Pittsburgh Penguins: Top 5 predictions for next season

#4: The cycle starts over with youth domination

The year was 2003, and the Pittsburgh Penguins needed a reboot. That summer, they drafted legendary Marc-Andre Fleury and started a new cycle in the Pens dynasty. From there, the next decade was molded by Malkin, Crosby, Letang, and Staal. That influx of baby Penguins turned the team from the Lemieux and Jagr years into something new and promising.

Jordan Staal and Fleury have since left, and the likes of Kris Letang, Sid, and Geno are all in there early to mid-30s. Slowly the inevitable will happen, and decline will set in. Fortunately for the Penguins, they have a steady flow of youth coming up, and next season will see a slow take over start to take place from within the Pens locker room.

If next year repeats itself as far as production, the leader in the youth take over will be John Marino. He’s almost guaranteed himself Rookie of the Year honors this season and only getting better. From there, you will find a pretty significant gap inexperience, but just as Marino surprised us all, so will a few others over the next 12 months of hockey.

What’s funny enough is that by the end of all of this, Marino might be the lesser of the bunch as some future star power is making its way to the top. The previous transition of power saw 5 new faces take over in about 5 years. This coming season could see 2 or 3 prospects, including Marino, make a change in the Penguins organization.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Top 5 predictions for next season.

Samuel Poulin is all the rage these days and, personally, don’t see him needing a year in the AHL to ready himself after tearing up the Q again this season. Coming up right behind Marino is the 20-year-old Pierre-Olivier Joseph. POJ needs to thicken up, but at 6’2, he will be a force. An up and down defense makes for a perfect chance to make the jump and prove his worth next season.