Penguins goaltending prospect Calle Clang made an appearance on the "Slangin The Bizkit" podcast this week.
You can watch the full video here:
Among the subjects covered are:
• The upcoming World Junior Championship
• His relationship with goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, his competition for the starting job for Sweden
• His superstitions
• Life in the SHL
Some takeaways:
• He doesn't like coffee.
• In his draft year, one unnamed NHL team's goaltending coach told him they wouldn't consider drafting a goaltender under 6-2, and other teams expressed similar sentiments. Clang is 6-2, so he just barely made that cut.
• One of his superstitions is that before games and in stoppages, he won't step on the red line around the crease. He jumps into the crease over the red line, into the blue paint.
• Huge fan of milkshakes, so a future Milkshake Factory sponsorship like Jake Guentzel has is a good possibility.
• His pregame meal is chicken, rice, and curry.
• He was in a Head and Shoulders commercial with Henrik Lundqvist, which I managed to find on Youtube. Lundqvist gives a speech to the junior national team that actually borrows from Miracle, which is hilarious:
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Here's how the Penguins' prospects in junior, college, and Europe did this week.
FORWARDS
Raivis Ansons
Position: Right wing/left wing
Size: 6-1/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Season totals: 14 games, 5 goals, 13 assists
Ansons scored two goals and an assist in his two games this week. All three points came in a 5-0 win over Cape Breton. His goals were the first and third of the game:
Then he had the primary assist on the fourth goal after forcing a turnover:
Tristan Broz
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-0/179
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, second round
Team: University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Season totals: 14 games, 2 assists
Broz was scoreless in two games. After being elevated to the left side of the second line last week, Broz was back on the third line this week.
Judd Caulfield
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-3/207
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Team: University of North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 13 games, 3 goal, 5 assists
Caulfield was scoreless in two games.
Liam Gorman
Position: Center
Size: 6-3/199
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, sixth round
Team: Princeton University (NCAA)
Season totals: 7 games, 1 goal
Gorman was scoreless in two games.
Lukas Svejkovsky
Position: Center/right wing
Size: 5-9/170
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2020, fourth round
Team: Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
Season totals: 15 games, 8 goals, 14 assists
Svejkovsky was scoreless in two games.
Kirill Tankov
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-2/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Team: SKA-Neva (VHL)
Season totals: 22 games, 6 goals, 5 assists
Tankov returned to his VHL team after spending last week in the Four Nations tournament. He was scoreless in his first two games back.
Chase Yoder
Position: Center
Size: 5-11/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2020, sixth round
Team: Providence College (NCAA)
Season totals: 15 games, 2 goal, 3 assists
Yoder was scoreless in two games.
DEFENSEMEN
Santeri Airola
Size: 5-9/163
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Team: Ilves (Liiga), KOOVEE (Mestis)
Season totals: 2 games (Mestis)
Airola missed the start of the Liiga season with a lower-body injury. His team announced on Oct. 14 that Airola underwent surgery and is expected to be sidelined for 6-8 months.
Isaac Belliveau
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Team: Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Season totals: 19 games, 1 goal, 7 assists
Belliveau recorded an assist in three games.
Daniel Laatsch
Size: 6-5/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Team: University of Wisconsin (NCAA)
Season totals: 14 games
Laatsch was scoreless in two games.
Ryan McCleary
Size: 6-2/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season totals: 13 games, 1 goal, 2 assist
McCleary played in three games and recorded an assist.
Clayton Phillips
Size: 6-0/195
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, third round
Team: Penn State University (NCAA)
Season totals: 11 games, 3 goal, 4 assists
Phillips was scoreless in two games.
GOALTENDERS
Joel Blomqvist
Size: 6-1/183
Catches: Left
Drafted: 2020, second round
Team: Karpat (Liiga), Hermes (Mestis)
Season totals: 4 games, 0.57 GAA, .973 SV% (Liiga), 3 games, 2.07 GAA, .902 SV% (Mestis)
Blomqvist didn't dress for either of Karpat's games this week. Last week was held out of the latter two games of the Four Nations tournament with an undisclosed injury.
Calle Clang
Size: 6-2/176
Catches: Left
Drafted: 2020, third round
Team: Rogle (SHL)
Season totals: 6 games, 2.66 GAA, .891 SV%
Clang played in one game this week and made 26 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss.