News and Notes – 09/07/13

By Brian Metzer

Most of Penguins Nation woke up to the news that the team will open training camp on Wednesday September 11, 2013. That had been the date being kicked around by everyone anyway, so it really isn’t news, but it is nice to finally get the official announcement. The players will report for medicals etc on Wednesday morning at 7:00am and will hit the ice for the first time on Thursday. A scrimmage open to the public will take place on Saturday September 14, with gates opening at 8:30am. More details will be available on the scrimmage this week.

While NHL camp kicks off next week, the Penguins rookies are in London, Ontario taking part in a tournament with rookie teams from the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations. The Penguins dropped their first game on Thursday to the Senators and our friend Michael Augello from Hockey Buzz was there to take in the action. Michael was nice enough to share so thoughts on what he saw from the Penguins yutes…

Here is his take on a few specific players…

Penguins lose 4-1

Eric Hartzell – 2 goals in first on 10 shots…..long screen shot and gave up big rebound on second.

Tristan Jarry – 1 goal on six shots in 2nd(goal was not his fault) 3rd period goal was weak.

Bobby Farnham – hustling and hungry….a pain in the ass to play against. 2 fights; one on the second shift, got his clock cleaned on the first, did OK in the second. Game misconduct after second fight.

Liam O’Brien –Kid likes to hit…counted at least six in the game.

Clark Seymour – big defenseman who uses size, but not great mobility. Won fight

Cody Sylvester – scores a rebound goal on PP late in the first. Harrington and J-S Dea with assists.

Olli Maatta – paired with Pouliot most of the game, Fanned badly on one timer PP point shot, threw puck up the middle for short handed chance,…..definitely trying to hard to impress.

Pouliot – good mobility and hockey sense, handles the puck well. Almost had a PP goal in the third.

(Michael does a tremendous job of covering the Maple Leafs for HB and is also the primary host for a number of podcasts that the site produces, including Hockey Buzz Live which records new episodes on Tuesday *or Wednesday* evenings alongside Ryan Garner, Shaune Vetter and myself.)

Though we will be ramping up coverage of everything Penguins, NHL and Fantasy Hockey, there are a few other announcements that you need to be aware of. First up, as you may have already gathered by my facebook/Twitter posts this week, will again be part of the NHL.com fantasy hockey team of insiders and my preseason defensemen rankings went live on Thursday. They also ran my Fantasy Faceoff on why you should select P.K. Subban over Erik Karlsson. You can find both pieces below.

TOP 60 PRE-SEASON Defensemen Ranks — http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681323

FANTASY FACEOFF — Defense — Subban v Karlsson — http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681361

I will also be producing some Penguins specific content at .com as needed, as I assist whoever is taking over their Penguins’ beat for the departing Chris Adamski.

I haven’t heard officially, but I believe that I will be assisting the Beaver County Times with their Penguins coverage again this season. I will confirm that once I make final arrangements. I will also be co-hosting the podcast that I mentioned above with Mike Augello, Shaune Vetter, and Ryan Garner. It is available on Talkshoe live and can be downloaded from iTunes on a weekly basis.

The biggest bit of news is that I will still be working with the Penguins Radio Network and Penguins 24/7. I will continue co-h0sting PensWeek with Bob Grove and Paul Steigerwald on Saturday mornings and will be launching my own hour of Penguins Live! The show will air Monday through Friday from 5:00pm – 6:00pm throughout the hockey season starting on September 30, 2013. I will also continue to serve as Bob Grove’s backup for Penguins Pre-Game (Countdown to Hockey Night in Pittsburgh) and the popular Penguins Hotline post-game show.

We will also continue to provide tons of news, notes and info here at FTP!

The bottom line is that it will be a very busy and exciting hockey season! Thank you all for the support over the years, it is and has always been appreciated! I look forward to providing you with Penguins, NHL and Fantasy Hockey coverage throughout the season!

**** Photo credit to the Pensnation