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I like hearing Rutger talk about his journey to the NHL and talking a bit about his last season.

He said he heard pens were sold on twitter. Followed up by saying “nothing def. I’m just hearing stuff”. 30 minutes later he said 1.75 billion.

He hasn’t posted who bought it. Haven’t seen anyone else report it yet.

Tristan Broz. 2nd round pick 2021, after a strong campaign with Fargo Force in the USHL where he was assistant captain, and just a tick off of a point per game basis. (51pts in 54). He went to Minnesota where things didn't seem to fit, and then transferred to Denver and put together a solid couple of seasons as an integral part, but not a huge standout on a great college team.

The biggest reason that I'm excited to see him this year, is because of what we saw last year. I don't think anyone really had him on their radar coming into the prospects challenge. He was bigger, faster, and most important was where he was going - driving the net. He looked to be taking a page out of the young Bryan Rust handbook.

None of the kids got much of a look, and he rightfully went to spend a season in WBS - and he got to work. He was leading the pack for that team through much of the season, and was tied for the lead among AHL rookies for most goals (12) at the end of the calendar year.

Then, he must have been playing spin the bottle over the NYE break, because like an 8th grader he came down with Mono after the holidays. It cost him a month of the season and change, but worst of all, it cost him what makes his game work best - speed, tenacity, and more size/strength than you'd expect in young 6 footer. He was lacking for the next month, and then finally got himself together near the end, then lead the team in scoring for their brief playoff appears with 3 points in 2 games.

Why I'm excited:

This guy is what you want on your 3rd line wing (he can play center too, but he's a better wing at this point). He really does remind me of a young Bryan Rust breaking onto the scene. He keeps his play simple and smart - when he doesn't have the puck - he drives the net, when he does have the puck - he drives the net, but will make a nice dish after pulling that D with him. He's a strong forechecker, and probably even stronger the other way, just tenacious to play against. He has that "rat" or "sandpaper" or whatever your preferred nomenclature, element to his game. He plays like a guy leaving it all out on the ice every night. That's all you can ask for.

Ceiling: Rust

Floor: Kuhnhackl

Only at PensGear

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6562358/2025/08/20/nhl-front-office-confidence-rankings-2025/

Fans of the team gave the front office a B- while the general public gave them a D+

Top comment from fan:

The first year was tough swinging for the fences with Graves and EK, those two deals blew up in GMKD’s face. Jarry I give a pass because there hasnt been much in terms of goalie market the last two or three years (the devil you know situation), but since the rebuild has started in earnest, GMKD has made good decisions and really restocked the prospect pool.”

I’ve always wondered about this, and I think I may have found my answer searching through past posts here, but: does the 2009 banner have a different color scheme than the other four? I think they were that goofy gold that season. Is that why it looks faded? I first noticed it on the practice facility, and then on PPG itself but never knew for sure.

Wednesday, August 13 - Tuesday, August 19, 2025

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This was the ceaziest save I've ever seen on TV before.... I'm not sure if this gets reposted regularly or not, but just watched it and figured I'd share.

I was browsing some cards on Ebay when I saw this Crosby autographed card and my first reaction was "He had so much room, why did he sign it so small?". When I zoomed in, I had my answer: Sid has so much respect for the sport and the team that drafted him that he refused to sign his name on top of our logo.

Other players didn't seem to mind (see pics 2 and 3). While I don't think it's a huge deal that the other players signed on the logos, it's just another microscopic example of why Sidney Crosby is just built differently.

Picked this card up recently and had never seen this image of Geno with the cup. Crazy that this season marks 10 years since the back to back cup run began.

Visiting Habs fan here!

Better resolution available on Imgur (too big for Reddit): https://imgur.com/a/rwN2ZB0

Before the start of the current MLB season, I created and printed a tracker for my Pirates and put in ont my fridge (see 3rd image, for fellow Buccos fans... it's me, Containment Day guy!). After each game, my daughter and I color the square with either green for a win or red for a loss.

I've adapted this tracker for hockey by creating 2 versions for each team. The first one groups games by opponent, and the second shows games in chronological order. Each square includes the date and game number. Grey squares are home games.

I'm planning to use 3 colors for mine: green for wins, red for regulation losses, and orange for OT/SO losses. Feel free to print whichever version you prefer and fill it out however you like!

So the other day someone was asking me who my favorite penguin player was. Obviously people state names like Crosby (cousin named his oldest after him), Geno, Jagr, Flowers, Mario, etc…. For me it comes down to 2 different guys Brooks Orpik and Pascal Dupuis. When I really started following hockey I loved the physical game and the way Brooks was able to protect Flowers. Then came the hardest pill to swallow in him landing in the Crapitals org. Still to this day he chooses to work with them in Hershey. After that heartbreaking breakup Dupers came to the rescue. He just always seem to play the game the right way doing whatever was needed to win. I hate that it was because of medical issues that he could no longer play. I know he started out with the Wild, then Thrashers, but it just feels like he was always a pen. I wish I was able to find a Pascal Dupuis sweater for my collection. (One mistake I made was being your and dumb and burning my Brooks Orpik sweater when he went to Washington)

What are your thoughts on these two as top underdogs for the pens? Who would you put up at the top? Patrick Hornquist, Matt Murray, Carl Hagelin, etc?

https://thehockeywriters.com/now-is-the-perfect-time-for-the-penguins-to-enter-a-rebuild/