The Penguins' prospect pool is on the shallow side after years of trading away picks and prospects in an effort to win now.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't a number of intriguing individuals who stand out as having real potential.
The man who oversees the growth of the Penguins' prospects is Scott Young, who has served as the director of player development for the past five seasons.
I spoke with Young this week about the progress about several of the Penguins' more intriguing prospects, including recent undrafted free agent pickup Jordan Frasca, some of the bigger names in Wilkes-Barre, Josh Maniscalco in Wheeling, and a couple of prospects from each of the college, junior and European pools.
Here's what Young had to say.
JORDAN FRASCA
Frasca was one of two undrafted free agents signed by the Penguins last week (with the other being goaltender Taylor Gauthier -- more on him in a separate story later this week).
Frasca, a 20-year-old overage forward, ranks second in scoring on the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs with 34 goals and 36 assists in 47 games. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound, left-handed shot centers the Frontenacs' top line.
"He's someone that we feel sees the game well, and we feel that when he gets in with us that there's very good upside," Young said of Frasca. "Most players of his age, when they come into to play with us, there's going to be some adjustments. He's going to have to learn to play the 200-foot game with us and the urgency in the pace that we play it, but I think there's enough there that we really like as far as hockey sense and skill."
Frasca's production this season is impressive, but as an overager, he's also a 20-year-old playing against teenagers. The Penguins have added impressive overagers out of the OHL in the past who have failed to pan out. A recent example is Sam Miletic, who had 92 points in 63 games in his overage season, and ended up a healthy scratch toward the end of his time in Wilkes-Barre. The OHL has a separate award for top overage players of the year, and the list of winners is largely underwhelming when it comes to what those players did once they turned pro.
The takeaway is that you can't put much stock into an overager's point production. The Penguins know that, and Frasca's production isn't what led them to him this season. Frasca was on their radar before this year, and someone Penguins development coach Tom Kostopoulos knows well from a number of offseason skating sessions in Ontario.
"Overagers are expected to put up big numbers," Young said. "That's the tough part with evaluating. ... He's a kid that's dying to learn and get better and is already calling to look at some clips. We really liked that part about him. ... We feel that he's proven enough to this point, to deserve this contract."
Frasca's contract doesn't kick in next year, but he'll be eligible to join Wilkes-Barre on an amateur contract this season once Kingston's season ends.
GETTY
Jordan Frasca
VALTTERI PUUSTINEN
There's never been a question that Puustinen can score, and he's shown that in his rookie season in Wilkes-Barre. He's led the Penguins in scoring all season, now with 17 goals and 17 assists in 52 games.
The questions with Puustinen, the Penguins' 22-year-old seventh-round pick in 2019, this season were the same questions any other European player faces when moving to North America. How will they adjust to the style? Will they be able to handle the pace, and play a responsible 200-foot game over here? Then with Puustinen being undersized at 5-foot-9, 183 pounds, how will he stand up to the increased physicality of the North American game?
I've written about this before. Even earlier on in the season, it seems like those questions never became legitimate concerns. Puustinen's responsible defensively. J.D. Forrest has spoken about Puustinen being a help in the defensive zone. That's not blowing smoke, either. Forrest doesn't shy away from healthy scratching or cutting the ice time of players who become liabilities in the defensive zone, whether they're experienced players or rookies, highly-touted prospects or not. Puustinen's never even been knocked off the top line.
I asked Young what his observations have been of Puustinen's 200-foot game, and he believes that Puustinen has excelled in the adjustment, something that isn't much of a surprise to him.
"I remember watching him over in Finland thinking that he's got such a high hockey sense," Young said of Puustinen. "He plays quick, plays fast. He sees the ice and he knows before he gets the puck what his options are and where his next play is. I remember thinking that it's kind of rare, but he might actually do better over here on a smaller ice because things are happening quickly. His brain can process that. I think he's done a great job. He's done well all over the ice."
Puustinen can't learn how to be bigger than 5-foot-9, but that hasn't been a detriment to his game.
"He's not a small player that doesn't engage in battles," Young said. "He knows how to go in and win a battle. He's not going to run you over, but he'll go win the puck. He's got a great shot. A really good playmaker. He looks to me like he could play with our high-skilled players."
WBS PENGUINS
Valtteri Puustinen
SAM POULIN
Speaking of Forrest scratching players for becoming liabilities ... Sam Poulin.
Poulin's adjustment to the North American game didn't go smoothly in the beginning. He was making mistakes. There was a game in Utica in January in which Poulin committed an egregious turnover in his own end that quickly led to a Utica goal. It proved costly, with Wilkes-Barre losing the game by one goal. Poulin, the Penguins' 21-year-old 2019 first-round pick, watched the next game from the press box, with Forrest later telling me that the decision was a result of "repetitive" mistakes.
Since then, Poulin has done a 180 on his season. He's been shifted from wing to second-line center -- a move aimed at getting him more puck touches in-game, in order to speed up the learning process -- and he's fared well. He's started producing more too, and is now up to seven goals and 16 assists in 49 games this season.
Young said that Poulin has been "really good" since that healthy scratch in January.
"He has made adjustments and accepted what we spoke to him about," Young said. "Managing the puck better, limiting turnovers and recognizing what's high-risk? What's low-risk? The right time to get pucks in? I was at all three games this weekend, and I think he's made huge strides. He's been really good for us."
WBS PENGUINS
Sam Poulin
NATHAN LEGARE
Legare, like Poulin, was healthy-scratched in January for repeated mistakes with the puck.
Legare, the Penguins' 21-year-old third-round pick in 2019, was strong in the immediate aftermath. He hasn't seen quite the same level of overall improvement as Poulin has, though, and was once again a healthy scratch for Wilkes-Barre in the last week. Unlike Poulin, Legare has no experience at center, so the Penguins can't take quite the same approach and move him to center in order to speed up that process. His production hasn't been very high, with seven goals and seven assists through 46 games.
"He's still adjusting," Young said of Legare. "It's just something that he is still adapting. We still have all the belief in the world in him as a prospect. But he still has to adjust to the AHL, making simple plays getting pucks in deep, playing better on the walls, a lot of details of the game that he's still figuring out. But we're very high on him. We know eventually that it'll click with him."
WBS PENGUINS
Nathan Legare
CAM LEE
Lee, originally an undrafted free agent signing by the Penguins, had a pretty strong rookie season last year. The 25-year-old offensive defenseman had two goals, 13 assists in 31 AHL games. He spent much of the year quarterbacking the second power play unit, at time quarterbacking the top unit. He had a really impressive training camp in Pittsburgh, and was one of the preseason game standouts.
Lee hasn't taken the step forward this season that the Penguins have hoped to see from him in his sophomore season. He's been in and out of Wilkes-Barre's lineup as of late, with Forrest first telling me that the decision to healthy scratch Lee was a result of wanting more "predictability" on the blue line, with there being areas of Lee's game in which the Penguins were hoping to see more "consistent improvement." He's missed a total of 10 games. He isn't scoring much when he is in the lineup, with only one goal and 11 assists in 43 games.
With Lee being a healthy scratch at times this season, I asked Young if he thinks Lee has taken a step back this season, or if the continued scratches are more so a result of a crowded blue line.
"Yeah, it got a little bit more crowded, especially when P.O (Joseph) was there, and (Juuso) Riikola," Young said. "You know, Cam brings such a unique skillset to the team. But there's just been a realization that we have to get through to Cam that again, what's high risk, what's low risk? What's the proper time to jump into the play on offense? He's got such good skills. And sometimes he wants to try to create something when it's not there. That's the tough part right now. It's making him realize that, live another day. But he's such a good skater, such a good puck handler. There's so much to like about him. We're just trying to get over that hump."
WBS PENGUINS
Cam Lee
JOSH MANISCALCO
Maniscalco, 23, is an interesting case. He was a coveted undrafted free agent defenseman coming out of Arizona State two summers ago. He chose the Penguins (in part due to some influence by Mario Lemieux), but couldn't crack Wilkes-Barre's roster last year. He played just eight games, with Forrest saying that there were elements of Maniscalco's game that they wanted to work out with him in practice.
The blue line hasn't gotten any less crowded this season, and Maniscalo's only played in two AHL games. But unlike last season, Maniscalco's actually getting to play games somewhere. He's been in Wheeling for most of the year, and he's been on fire. He leads all Nailers defensemen in scoring with 13 goals and 27 assists in 45 games. Nailers head coach Derek Army told me the knock on Maniscalco's game was his defensive play, and they're trying to work with him on that. He's playing big minutes, and playing on both the power play and penalty kill.
The Penguins are encouraged with the steps Maniscalco has taken this season, calling his progress "really good."
"Josh is determined to find a way," Young said. "The one thing I noticed with Josh is his battle level. Last year when he sat out some games and he got back in, it was evident that he did not want to get taken back out of the lineup. He battled, he played physical. I remember a game that he fought. It just shows you how badly he wants it. You want to see that after a guy sits out a number of games."
ZACK RAWSON / WHEELING NAILERS
Josh Maniscalco
LUKAS SVEJKOVSKY
Among the Penguins' prospects who have yet to turn pro, Svejkovsky has to be one of the biggest standouts this season.
Svejkovsky, 20, was the Penguins' fourth-round pick in 2020 and is in his final season of junior hockey. He's right-handed shot, and has moved between center and wing this season. He began the year playing for the WHL's worst team in the league this year, the Medicine Hat Tigers, and he put up strong numbers with 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games. He was traded midseason to a contender, the Seattle Thunderbirds. After getting COVID and needing weeks to recover again, he made his Thunderbirds debut and has been on a tear after settling in, with 10 goals and 16 assists in 20 games.
Young had made the trip out west to see Svejkovsky prior to the trade, and he's going out there this weekend to see him in person for the first time since the move.
