Pittsburgh Penguins Top Prospects Analysis (PHN+)

BUFFALO — (This story was written but not published form the Penguins Prospect Challenge tournamet in Buffalo, September 2019. It is a great look back at our initial impressions of the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects with original insights and analysis):

After two games of what could essentially be considered a tournament scramble, the pros and cons, attributes and flaws of the Pittsburgh Penguins top prospects are emerging. We’ve had our first look at PO Joseph who was acquired with Alex Galchenyuk from the Arizona Coyotes for Phil Kessel. We’ve now seen 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin and third-rounder Nathan Legare in Penguins sweaters, though the black helmets didn’t complete the look as well as the typical white lids. And we’ve seen 22-year-old Finnish goalie Emil Larmi, and his hideous, awful, grotesque white and yellow leg pads.

I’m kidding about the pads. They’re not bad but they’re not as cool as the all-black look, either. And yes, we have ribbed Larmi about such.

“I wanted something new,” he laughed on Thursday.

After getting spanked with a well substandard team last year, the Pittsburgh Penguins brought a competitive group to Buffalo this year. There were also a couple of surprises who stepped forward. Such performances could earn a longer look in training camp, or in one case a longer look in North America.