Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins will take their first major step to repeat as Stanley Cup champions when the 2016 NHL Draft gets underway. And if there is any team that knows what young players can do, it's the Penguins. But, this youth comes with some big consequences. Not only does Pittsburgh lack depth in its minor league system, but, for the fourth-straight season, the Penguins are without a first round pick. Fortunately, the lack of first-round draft picks hasn't hurt them — ... Read More
Daniel Sprong, other Penguins dealing with offseason injuries
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that talented young forward Daniel Sprong, 19, is expected to miss up to eight months after having shoulder surgery. This comes after a rush of news that maintenance days for Penguins such as Nick Bonino and Evgeni Malkin were indeed just maintenance days. Sprong's return to the NHL will more than likely be delayed. While he will likely be back in time to play later in the season, general manager Jim Rutherford had this to say about Sprong's injury ... Read More
Pens assign Daniel Sprong to juniors; recall Scott Wilson
The Daniel Sprong experiment, for now, is over with the announcement today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned the 18-year-old to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Playing 18 games this season, Sprong has scored two goals, with his first coming on Oct. 15 against the Ottawa Senators. Averaging only 8:49 of ice time a game raises the question as to why Sprong was prematurely sent to the national level if he was not going to get more ice time or stay ... Read More
Is keeping Sprong the right move?
At some point in the next week, the Pens will have to make a decision on rookie winger Daniel Sprong. As an 18-year old out of Canadian junior, the Penguins are able to keep rookie Daniel Sprong around for a nine-game tryout period without burning the first year of his entry level contract. He has already played in six, and if he remains in the lineup the final three will be played this week. The decision on Sprong will most likely have to be made before the team leaves for Western Canada ... Read More
Pens get defensive; Sprong gets on the board in first win of season
With the offseason additions of Phil Kessel and others, the Pittsburgh Penguins were supposed to be an offensive juggernaut this season. Having failed at that task through the first three games, the Pens won their first of the season on Thursday night with some good, old-fashioned defense, shutting out the Ottawa Senators 2-0. The Penguins defense was aided by an offensive attack that outshot the Senators 36-22 and kept the puck in the Ottawa end of the rink for large stretches of time. ... Read More
Sprong solid in NHL debut
Penguins rookie right-winger Daniel Sprong made his NHL debut in the Pens 3-0 loss against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, and though he failed to make an immediate impact on the scoresheet, the talent and skating that made him a coveted pick were on full display. “It was a great experience,” he said after the game. “As each period went on, I felt better and more comfortable. I was pretty nervous in the beginning, but I think I can learn from this game.” Sprong, an 18-year old from ... Read More
What do Dupuis injury and today’s moves mean for Pens salary cap?
The 2015-16 NHL season begins tomorrow and the Pittsburgh Penguins have been anticipating starting the season with Eric Fehr on long-term injured reserve. With this morning's news that Pascal Dupuis is out with a lower body injury, they should have even more cap space to work with. This afternoon, the Penguins sent Olli Maatta down to the AHL and recalled Oskar Sundqvist. The moves that are made today may very well be for salary cap reasons, so it is best not to read too much into the lineup ... Read More
Pascal Dupuis to miss four to five weeks
Before the 2015-16 season has even started, one of the Pittsburgh Penguins familiar demons has already reared its head. Winger Pascal Dupuis is expected to miss the first four-to-five weeks of the season with a lower body injury, the team said on Tuesday. Dupuis, 36, missed nearly all but 16 games of the 2014-15 season after a blood clot in his leg moved into his lung. Since then, Dupuis has been on blood thinners to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence and has established a strict protocol for ... Read More
Pens ink top prospect Daniel Sprong
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed their top pick from the 2015 NHL draft, second-round selection Daniel Sprong, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Sprong, 18, fell to the Penguins with the 46th overall selection, despite being rated as a first-round talent by many prognosticators. The 6-foot tall, 180 pound right-winger recently participated in the Penguins prospect development camp at Consol Energy Center in July and was named to roster for the team’s rookie tournament squad that will ... Read More
Part 2: 2015 Penguins Top-10 prospects
This is part two of Pittsburgh Sporting News' 2015 Penguins top-10 prospects. The methodology and part one can be found here. High risk, high reward These players have the potential to make a splash in the NHL some day, but as of now their future is less certain. #6 Jake Guentzel will be a junior at the University of Nebraska-Omaha this year. He has found himself near the top of various national rankings in each of his first two seasons of college hockey and looks like he may be capable ... Read More