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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For the second straight year, the Penguins are the champions of the Buffalo Prospects Challenge, the annual exhibition tournament between six teams at the Sabres' LECOM Harborcenter.
It wasn't exactly close, either. The Penguins were the only team to go undefeated in their three games, completing the sweep with an 8-5 victory over the host Sabres on Monday evening.
It's obviously just an exhibition tournament between prospects in September. But players took these games seriously as an opportunity to show management and coaches what they can bring, and there was a lot to like about what the Penguins prospects showed here this week, from the top of the prospect pool down to some of the unsigned invites.
"It was a really good weekend for us as an organization, going 3-0 at the rookie tournament," Rutger McGroarty said after Monday's win. "That's really cool."
Some final takeaways from the tournament.
1. The 8-5 win had contributions from the big guns up front -- McGroarty, Ville Koivunen and Tristan Broz all scored. But the rest of the goals came from AHL-contracted players. Logan Pietila and Mathieu De St. Phalle each scored goals, but the main character on this evening was AHL-contracted forward Avery Hayes, who had a hat trick in the first two periods. There was scoring from the top line to the bottom.
2. Though Hayes is one of those AHL-contracted guys, he skated on the top line alongside McGroarty and Vasily Ponomarev all tournament and hardly looked out of place, scoring five goals over the three games. The 21-year-old out of the OHL played his first pro season last year, and missed significant time with injury. To start his second pro season off this way is a nice boost.
"Pucks were bouncing my way a couple of times, and I'm playing with great players," Hayes said after. "On the power play, we have a bunch of guys that have a chance to make the NHL this year. It's easy playing with them, and I had a blast."
Pucks might have been finding Hayes, but he did a great job of putting himself in position to get them and finish. McGroarty was pretty complimentary of his linemate.
"He loves to go to the net," McGroarty said. "Every single one of his goals was around the net. The best part of Avery is he has that piss and vinegar, too. You see him getting into it after whistles, and he has the skill to complement it as well."
3. McGroarty was noticeable, as he should have been in this setting. He had a goal in the opening game and a laser of a one-timer in this one.
"I gave a nice-little fist pump," McGroarty said of that goal to close out the tournament. "It felt really good to get that one. I mean, I had like six or seven Grade-As today and they just wouldn't go in for me, but that's the game. You worry when you don't get the opportunities."
Aside from the offense, McGroarty was physical, got under the skin of opponents, and drew some penalties. He was solid.
4. The Penguins' best forward here, though, was Broz. He had a pair of goals in the opener in addition to his goal today. He factored in on half of the Penguins' goals in their 8-5 win, picking up three assists. New Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald really liked what he saw from Broz here.
"He was great," MacDonald said. "The goal was an elite play with Koivunen, it looked like street hockey. It was elite plays by both guys. His release there, the two-touch backhand to the forehand to the low blocker was unbelievable. Honestly, I was thinking about how hard he backchecked. To me, when guys that are your skill guys do that, it forces everybody to. Nobody else has a choice, the whole group has to do it. To me, that speaks more. The points are great. But these guys, if they want to play in the National League, that's what you got to do."
Like McGroarty, Broz showed a real knack for being physical and handling the chippiness of the games well, getting under the skin of opponents.
5. Ponomarev was also right there as one of the Penguins' better players throughout all three games, but that's to be expected. With parts of three seasons of pro experience in North America -- including two NHL games last season -- Ponomarev is really past the level of what counts as a prospect here. But like last year when the Penguins brought Sam Poulin because he was coming off extended time away, the Penguins brought Ponomarev because he only got four games in the Penguins' system before a high-ankle sprain ended his season. He said he has no problems with the ankle. Didn't look like the fastest skater, but he wasn't exactly the fastest guy to begin with. He had a goal in the first game, worked well on the power play and had a number of other chances. He tried fighting in the second game when a teammate got shoved to the ice, but it got broken up. Not bad.
6. Koivunen really worked well on the second line with Broz, they teamed up for a few goals. He was pretty fast, and mentioned preferring the more north-south style that comes with the North American game. He mentioned still adjusting to the North American style in some regards, saying "sometimes in Finland we use puck-controlling more, playing it back to the D, feed it up. That's a little bit tough. I sometimes pass it back to the D, and they're not ready because they're used to dumping it in. I have to get used to it."
Koivunen will surely start the year in Wilkes-Barre and need some time there, but he's not far off.
7. Good showings from some of the Penguins' draft pick defensemen -- Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke and Isaac Belliveau. Pickering's positives were more offensive -- he was great quarterbacking the top power play, and made good reads in that regard. He could have been better in his own end, and could have been better about turnovers. Brunicke was quiet in a good way -- really, not many mistakes at all. He never stood out in a bad way. He didn't stand out offensively, but he did his job. Belliveau had a goal and an assist, and did what what he does best -- clearing the crease, getting physical, and playing with an edge.
8. Sergei Murashov is just exceptional, really. He and Joel Blomqvist are 1A/1B when it comes to their top goaltending prospect. Blomqvist capped off last year's tournament win with a shutout, and Murashov was pretty solid in his full game in Game 2 and his halves in the first and third games. Have to wait until the real games start to see just how ready he is, but you couldn't have asked for a lot more here. A lot of athletic saves, and he's great at playing the puck.
9. This was the first real opportunity for new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Kirk MacDonald to get behind the bench in the new system. He seems to be pretty vocal in practices. Obviously not a ton to go off of, but a couple of players mentioned being impressed with his demeanor.
10. Lots and lots of Penguins staff members here to observe -- Jason Spezza, Amanda Kessel, Vukie Mpofu, Doug Wilson, Wes Clark, Andy Saucier, Tom Kostopoulos, Chris Butler, Mike Sullivan, Mike Vellucci and David Quinn, along with several others from hockey operations. Honestly might have had more staffers here than even the host Sabres. Nice to see, and an indication that they're serious about assessing these young guys and giving them a chance when earned.
