Pittsburgh Penguins

Friday Insider: Simon says, get ready to play

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A weekly feature aimed at rounding up a whole lot of odds and ends from a whole lot of time spent around our local teams …

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Despres

• No player will see a more elevated role in the Penguins’ training camp than Simon Despres. And, truth be told, no matter what’s asked of Beau Bennett, it won’t even be close.

Mario Lemieux’s words in my interview with him this summer, in which he openly lamented that neither Ray Shero nor Dan Bylsma gave Despres a chance to stick in the lineup, apparently have resonated powerfully through the organization. As they should have. Eddie Johnston recently told me that some inside the team believed Despres was “absolutely our best defenseman at times,” and he’s right. Despres took control of the game for long stretches at both ends. And, counter to what the coaches advised, he actually did his best when he didn’t keep it simple. He did his best when he felt he was needed to step up and stand out, just as he has been throughout his career pre-NHL.

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Russell, Pascal, Honus, Ben

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday Twenty Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 1 p.m.

The format is simple: Use the comment section below to submit an entry, no more than one per person. Submit it anytime you want. I’ll pick from those to get the thing rolling. I’ll then monitor new entries as the session is going to cover follow-ups or updates.

As always, all topics are on the table. Really, anything at all.

UPDATE 1 p.m.: Here we go …

Brenna: What odds do you have on the Pirates resigning Russell Martin?

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Interview: Tristan Jarry, Penguins

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Here’s my recent interview with Tristan Jarry, the Penguins’ top pick in the 2013 NHL Draft as a second-rounder, from the team’s recent development camp.

Jarry, 19, won the Memorial Cup this past season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, posting a 16-4-1 record, 2.19 goals-against average, .925 save percentage in the WHL playoffs.

Tuesday 12 Qs: Stephon, Kasperi, Jose, Dana

by • Tuesday 12 Qs • Tags: , , , , ,

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday Twenty Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 1 p.m.

The format is simple: Use the comments below to submit an entry, no more than one per person. Submit them anytime you want. I’ll pick from those to get the thing rolling. I’ll then keep monitoring new entries, even as the session is ongoing, to cover follow-ups or updates.

As always, all topics are on the table. Really, anything at all.

UPDATE 1 p.m.: OK, here we go …

jtusk64: Many believe Pedro Alvarez is not a part of the long-term future since he’s a Scott Boras client. What’s the definition, then, of “giving up” on him: Pinch-hitting, trying a new position, or waiving/trading? Or do they hope for the best and try to resign at low value?

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Pedro, Jarvis, Scuds, more

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday Twenty Qs, a better, fairer format, I think, for the weekly chat. We’ll do it every week at this time, and this time was chosen so that, in football season, it can immediately follow Mike Tomlin’s weekly press conference.

The format is simple: Use the comments below to submit an entry, no more than one per person. Submit them anytime you want. I’ll pick from those to get the thing rolling. I’ll then keep monitoring new entries, even as the session is ongoing, to cover follow-ups or updates.

Again, all I ask is that it’s one entry per person. Most of the complaints I heard in the old format were about the same people getting chosen too often.

As always, all topics are on the table. Really, anything at all.

UPDATE 12:56 p.m.: OK, I guess we’re about to get going … except that I said 20 questions, not the 72 I’m seeing down there right now! Come on!

Milo Hamilton: What have these past three weeks or so been like for you ?

DK: Kind of like this new format, Milo: Bitten off more than I can chew!

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Column: Let’s see Kapanen’s best shot

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image

Photo-illustration — ALEX MESSMER

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

“We’ve been waiting for someone like him to arrive for a while.”

The scene was Sochi’s Bolshoy Ice Dome, site of the recent Olympics, and the speaker was Sami Salo, the well-traveled NHL veteran defenseman. Team Finland had just skated through its first training session, and Salo had just been paired with Olli Maatta, a partner 20 years his younger.

One set of drills was all it took. Salo felt so strongly about the kid that the above quote was his response to my fairly innocuous question about his first impression of the Penguins’ prized rookie.

“He’s that good,” Salo would say.

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