I unfortunately was unable to get credentialed to attend the Pittsburgh Penguins 2014 Prospect Development Camp, so all the information I have is second hand knowledge. Fortunately though we've got some talented guys who have been covering and reporting on Camps for years. Make sure to check out Eric Majeski (@LGP_netwolf) who always provides us with excellent Camp reports. Also, former Pensburgh contributor and WBS Baby Pens expert Tony Androckitis (@H_P_Hockey) will be there starting tomorrow and will have updates for us at his website Highland Park Hockey. And Ian Altenbaugh (@IanAltenbaugh) who covers the Penguins for Hockey's Future is another great follow. I'm not sure who else is attending, but be sure to give them a shout out as well.

Team Roster

The prospects were split into two groups which were a relatively even mix of players on each. These should be the lineups we see them practicing in all week and when they drop the puck in the scrimmage on Saturday.

Injury Updates

Derrick Pouliot attended and took part in off-ice activities, but due to his recent shoulder surgery was unable to participate in on-ice practice. He is still recovering and is hoping to be ready to compete for a spot in Training Camp, although most likely he will be out until mid-Fall and start his career in WBS.

Jaden Lindo also attended camp and took part in off-ice activities, but he was unable to participate in on-ice practice due to the fact that he is still recovering from surgery on the knee injury that cut his season short last year and caused him to fall down the draft charts. He hopes to get back in the mix and play a bigger role in the OHL this fall.

Sean Maguire was not on the initial list for Development Camp, and now we know why he was unable to attend. He sustained some sort of injury that is severe enough to cause him to miss the entire 2014-15 season, he is being red shirted for the year. During his time off he has taken to helping coach young goalies.

Observation

Pretty much all of the bloggers and local press in attendance covering Prospect Camp agree that Brian Dumoulin looked like a man amongst boys out there. He was said to have been flawless in the defensive drills, excellent gap coverage and stick on puck to break up plays and clear the zone. Plus he went top shelf and beat Tristan Jarry glove side with an excellent shot. He's not going to be handed a spot on a sliver platter, he know he has to work for it and prove himself, but as it stands now he appears to be the front runner to win one of the final NHL D positions in Training Camp.

The other D that made his presence known was Scott Harrington, although considering his potential we would expect nothing less. He is certainly moving closer to being NHL ready, although it won't be easy to surpass the names ahead of him on that list. Reportedly part of his exit interview last year was to not stress making the NHL, just to focus on playing to the best of his abilities, and it will happen when it happens. So he will have a chance to make the NHL lineup this year, but chances are he could still use seasoning as a top D in the AHL for a year.

None of the rest of the D really seemed to catch anybody's eye, although the first day was more about finesse drills. When they get to the more physical activity is when we will see guys like Reid McNeill, Harrison Ruopp, Clark Seymour, and Alex Boak start to turn some heads.

Amongst the forwards the main ones that jumped out were the ones with speed. Matia Marcantuoni was once again turning eads with his skating, just like he did last year. Jean-Sebastien Dea was perhaps the most impressive forward, showing that his hands and brain can indeed keep up with his feet as he made a number of excellent plays with the puck, showcasing not only his puckhandling but also his pure sniper mentality. Then of course Rust and Archibald stood out with their age and experience advantage. The tea suddenly got much deeper up front and WBS looks to have a solid lineup heading into the season.

One of the unexpected surprises was Blaine Byron who possesses quite a nice puckhandling skillset himself. However, one forward that was really making waves and earning himself some attention for possible NHL duty this season was Dominik Uher. He showed off his physical presence in puck battles as well as his uncanny knack for scoring goals off the crossbar. There are quite a few people saying he could be in the mix for the final NHL spot in Camp.

There are somewhat conflicting reports on Kasperi Kapanen. Some felt that he stood out as head and shoulders better than the rest of the prospects. However, others said that he looked a little raw still, that they can see the potential and what made him a top tier pick, but that he still needs a bit of work before he is NHL ready. His speed is said to be adequate, but compared to the lightning fast prospects in the Pens system he isn't turning heads like he was amongst the Draft prospects this year.

Most of the other forwards didn't really jump out this year. Anton Zlobin was mentioned, but he was overshadowed by the fact that he was skating with Dea and Kapanen. Conor Sheary was compared favorably to Gibbons. Scott Wilson was briefly mentioned after scoring, but he was unable to really stand out from the group he was in. Jake Gunetzel and Teddy Blueger mostly flew under the radar, but he was said to have been relatively successful as well. Oddly enough Adam Payerl didn't have much buzz this year, but I believe last year he didn't really start getting noticed until the physical play picked up. Perhaps that will apply to Oskar Sundqvist as well, he is on my list of players to watch out for, but he didn't really make much noise today.