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It is the nature of the beast
in minor-league sports. Players come and go each year,
making it extremely difficult
for organizations to maintain
a high level of success. In the
American Hockey League,
only one team since 1980 — the
Springfield Indians in 1990 and
1991 — has repeated as Calder
Cup champion.
With that in mind, what
will happen to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins next
season? Can they sustain in
2001-02 the success they have
enjoyed this season?
The answer hinges upon
several factors, the most important of which is what Pittsburgh does in the off-season.
General manager Craig Patrick has several decisions to
make; 19 of the 25 players to
finish the season with the
NHL club are free agents. Depending upon who stays and
who goes, it could open doors
for some of the current Penguins players.
Another factor is the folding of the International
Hockey League. Top veteran
talent will be searching for
places to play. Should the Penguins go shopping for experience, there will be a larger
pool from which to choose.
Taking that into consideration, what might the 2001-02
Penguins roster look like?
Who from this year’s team
may or may not be back?
Seven players under contract are very likely to be here.
Greg Crozier and Tom Kostopoulos will be in the final year
of three-year deals and it will
be important for both to prove
to the parent club that they
are NHL material.
Dylan Gyori and Alexandre
Mathieu will also be third-
year players who need to
prove to the organization that
they are still prospects.
Alexander Zevakhin, Sebastien Caron and Eric Meloche
will be second-year players
who will become important
components to the Pens’ success.
Toby Petersen will also be a
second-year player under contract. He is one of four players
who should get a good look in
training camp at cracking
Pittsburgh’s lineup. The other
three are Josef Melichar,
Michal Rozsival and Billy Tibbetts. Rozsival and Tibbetts
are restricted free agents.
Milan Kraft and Andrew
Ference are definitely ticketed
for the NHL next season.
Unrestricted free agents
whose future with the Penguins is uncertain include
Darcy Verot, Martin Sonnenberg, Brendan Buckley and Jason MacDonald.
Chris Kelleher, Dennis Bonvie, Rich Parent and Trent
Cull are also unrestricted free
agents, but their situations are
a bit more complex.
With his big performance
in the postseason, Kelleher
may have earned an NHL look.
If Bonvie is content with
his cult-hero status here and
the chance of a token callup by
Pittsburgh, he will be back. If
he wants to continue the chase
for a regular NHL job, he will
move on.
Parent was signed this year
to mentor Caron. Next season,
Pittsburgh will want Caron to
handle the bulk of the goaltending chores, so despite his
value in the organization as a
third goaltender, Parent may
not be back.
Mark Moore, Jim Leger,
Joel Laing and Shaun Peet —
players who have been with
the Penguins during their
playoff run — should receive
invites to training camp.
Some of the new names fans
should hear next season: defensemen Jeremy Van Hoof,
David Koci, Rob Scuderi,
Darcy Robinson and Brian
Gaffaney. Forward Konstantin
Koltsov, Pittsburgh’s No. 1
draft pick in 1999, is a high-level prospect.
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