Just Nine Days Away….

For the truly diehard fans, the season starts next Sunday. On September 6th at 7 PM, the Penguins will send their ‘Rookie’ squad to participate in the Toronto Maple Leaf’s Rookie Tournament. The games will be held at ‘The Aud’, or the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex. With that kind of full name, we can see why they just call it ‘The Aud’.

The other teams participating will be the host Toronto, as well as Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators. The schedule is as follows:

Sunday September 6, 7pm Pittsburgh vs. Toronto
Monday September 7, 2pm Toronto vs. Boston
Monday September 7, 7pm Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh
Wednesday September 9, 2pm Ottawa vs. Boston
Wednesday September 9, 7pm Toronto vs. Pittsburgh
Thursday September 10, 2pm Boston vs. Pittsburgh
Thursday September 10, 7pm Ottawa vs. Toronto

If you happen to be roaming through Canada at the time and you think you might want to attend, ticket costs will range from $10-$20 per game.

The Maple Leafs and Bruins have posted their rosters for the tournament (both were announced 2 days ago, so I would hope the Penguins will announce any moment). As soon as the Penguins do, we’ll post it here at PensUniverse. I would suspect that the roster would look much like the ‘Prospect Camp’ participants from earlier this summer. We’ll also let you know if you can watch the games online anywhere.

Enjoy the rest of your summers! Hockey and Football seasons are about to invade your social calendars….

Full Roster

FORWARDS (14): Andy Bathgate, Luca Caputi, Justin Dowling, Joey Haddad, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson, Nathan Moon, Nick Petersen, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Ryan Schnell, Zach Sill, Eric Tangradi, Keven Veilleux and Joe Vitale.

DEFENSEMEN (6): Robert Bortuzzo, Lane Caffaro, Jon D'Aversa, Simon Despres, Alex Grant and Brian Strait.

GOALIES (2): Brad Thiessen and Patrick Killeen.


Here's the news release from the Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins will hold their 2009 prospect camp from Saturday, Sept. 5 to Thursday, Sept. 10 in Kitchener, Ontario. Penguins’ prospects will compete in a Rookie Tournament at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium against prospects from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Todd Reirden and assistant coach John Hynes will oversee the 22 players attending the camp. Among the prospects taking part are promising forwards Eric Tangradi, Dustin Jeffrey and Luca Caputi.

Tangradi, whom the Penguins acquired with left winger Chris Kunitz from Anaheim for Ryan Whitney, is an imposing figure at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds. The gifted left winger tallied 88 points (38 goals, 50 assists) in 55 games with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. His 88 points ranked eighth in the OHL. The 20-year-old added 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists in 21 playoff games.

Jeffrey played in 14 NHL games with the Penguins during the 2008-09 season, posting three points (one goal, two assists). In 63 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the 21-year-old totaled 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists). Jeffrey finished second on the team with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 12 AHL postseason contests.

Caputi also made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh during the 2008-09 campaign, scoring one goal in five games. He scored his first career NHL goal on the first shift of his first NHL game (Feb. 3 at Montreal). Caputi finished sixth in scoring for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) and added eight points (three goals, five assists) in 12 AHL playoff games.

Other prospects attending camp include: defenseman Simon Despres, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (30th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft; defenseman Brian Strait, who helped lead Boston University to the 2009 NCAA championship; center Keven Veilleux, who scored 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists) in 29 games with Rimouski of the QMJHL; and forward Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who led the WHL in scoring with 115 points (36 goals, 79 assists) with Vancouver.

Fans can follow the prospect camp on the Penguins official Facebook and Twitter page.

Pittsburgh Penguins veterans will report to training camp in Pittsburgh Sept. 12.

Posted in: Penguins,pre-season