I was asked recently about which Penguins prospect has been the biggest surprise this season.
For me, the answer is easy.
Felix Robert.
Robert, 21, was just signed to an AHL contract over the summer, and I didn't have him pegged as one of my top prospects to watch going into this season. I think the first few times I mentioned him in a story, I referred to him as "Samuel Poulin's center" from their time together in the QMJHL with the Phoenix. Robert had great numbers in his final season in juniors -- 36 goal and 56 assists in 46 games, leading the top-ranked Phoenix in scoring -- but I wondered how much of that success was a product of his linemates. I also wasn't sure how he'd fare at the pro level with his size, 5 foot 9 and 180 pounds. I'm sure those are some of the reasons that other NHL teams overlooked him, allowing him to fall to the Penguins on an AHL deal the way he did.
After watching him play with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, I think he's one of the more underrated prospects in the Penguins' system and is looking like another great undrafted free agent find by a team that's been depleted of draft picks in recent years.
Robert is tied for fifth on Wilkes-Barre in scoring with four goals and six assists in 17 games, and sits just four points shy of the team lead. He's been used as both a center and a wing this season, and seems to be comfortable with both.
He's got speed:
He's got a great shot:
And he never quits on a play. I think the technical term is "stick-to-it-iveness," at least in Mike Sullivan speak:
"It's just a little small picture of his game throughout the season," head coach J.D. Forrest said of that goal. "He's just a relentless kid out there, he never, never gives up."
If he's considered undersized, nobody remembered to tell him that, because he throws his body around more than some of the bigger players and doesn't shy away after a big hit:
Really, it sounds like Robert enjoys the physical play along the boards that comes with being a winger:
"He's a little waterbug out there," Forrest said of Robert's game earlier in the season. "He doesn't give up. He's a guy that has a knack for stealing pucks. Sometimes he has to steal them once or twice. He's undersized, but he's pretty fearless. ... He just doesn't stop working."
If any one of these prospects on AHL deals is going to get an NHL deal, I think it should be Robert.
YOUR TURN: Do you think the Penguins should use one of their 50 NHL contract spots on Robert this summer, and would you have any concerns about his size at the NHL level?