"We were all excited about this trade to Seattle, because now he's with better players on a good team," Young said. "He's tearing it up. It's something we expected when he played with better players. His former team was toward the bottom of the league, there weren't a lot of guys for him to play with. He's got such a high skill level, he had a really good camp for us. He's got a very high skill, a really good skater."
If there's a knock on Svejkovsky, it's his size, at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. The Penguins can't teach him to be any taller, but they're hoping to work with him to get him stronger.
"There's a lot to really like about him," Young said. "We've got to get a little more muscle on him. And always the case is going to be making sure with the transition that he pays attention to the details in the defensive zone. But there's a high ceiling there."
SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS
Lukas Svejkovsky
TRISTAN BROZ
Broz, 19, was the highest pick the Penguins had in last offseason's draft, being selected in the second round at No. 58 overall. Broz, 6 foot and 180 pounds, is a left-shot forward capable of playing both wing and center.
Broz made his college hockey debut this season as a freshman with Minnesota, and the transition didn't quite go as planned. Through his first 17 games, he recorded just two assists. No goals.
After a tough start to his college career, Broz seems to have turned a corner, and has scored five goals and three assists in his last 14 games.
Young said that the adjustment to college hockey for Broz was much harder than Broz had anticipated.
"It was trying to explain to him that college hockey is very difficult when you come in at your age," Young said. "You're playing against some guys that are six years older than you. You're coming on to a really good hockey team, that returned a lot of players from the year before, and they were good the year before. You don't want to hear that. He said, 'Well, I think I'm good enough to play on this ice with them.' Absolutely. But just understand that you don't just come in. I think it's a common thing with a lot of players when they're getting recruited hard by a team. They're getting shown so much love by a college team, and then they come in, and then it hits you pretty hard on how difficult it is to transition."
After that transition period, Young likes what he's seen from Broz as of late.
"He's now doing very well," Young said. "He's a really skilled kid, he competes. The normal development process is learning how hard you have to work and and he's learned that, and he's gained the coaches' trust and he's doing very well right now."
GOLDEN GOPHERS ATHLETICS
Tristan Broz (center)
JUDD CAULFIELD
One of the Penguins' college hockey standouts this season has been Caulfield, a forward in his junior year at North Dakota.
The first thing that stands out about Caulfield is his size. He's still only 20, but he's big, at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds. He's a winger with a strong 200-foot game, and plays on both the power play and penalty kill with North Dakota. Through 35 games, he set new career highs in both goals (10) and points (17) this season.
Young says that Caulfield has the makeup of a real power forward.
"He can skate," Young said. "He can shoot it. Judd's a straightforward forecheck hard, bring the puck to the net, get dirty, play physical, play hard in the corners. You go back to Tristan Broz, a freshman, like Judd sat out a game as a freshman. It was a tough transition. But this is what they go through. Now he's doing very well at a top hockey school."
North Dakota Athletics
Judd Caulfield
KIRILL TANKOV
Tankov is a fun one.
Tankov, 19, was the Penguins' seventh-round pick this past offseason, chosen in his second year of draft eligibility. He's 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds, a left-handed shot, and capable of playing both center and wing. This season he made his debut in the VHL -- the Russian second league, a step below the KHL -- and played exclusively center.
Tankov had a highlight reel of his go viral after he was drafted, featuring clips of his from his time in the MHL, the Russian junior league. He's skilled, and he showed flashes of that in his VHL rookie season too.
Tankov scored 10 goals and 11 assists in 38 games this regular season. He has a goal and an assist in six playoff games so far as his SKA-Neva club awaits its second-round opponent.
The Penguins have a Russian scout -- Alexander Khavanov -- who keeps an eye on Tankov in person throughout the year. The first time Young got to see him in person was at the Four Nations junior tournament, a smaller European tournament which functions as a precursor to the World Junior Championship.
"He is a very good hockey player," Young said. "He's got size. He's got good hands, patience with the puck, he sees the ice. There's a lot to really like about him. And to get him so late in the draft? You know, I'll just say he was the talk of the tournament over there amongst all the scouts, and I'll leave it at that."
SKA-NEVA
Kirill Tankov
JOEL BLOMQVIST, CALLE CLANG
The Penguins' two European goaltenders are in a bit of the same boat. Blomqvist, the Penguins' 2020 second-round pick out of Finland, and Clang, the 2020 third-round pick out of Sweden, are both playing in the top leagues of their respective countries and having good rookie seasons. Blomqvist has a 1.33 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and four shutouts in 17 appearances with Karpat. Clang has a 2.54 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 14 appearances with Rogle.
The Penguins are impressed with the potential of both goaltenders, but don't expect either to come over to Wilkes-Barre just yet. They'd ideally like to see them spend time in Europe in a starting role first.
"Goaltenders, you want to be the main guy," Young said. "You want them to come over -- especially coming over from Europe -- having played a lot of hockey and being the main guy in the net. That would be the ideal situation. We're high on both of them, but that would be the ideal situation."
ROGLE BK
Calle Clang
