This piece will give you a brief look at who we've gotten and my initial thoughts on the moves. So let's save the trivial chit chat for another time and look at the new faces in the Pittsburgh organization...
Kessel Deal More Than Kessel
Now, two other players were acquired in this deal for Kessel as well: winger Tyler Biggs and defenseman Tim Erixon. Both of them will benefit from a change of scenery as well.
Let's start with Tyler Biggs. This is a decent add on for the Penguins. Biggs was the 22nd overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft. He is still only 22 years old and though he struggled in the Toronto system, he could find his way in the Penguins minor league systems. He is 6'2" winger from Binghamton, NY, only about 90 minutes from the Penguins minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
As I said, Biggs has struggled in the AHL for the Toronto Marlies, scoring only 9 goals in roughly 100 games over the past two seasons. He had a great season in the OHL in 2012-13 where he posted 26 goals and 53 points. His scoring has yet to transfer, but at 22, there is still hope.
Hockey Futures website has Biggs talent analysis as follows:
"Biggs is a monster on skates and moves well for a player of his size. A dominant player at times in junior hockey by playing down low in the offensive zone and on the cycle, he is still learning to play the game at the professional level. He is defensively sound and can be used as a penalty killing forward. He can be an intimidating figure but questions have surrounded his consistency. His lack of skating mobility is also a challenge at the higher levels."
Maybe, like Kessel, Biggs turns it around here. I expect Biggs to play in Wilkes-Barre this year.
Tim Erixon was also included in the deal today; a 24 year old defenseman from New York who grew up in Sweden. Erixon played 52 games for three separate teams in the NHL last season. He posted 2 goals and 5 assists over that time.
Erixon has bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL the last few years since being drafted by Calgary in 2009. A solid, two-way defenseman at the AHL level, he has performed admirably at the NHL level with limited time. He has also represented Sweden at the international level the last few years, including at the IIHF World Championships.
Since the Penguins lost out on re-signing Taylor Chorney, I expect that Erixon will fill the role of the Penguins seventh defenseman this year or spend time in the AHL. However, he would likely have to clear waivers to get to Wilkes-Barre, so he may not be here come October regardless.
Plotnikov Official
Jim Rutherford stated in his afternoon presser that he fully expects Plotnikov to be in the top six this fall. He will likely team up with fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin and perhaps even Phil Kessel.
I love the move, but won't go too deep into it here. You can use this link to my post on him last week on Plotnikov to see my full thoughts on him: http://bigdavespenspregame.weebly.com/blog/the-plotnikov-solution
Conor Sheary gets His Deal
Sheary completed his first, full professional season at Wilkes-Barre last season. He had a great year, leading the team in scoring with 45 points (20G-25A) in 58 regular season games Though he warranted a call-up, he never did get the call from the big club in 2014-15.
However, his playoff performance definitely has to be a factor in the Penguins signing him to this deal. Sheary had a great playoff run, leading WBS in scoring with 12 points (5G-7A) including three multi-point games in the Baby Pens playoff series win against Syracuse. In 23 career AHL playoff games, Sheary has posted 11 goals and 23 points.
The Massachusetts native and graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst will likely spend the majority of the upcoming season in Wilkes-Barre again. However, if he continues to produce points at this rate, the undersized (he is only 5'9") winger may find himself on the big club before the year is out.
A Guy Named Kael
The Edmonton native was one of the AHL leading scorers last season for the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. In 69 games he scored 24 goals and 50 points. Mouillierat has scored every where he has gone so far, never failing to score at least 10 goals a season in the ECHL and AHL during full seasons of play. He has scored 20 goals in the AHL in each of the last two seasons.
Kael will likely play in Wilkes-Barre the majority of the season. Unless, knock on wood, the Penguins have another injury plagued year or he is just lighting the lamp too frequently, I don't expect him to get huge minutes with Pittsburgh. He will add experience and scoring touch to the Baby Pens, which is big considering they have lost several players today via free agency.
Warsofsky, Porter, Olesky and So On...
Warsofsky is a Massachusetts boy like Conor Sheary. Warsofsky was born in Marshfield, MA and played for Boston University from 2008 to 2011. He was originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 4th round in 2008, but never played for their organization. Following his time at BU, he signed on with the Bruins and played for their minor league affiliate in Providence.
An incredibly undersized defenseman, coming in at 5'9" and 170lbs, Warsofsky has the reputation of an offensive defenseman. In a full season with Providence of the AHL in 2013-14, Warsofsky posted 6 goals and 32 points from the blue line and was consistent again last year. He has gotten a few games in the NHL, but not much.
Again, I expect him to replace Dumoulin in Wilkes-Barre, playing top-four minutes and working on the power play unit.
Unlike Mouillierat and Warsofsky, Porter has had more than a cup of coffee in the NHL, playing in 206 games over six seasons for the Avs, Coyotes and Sabres. In 206 career NHL games, he has scored 29 goals and 55 points.
Porter spent the 2014-15 season in the Detroit system, playing for their Grand Rapids affiliate. In 76 games, Porter produced 16 goals and 39 points.
He is an older player, so I don't expect him to see much time at all in Pittsburgh. He will likely spend the year at Wilkes-Barre. He is a consistent player at that level however, averaging at least 14 goals in the AHL over the last six seasons.
Olesky, 29, spent the last three seasons in the Washington organization, including captaining their AHL affiliate in Hershey last season. In 2013-14, Olesky posted 2 goals and 10 points in 33 games for Washington. Last season in Hershey, he played in 68 games, scored 4 goals and had 15 points.
Olesky will likely play the majority of this upcoming year at Wilkes-Barre. That being said, I like that he has played some in the NHL on the blue line and could be a great back up in case the injury bug rears its ugly head again.