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Pittsburgh Penguins: Top 10 Prospects 2018

By Shepard Price

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 07: Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing Daniel Sprong (41) forechecks during the second period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins on January 7, 2018, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. The Penguins defeated the Bruins 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 07: Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing Daniel Sprong (41) forechecks during the second period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins on January 7, 2018, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. The Penguins defeated the Bruins 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best teams in the league… right now. Here are ten prospects who will try and help them stay one of the best teams in the league into the future.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best teams in the league right now, even despite a lackluster start to the season. But with an aging core and a defensive system in need of help, the Pens will need to rely on prospects going into the future. Prospects will need to play well for Pittsburgh on cheap contracts. Here are some of the players who can do that.

These prospects are ranked on three factors: ceiling, NHL readiness, and the likelihood that they play consistent minutes with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chief amongst them is their ceiling. In order to qualify, a prospect must not have played 25 NHL games and must be Calder eligible. With that in mind, let’s start with goaltending.

Casey DeSmith [27] (UDFA)

Stats (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL): 27 gp, 2.73 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO
Stats (Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL):14 gp, 2.40 GAA, .921 SV%, 1 SO

Casey DeSmith took the backup job for the Pittsburgh Penguins out of camp this season and has done well with it so far. With Matt Murray struggling, there have even been in-building chants of “we want DeSmith”. That’s for good reason as well. Last season, DeSmith was one of the best goaltenders for the club no matter where he was put, coming up with a .910 save percentage in the AHL and .921 save percentage in the NHL.

DeSmith having great stats last season at both levels shows the capacity to be an excellent backup

This is not to say that DeSmith has the highest ceiling out of the Penguins’ prospect goaltenders.

However, Tristan Jarry having already met the minimum requirement for the Calder allows DeSmith the prime position on the goaltending tentpole, at least when it comes to who counts as the best prospect. DeSmith having great stats last season at both levels shows the capacity to be an excellent backup, which is all the Penguins really need right now.

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