Condiotte’s Pens Camp Photo Blog…

Pics by Heath Condiotte, blurbs by Brian Metzer

Folks who have followed my blogs and podcasts over the years have probably heard the name Heath Condiotte. Heath is a good friend and also serves as the official From the Point photographer and sound man. We don’t get to utilize Heath often enough in either category, but I hope that all changes as we move into this season. Heath was down at training camp this weekend and took some amazing shots that I want to share with you all now. There are a ton of pics and I can’t upload them all to the blog, but will post a link to a flickr album featuring all of the shots at the end of the blog…

So without further adieu, for the first time here at FTP… the awesome photography of Heath Condiotte… in  no particular order…

Malkin, Comrie, Tangradi get ready for a face-off. This line has been one of the bright spots of camp to this point. Looks like Malkin and Comrie have a little bit of chemistry brewing…

A couple shots of Marc Andre Fleury. MAF has looked like a very focused goaltender during the early stages of camp… that is aside from the time that Mark Letestu burned him like jiffy pop on a great individual effort on Sunday afternoon. The youngster went backhand forehand before lashing a quick shot into the top right corner over MAF’s glove… Letestu was streaking down the left wing…

It only took one practice session for new Penguins’ forward Arron Asham to become a fan favorite. He picked up an assist in Saturday’s  scrimmage and immediately developed great chemistry with Matt Cooke. The duo has been skating with a collection of centers, but have spent the most time with Mark Letestu, on what would be a very formidable third line.

In case you have been wondering, Kris Letang has been pelting the net with shots thus far in training camp. Something that he wasn’t able to do consistently last year. According to our pal Rob Rossi, Letang is using a bigger curve on his stick this season…we shall see if helps him when the games are the real deal.

Alex Goligoski is another player that has been having himself a good training camp. Dan Bylsma has gone out of his way to praise Go Go for his efforts during the early stages of training camp. Love him or hate him, the kid has some great offensive upside. If he can get himself on point in the defensive zone, he just might be able to make an impact. Bringing in Martin and Michalek is a blessing in disguise for Go Go as he will not have to be a 17-19 minute man. He can eat up some valuable PP time and play something like 14 mins a game… he will also be able to settle in as more of a number 5 guy, which should take some pressure off of him.

Eric Tangradi had himself an unforgettable prospect camp earlier this summer. That experience got him fired up to make a run at a roster spot this fall. He has teamed during the early stages of camp with Evgeni Malkin and Mike Comrie to form a pretty impressive line. The trio might not be putting up a ton of points in the scrimmages, but they are cycling and moving the puck around in the offensive zone. He looks to be in great shape and healthy…two things that could really help him have a break-out season.

Speaking of Tangradi, he got himself a shoot-out opportunity during Saturday’s scrimmage and came within a couple inches of putting his team ahead, unfortunately his wrister clanged off of the post…Heath actually captured the puck in this pic as it deflected away…

Young Russian goaltender Alex Pechurskiy, who actually got into a game for the Penguins last season while dressing on an emergency one day contract, has looked impressive in training camp. Yes he did surrender a five hole goal to Mark Letestu on Sunday afternoon during the scrimmage shoot-out but he did a great job during actual game play. He can work on his skill in breakaways, but I enjoyed watching him pick up pucks in traffic and get that big mitt on pucks to draw whistles…

Speaking of that shootout goal for Letestu…here he is pushing the puck between Pechurskiy’s legs. Letestu has been one of the brightest spots in camp and is pushing hard for a job with the big team. He has looked great in all zones and could be the guy he steps into that third line center role… he has partnered with Matt Cooke and Arron Asham to make up a very formidable line.

Another shot of Pechurskiy… he seems to be adjusting fine to the NHL life… he also took some time to joke around with Matt Cooke… (second shot down)

Tyler Kennedy could be in a make or break camp. Not that he doesn’t do some good things, but if he doesn’t show that he is head and shoulders above the likes of Eric Tangradi, Mark Letestu, etc, he might not end up with a job when the dust settles. Just my opinion… he has been injury prone and hasn’t really lived up to the offensive expectations that most have had for him.

Had to post this shot of the Comrie, Malkin, Tangradi line… if for no other reason than the big grin on Geno’s face and the sleep face on Tangradi.

New Penguins defenseman Paul Martin hasn’t really stood out for good or bad reasons thus far in camp. I do expect him to have  great year though. Keep in mind that he is getting used to a new system and playing with the likes of Crosby and Malkin. He will be just fine…

Hope that you guys enjoyed the pictures… I hope to have more of Heath’s work available for your perusal in the near future. You can check out this complete set over at Flickr… link below…

Full Set From Training Camp

3 thoughts on “Condiotte’s Pens Camp Photo Blog…

  1. Wow! Thanks….that was awesome to see these pics. People can go see the training camp games…. Can they really, do they have to pay to get in. How I wish I was closer, I’d be there for sure. Maybe I have to move to Pittsburgh…

    Francine Boudreau, Canada

Comments are closed.