Second Day Of The Draft
The Pens finished up the draft with six more picks today.
After the jump we take a look.
One interesting note from the Pens live blog today:
General manager Ray Shero spoke briefly with the media a moment ago. Here are some of the highlights from that conversation, which mostly centered around free agency.
On trying to lock up the team's free agents before July 1
"We'll go back Monday and really turn our attention to trying to get the players before July 1."
On possibly re-signing Ruslan Fedotenko
"We'll see where that goes over the next week as well. We'll wait and see what happens next week."
On if he expects Rob Scuderi to test free agency
"I think he'll do that and it's a good idea. We've had conversations with his agent and Rob and there is the unknown as far as what's out there. We've had good discussions but I believe he will go to July 1. When guys go to July 1, sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. They don't know what a hometown discount is; they don't know what's out there. We'll have a conversation Monday and Tuesday but that wouldn't surprise me, wouldn't shock me, won't disappoint me. Rob knows we'd like to have him back but at the same time, Rob has never made a lot of money. We'll see how it goes for him but we've made it clear that we want him back."
Simon Says
Pens takes Simon Despres.
Nothing new, just making a post for reference sake.
Solid pick by Shero. Nothing more nothing less.
Here is the TSN background on him:
Here is some nasty goal he scored:
Pens have tons of picks today.
P.S. What the hell are the Flyers doing? Chris Pronger, Ray Emery and Scott Hartnell all in the same locker room.
Leadership will be tested.
Flyers gave up way too much.
Vomit.
Go Pens
2009 Draft - Liveblog
Welcome to the 2009 NHL Draft live blog.
The most updated information will go at the top of this post.
If you haven't read our Offseason Plans post yet you should do that now.
It's right here.
If you haven't seen our newest feature Summer Vacation featuring Dicky and Charlie, that's definitely what you should be doing right now.
Click here for that.
Now, onto the live blog.
The newest information will be at the top.
We'll try not to break the site.
The Pittsburgh Penguins First Round Pick is defenseman Simon Despres.
11:12 - Yet another look:
NHL Central Scouting’s Chris Bordeleau: "I think for a potential pro player, he's got the size and mobility. I've seen him many games, and he never seems to make a bad play. He's never going to get 100 points, but definitely, when you want a guy to play defense, he's your guy. He does it all, he'll block shots and he moves the puck at the right time.”
Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Jacques Beaulieu: “Simon is a very good skater with and without the puck. He has good hands for a big man and he has outstanding vision as well as hockey sense. To make it to the next level he will need to improve his upper body strength and his shot, but overall Simon is an outstanding person on and off the ice. He loves the game. He is without a doubt an NHL prospect.”
-- NHL.com
11:10 - A 2007 Montreal Gazette article on Despres:
"One look at Laval native Simon Despres on the ice, and it's immediately clear he is the epitome of the modern, puck-moving defenceman so coveted in today's hockey world. His skating stride is smooth and effortless, reminiscent of the player Despres admires most in the National Hockey League, Anaheim Ducks defenceman Scott Niedermayer.
His stickhandling and agility give him a rare level of confidence and poise with the puck, and he has a shot that is both powerful and accurate."
11:08 - Another look:
"Despres is one of the top 2 defenseman coming out the QMJHL this year. Already has really good size at 6’4” and 215. Plays well at both ends of the ice, but despite his size, he doesn’t play the body as much as he should. Tough to beat one-on-one, plays good positional hockey. Struggled during the playoffs and Under 18s (possibly due to a hip injury) which might hurt his draft stock, but he should still go in the 15-25 range."
-- MyNHLDraft.com
11:05 - A look at Simon Despres:
"At 6'4 and 215 pounds, Despres has the physical tools to make the lives of attacking players difficult as they enter the zone. Meanwhile, he already has the poise and intelligence to make the safe and, more importantly, correct play in his own zone. His vision and ability to anticipate the play also benefit him in offensive situations, where he saw his point totals more than double over the previous year."
-- Hockey's Future
10:55
The Stanley Cup Champions are cheered.
Ray Shero takes Simon Despres.
Add a comment
Summer Vacation with Dicky & Charlie
Draft live blog starts at 6:30.
Introducing the first in a series of comics by Stephen S.
After the jump.
The Offseason: Plans
At 7:00pm tonight the official defense of the Stanley Cup begins for the Pens.
As soon as the New York Islanders, and all the teams that follow say.." And Congratulations to the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins."
It is on.
After the jump Us and Rick take a look at every team and how we would run them starting with the draft.
FaceOff-Factor's Draft Preview
In anticipation of the draft, we wanted to get a look from one of our good friends, Jesse from FaceOff-Factor.
Jesse and the rest of the gang at FF cover the AHL, College, Junior hockey and its relation to the Penguins like no other Penguin blog on Gore.
Rick City will be doing a live blog for the draft on Friday. We might even do our own preview.
But there is not a better source of info than the guys at [faceoff-factor.]
Enjoy
Some people get really excited about Christmas. They stay up all night on December 24th, checking outside for Santa Claus and dreaming of the gifts they'll receive the next morning when they wake up to a snow filled wonderland.
Us folks at Faceoff-Factor.com feel the same way about the draft. We stay up all night decorating our tree with pictures of E.J. Hradek, adjusting our rankings, and checking under our pillow in the morning to see if Ray Shero has left us a little envelope with his best-player-available list inside.
Basically, we're draft geeks.
We wanted to get C-blog fired up and ready to go for Friday night. Inside you'll find our ranking, mock draft, and a closer look at some of the more intriguing guys that could be available when the Penguins pick at the end of the night.Take the jump to check it out.
Winter Crappic
TMZ has been all business recently
talking about a pending announcement regarding the 2010 Winter Classic.
As it stands, it looks like it will be Philly going to Boston's Fenway Park.
And also, there's rumors of a nightcap game in Calgary.
Hockey is hockey.
A televised hockey double-header on a holiday?
Unreal.
But, of course, everyone wants to jump to the negative side of a double-header,
saying that the novelty of the outdoor game will start to wear off.
Whatever that means. It's one day of the year. Relax.
People casually clicking through their shit
will stop and check out a hockey game at Fenway Park.
And later in the night, after being reminded of it 300 times during the Boston game,
they will come back to see some jokes play hockey in possibly sub-freezing temperatures.
But even the Calgary game won't give us the shock value that the NHL should be striving for.
