Last week the Penguins signed Luke Stevens which would appropriately give way to an eye roll to anybody with a critical eye. Stevens is the son of Kevin Stevens and only had 12 points his senior season. Friday, they signed Josh Maniscalco. He is a teammate of Austin Lemieux.
Does this deserve an eye roll as well? I don’t believe it does. I think this is a good signing. There is evidence of a competent player in Maniscalco. Arizona State has done a great job getting their program off the ground. They are highly competitive while playing an independent schedule. Last year they were 1-0-1 against #4 ranked Denver, beat #8 Clarkson, beat #9 Quinnipiac twice, tied #17 Harvard, beat and lost in overtime against #18 Michigan State. They lost twice to #3 Minnesota State. They finished as the #16 ranked team in the nation. Point being, their schedule is legit, and they are legit. They finished the seasons 22-11-3.
Josh Maniscalco was a big part of their success. In 36 games played he had 11 goals and 32 points as a defenseman. He had 4 power play goals and 13 overall points with the man-advantage. He was the fourth leading scorer on the team. It was his sophomore season at the age of 21. This isn’t like some of the college signings where you have an overaged senior at 23 years old. Maniscalco’s age and point production lends itself to potential success at the next levels. Unlike overage seniors who only have 12 points.
I don’t think the point production necessarily continues as he climbs the ladder, but it is encouraging and shows he can dictate play at lower level. It gives him a better chance to keep up and defend at the higher levels. Even if tangible offense dries up as he plays in better leagues he can utilize those offensive skills from college and apply them in the form of good breakout and transitional passing. According to some he is also physical player that can skate well.
This is fine. Not every signing has to be a high end one. The Penguins have a specific need for this type of player. Their bottom pairing was among the worst in the league the last two years.
I think at the high end of the spectrum he could be a right handed Brian Dumoulin. Years ago Brian Dumoulin actually played on the power play and for the Baby Penguins. It hasn’t translated to the NHL, but it shows there is a foundation of puck skills which is imperative for NHL success.
Brian Dumoulin’s
NHLe projection during his 20 year old junior season (his last in college) was 21 points in 82 NHL games.
This was also Maniscalco’ s 20 year old season, but his NHLe projection is a little more complicated. The website projections are based on the conference you played in. Arizona State is independent and there is not an input for players in an independent conference. Instead, I’ll just put the projections as if he played in each of the conferences available
Maniscalco had an assist on Arizona State’s only goal in two games against the #3 ranked Minnesota State. Had an assist against #4 Denver. Had an assist against #8 Clarkson. He had a goal against #9 Quinnipiac. He scored two goals against #17 Harvard. My point is that he was able to contribute against really good programs and it wasn’t just him beating up on the lesser teams for his point totals.
All but one of the NHLe scores puts him ahead of Brian Dumoulin’s 21. It doesn’t mean he’s going to be better than Dumoulin, but it does tell me he’s a good player to take a chance on, especially as a low cost free agent. This isn’t a Connor Hall situation (NHLe 6) where the team uses an asset on a player who is comatose offensively at a lower level with a minimal chance of succeeding. This is a bet that might pay off.
I like the idea of a right handed player with the possibility of making the NHL level. The Penguins cupboard is barren of right-handed defensemen so this would be a huge get. If it doesn’t work out it isn’t a big deal. You try and target the next player with similar upside. If it does work out you get right-handed Brian Dumoulin, not too bad.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»