrival to the AHL Penguins until the tail end of their 1st round series win over Syracuse. He came across the pond banged up from his playoff run with Skelleftea and in his first AHL game was injured and never really got it going while in North America.
Sundqvist burned the first year of his entry level contract last year while in Sweden, opting to play in his home country instead of the AHL. If Sundqvist doesn't make the NHL club out of training camp, will he bolt back overseas or learn the pro game while in the AHL?
Kasperi Kapanen (18 years old) - Grade Incomplete
Contract Status: NHL RFA in 2018-19
Regular Season Stats: 41GP, 11G-10A, +2, 14 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 7GP, 3G-2A, Even, 0 PIM
Kapanen joined the AHL Pens in April and made his debut with a bang - tallying his first North American pro goal on his second shift, while also adding an assist. From there, the inconsistencies you would expect a young player to have occurred - pointless in his next three games with a minus three rating.
Kapanen was hot and cold in the postseason as well, tallying all five of his playoff points (3G-2A) in his first four games before being held off the score sheet in his final three postseason contests with the Penguins.
There's no doubting his NHL potential. Kapanen will be in the NHL sooner rather than later. He has NHL speed, NHL-ready vision and the ability to handle the puck in tight spaces and make plays in the offensive zone. The real question is whether or not he finds a home in Pittsburgh this fall.
Conor Sheary (22 years old) - Grade A
Contract Status: AHL UFA
Regular Season AHL Stats: 58GP, 20G-25A, Even, 8 PIM
Calder Cup Playoffs Stats: 8GP, 5G-7A, -1, 2 PIM
Sheary joined the Penguins after his collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the spring of the 2013-14 season, catching fire in the postseason and turning some heads. Not only did he continue to play well in 2014-15, he was again dominant in the postseason this spring - leading the team with 12 points (5G-7A) in eight games. All-time, Sheary is a point-per-game player in the Calder Cup Playoffs with 23 points in 23 games.
Sheary was on an AHL contract this past season and is a free agent this summer. It would be wise of Pittsburgh to give Sheary an NHL contract. He's more than shown he's earned one.
Sheary joined the Penguins after his collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the spring of the 2013-14 season, catching fire in the postseason and turning some heads. Not only did he continue to play well in 2014-15, he was again dominant in the postseason this spring - leading the team with 12 points (5G-7A) in eight games. All-time, Sheary is a point-per-game player in the Calder Cup Playoffs with 23 points in 23 games.
Sheary was on an AHL contract this past season and is a free agent this summer. It would be wise of Pittsburgh to give Sheary an NHL contract. He's more than shown he's earned one.
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