DK’s Daily Shot of Penguins: Skill in the Sphere

DK’s Daily Shot of Penguins: Skill in the Sphere

[Music] NHL draft gets underway tomorrow in Las Vegas and it sure would be nice if this franchise can find a way to keep infusing skill good morning to you good Thursday morning I’m de kovachevich of DK Pittsburgh sports and this is daily shot of penguins it comes your way bright and early every weekday if you’re into football Andor baseball I also offer daily shots of steeve ERS and pirates in the same place that you found this and I hope you’ll check those out as well the Penguins of course will not be active on day one of the draft they don’t have a first round pick barring the incredibly unlikely event that Kyle dubis would trade up into that round but the draft in general is seen as deep enough that you could get someone good or to someone’s good I guess would be the way to word it with the 44th and the 46th overall picks that the penguins have they have two in the second round I’m not about to play expert on this class but it’s supposed to be one that could sustain some quality that far into the second round maybe a little bit farther I wouldn’t be driven by positional need in any way shape or form if I were dubis and his staff the system remains so bar that there’s no such thing in my eyes anyway as positional need I just know that the best systems the most productive systems over the years in hockey have been the ones that are filled with skill it Remains the most challenging trait to identify at the amateur level it Remains the most precious commodity in the game sure would you prefer that they’re all 64 230 and can fly around and knock people on their rear ends yes absolutely sure those players have a better chance of still being big by the time they get to the NHL than a skilled player will have of being able to rival the skill that’s needed to be in the NHL but I’m not interested in safe I I don’t think you can afford when looking at this system to to try to go for safe picks and I’m going to go right ahead and say the one thing that nobody ever likes to think about but is pending reality and that’s that Sydney Crosby of Genny Malin and a lot of these other phenomenally skilled players aren’t going to be here for much longer and the trait that you’ll have to replace more than any other will be skill this episode is brought to you by bet online your number one source for all your summer Sports needs this season from Major League Baseball golf NHL NBA playoffs get the latest odds and lines including all team matchups player props odds on just about everything that’s out there head to the website today or use your mobile device to get in on the action bet online where the game starts when teams fall off after losing Superstars and this goes back throughout hockey history what exposes them the most what brands them the most is not having that skill so they’ll be feisty they’ll be pluggers they might even be bigger guys they might bang you around a little bit they’re not going to score goals and you got to be able to do that what’s more you got to be able to keep the ones that you have you’ve got to be able to sustain all right listen we got somebody in the draft who can really score they rocket their way up through the system invariably provided they can handle the physical rigors of the NHL then the next thing you got to do is make sure you can keep them beyond their RFA years restricted free agency think of Braden jger okay think of Braden jger versus say Owen Pickering and and I’m not picking no pun intended on Pickering I I really like the kid I think he’s got a great head on his shoulders and he could end up being a nice steady defenseman for you there’s nothing wrong with that but if If instead of getting Pickering you get yourself another kid who can score another kid who raises the general Talent level to the point where you can continue that that Pittsburgh way that Pittsburgh tradition of having skill having speed of prioritizing offense the way the penguins have for more than 40 years now that’s where I’d love to see this go I I look at the Penguins defense and and and yeah I there’s no defense prospects either other than Pickering but then you know Eric Carlson still signed for a really long time Chris lat Tang is still signed for a really long time I believe Marcus Pon should be signed to a meaningful extension Jack St ivany appears to be a significant part of this team’s future on the back end I think anyway we’ll find out so I can kind of cope with this and maybe a free agent or a surprise in some form but I want creativity I want points I want that guy in the draft that they say before he gets picked like in the scouting reports and you’re going to know exactly what I’m talking about here uh he’s a little bit enigmatic doesn’t take care of his own end but has all the tools and the vision and whatever because that’s what you have to get in the second round you’re not going to get the perfect player you’re not going to get the Superstar you’re not going to find the next Sasha barov you’re just not but you can find somebody who’s made maybe you know 511 even 510 and just finds a way to score finds a way to beat others to the puck finds a way to pick you apart by seeing through your defense or through your goal tender get me I was about to say get me one of those no get me two of those 44 and 46 when we come back j1q [Music] today’s j1q comes from Ethan who says DK after the Stanley Cup Final I feel like that was Conor mcdavid’s only chance at the Stanley Cup that he’s going to have in his career and I know the greats always find a way but I kind of feel like he’s going to be the Dan Marino of the NHL when it’s all done do you feel this way as well my honestly I don’t care and I really feel like I need to say that first I I don’t care about the Oilers I don’t care about Edmonton and in the most General sense possible I don’t care about the ages old narrative that every great player has to win a championship nor that Marino himself as long as we’re at it talking about a Pittsburgh kid was any lesser of a quarterback because the Dolphins never won the Super Bowl or he wasn’t moved to a team that had a better chance than Miami did and in fact the the very first thing that crosses my mind being totally honest with you here when this subject ever comes up is the whole cringy episode where Raymond borck was traded to the Avalanche for the borderline staged cup to close out his career uh he he looks ridiculous in that uniform he never should have worn it I don’t care that he raised the cup I don’t care that he earned the Cup by being there I just thought the whole thing was you know maybe I’m wrong on this this is nothing other than a personal reaction to it but maybe the the more pertinent question out of all this is whether or not the Oilers will be back they have to get things settled with Lyon dry cidal meaning in terms of a long-term contract he addressed that yesterday up there in kind of the typical how did he actually used the word boring in his answer he said this is going to be boring but they obviously need to pay him and my belief is that they’ll need to pay him at a level that’s either one or two in the NHL now when you do that you’re not leaving yourself a whole lot of cap space between what he and McDavid alone would Merit and then Zack heyman’s putting himself into a pretty high price category by finishing all of their plays and Evan buard had a wonderful playoff so then you ask yourself where are you going to get the money to get yourself a franchise golender Stuart Skinner with respect had a decent postseason especially near the end but nobody would see him as that guy what does another year mean for a Matias eckholm who’s been around uh Evander Kane who was really banged up and Chris noblock acknowledged yesterday that Kane was battling through an abdominal tear and from there where do you get the depth I know they did a lot of things really well defensively particularly on the PK both of which surprised me but I don’t look at the Oilers and see a team that’s going to come up with a huge second line goal or third line goal to win you a championship and apparently noblock shares that view because my goodness over the final seven minutes of game seven I don’t know that McDavid dry CLE Heyman buard and eckholm ever left the rink and it sure showed over the final two minutes so I don’t know it’s my answer I don’t care is my other answer I appreciate the question regardless and I appreciate everybody who listens to daily shot of penguins we’re going to do another one of these tomorrow [Music]

Draft some skill in the Sphere.

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