Pittsburgh Penguins' Undrafted Players Are Dominating

Lots of players for the Pittsburgh Penguins have stepped up to the plate this season, achieving far more than anyone had expected from them. What’s surprising about that is the number of these players who went undrafted or have strengths that analytics don’t necessarily show.

I had the privilege of attending a small media event in Pittsburgh a couple days ago, thanks to Bob Grove. The #XfinityCupFinal event was fascinating in its focus on analytics, but also in that Pierre McGuire was there to answer our questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Stanley Cup Final. Pierre is, as we all know from watching the NBCSN broadcasts, a wealth of knowledge – and yes, he did say “Kristopher Letang” in person.

He mentioned how several of the Penguins who have stepped up so much this season are more than underdogs. Some, like Ben Lovejoy, have subpar stats that make them unappealing to those scouts and fans who like to focus on analytics. Quite a few others went undrafted and only got to this point through their hard work.

That got me thinking about how much of a Cinderella story these Penguins really are. They seem almost unbeatable now, and even when they do play poorly they immediately rebound. They do not get beaten down mentally, and they are a constant force of nature.

Undrafted players and even those who go in the later rounds know that they can’t get beaten down mentally, either. Guys like Conor Sheary and Chris Kunitz have been some of the hardest workers for the Pens this year and neither one of them was drafted. Patric Hornqvist was, in the same year as Sidney Crosby, but while Sid went first overall Hornqvist was last.

Even on the opposing side, you’ve got guys like Martin Jones and Joel Ward. Jones has undeniably kept his team in the past couple of games while the lineup in front of him struggled, while Ward has been a machine for the San Jose Sharks since his acquisition.

Let’s start by looking at Sheary, though, since his overtime game-winner from game two is still so fresh in our minds. Sheary is small and played college hockey, both of which are usually factors that detract from a player’s draft value. Don’t get me wrong, college hockey players are talented and many have made it pretty far in the league, but compared to players who take the route through juniors to the NHL there seem to be fewer of them.

Sheary is like the Tasmanian Devil on the forecheck, though, and he’s been one of the Penguins’ best scorers in the playoffs. He has great chemistry with Sidney Crosby, and he understands that he needs to get down and dirty in the corners and in front of the net to control the puck as much as he can.

Okay, admittedly, playing with Sidney Crosby can make anyone look better. On the other hand, if a player does really have that kind of chemistry with him, then the Penguins’ offense get turned up another notch. That’s not only true with Sheary but also with Chris Kunitz – an pairing we’ve seen for much longer.