Scouting Report: Penguins Prospects, Ville Koivunen Bare their Teeth (+)

HERSHEY, Pa. — Not every scouting trip ends in a conclusive show of hockey skill and glowing reports of a march toward the NHL. Sometimes, the story is in the bigger picture, and it certainly was for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Tuesday night in a 5-4 loss to the Hershey Bears at Giant Arena.

We made the three-plus hour trek to Hershey to get a good look at a few Penguins prospects, specifically surging prospect Ville Koivunen. However, WBS and Hershey had some unfinished business from their last meeting on Jan. 29, when Koivenun scored four goals, and the Penguins buried the two-time defending Calder Trophy champions 9-0 in Wilkes-Barre.

Hershey has been slumping and lost their last game 5-0, prompting their coach Todd Nelson to rip his team publicly, unleashing the quote of the year, “We were dead from the butthole out.”

(Thanks to AHL freelancer Tony Androckitis for alerting us to the glorious quote).

I’m not sure exactly what that quote means, but I guess it means they stunk. As you might imagine, the first period was spirited. Before the end of the period, Penguins prospect Vasily Ponomarev, who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday in Philadelphia, received a five-minute major for boarding and a Game Misconduct.

There went the Penguins’ No. 1 center and Villie Koivunen’s line, but we’ll get to Koivunen’s game.

The Penguins were about to receive a power play until Ponomarev’s terrible boarding penalty, and then all hell broke loose. WBS Defensemen Dan Renouf and Nikolai Khnyzov dropped the gloves with very willing Hershey opponents. Khnyzov also got a Game Misconduct for participating in a second fight. And for scrapping and yapping while the fists were flying, Koivunen got a 10-minute misconduct for abuse of officials.

In a sign of inexperienced officiating, no one really knew why Koivunen was penalized. WBS coach Kirk MacDonald didn’t know why and didn’t get an explanation. Koivunen said he said something to one of the Hershey players.

“I yelled at the other player. I’ve never gotten 10 minutes for yelling,” Koivunen admitted to Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

What Koivunen said wasn’t even a good insult, for which both he and I expressed regret. Hey, if you’re going to get a 10, get your money’s worth, eh?

The Penguins racked up 55 minutes of penalties, and Hershey took 52 on the singular sequence.

Bigger Picture

Sometimes, the game within the game tells you more about a player’s mettle than any how-hum Tuesday in the American League. And, we surely got a good look at a few of the prospects, albeit a brief look at Ponomarev.

“I mean, we stood up for each other. The guys are awesome like that. They work their tails off. They stand up for each other,” said MacDonald. “It’s a really great group when it comes to that … this has happened a couple of times. You know, no matter who it is, we’re going to fight for each other. And that speaks to the character of the guys in the group. I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Coming to an NHL barn near you soon.

Now, to the player scouting.

**Help fund these scouting trips (we’ve got more coming) by joining PHN+. Get an ad-free experience and exclusive content. Use code Dan10 to save $10.