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The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect camp wrapped things up on Saturday afternoon with a 5 on 5 scrimmage in front of 6,500 people at the Consol Energy Center.
The week included multiple on ice sessions which were sometimes broken up by position as well as cooking classes to teach the youngsters how to eat properly. They also played whiffle ball and attended a Pirates game. The scrimmage that was open to the public was the culmination for the week of learning.
I like the prospect camps in the sense that there is absolutely no other form of hockey being played in mid July and it is nice to catch a game, even if it is a meaningless prospects scrimmage.
I personally don't take much from the scrimmage, it is one game, and it is against other prospects, not real competition. Their real test will come in September if they are invited to training camp.
The real value of this camp is for the young players to get acclimated with the coaching staff and the city of Pittsburgh. Building relationships is tough to do when you never see the players, this camp helps with that process.
However, that did not stop Bill Guerin from gushing over recent first round pick Kasperi Kapanen.
"He's even better than I thought he would be. So I was very happy with him. He's just high-end talent, high-end speed. He's a very, very mature kid for his age. Obviously, having his father [Sami Kapanen] playing so many years in the NHL and playing with him and brining him up that way, he's already a pro.
So he’s ahead of the game in that department, but you just got a little screenshot of what's to come and he's not even 18 yet."
Kasperi Kapanen also spoke to the media. He has said all the right things to this point. He expects to compete for a spot on the big club this year, understands that it will be difficult, knows he will have to train hard in the coming months, but embracing the challenge none the less.
The darkhorse amongst prospects that I think is intriguing moving forward is Jean Sebastien Dea. He was undrafted but has put up big goal numbers in the QMJHL. The Q is notorious for big offensive numbers but Dea has very good hands and is able to use his reach while protecting the puck. In my limited viewings he also sees the ice quite well. The big concern with Dea is that he is built like a string bean. The Penguins him listed at 6'0" 155 pounds, hockeydb has him at the same height but 172 pounds, and Hockey's Future has him at 5'11" 176 pounds.
Dea will be entering his first ever professional hockey season this upcoming year and if his offensive numbers remain solid he might be one of those pleasant surprises that come out of nowhere.
With prospect camp in the rear view mirror the only thing left to speculate about this summer are the potential contracts that will be given to Brandon Sutter and Nick Spaling.
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