WBS Only Two Wins Short Of The Dream Season

By Richard A. Plisco
The AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (affectionately referred to as the Baby Pens) fell two victories shy of the league championship and the Calder Cup trophy this Spring. However, along the way several Pittsburgh Penguin prospects demonstrated enormous potential and will no doubt challenge NHL veterans for starting jobs at training camp for the 2001-02 season.

Citing individual season stats in both the AHL and NHL (wherever appropriate), I will list the Penguins current crop of candidates and on what roster they can be expected to appear next season.

NOTE – Playoff stats are the second line

MARIO’S MEN -

These are the players that most likely will crack the Pen’s NHL ranks and have either demonstrated success in the pros or have attributes that fill the parent team’s current weaknesses. 
C Milan Kraft 6'3" 200lbs. Showed brilliant scoring touch in AHL.
AHL 40gp 21g 23a 44p	NHL 42gp 7g 7a 14p
AHL 14gp 12g   7a 19p	NHL   8gp 0g 0a   0p

C Toby Peterson 5'10" 193lbs. Very effective when called up to the big
club.
AHL 73gp 26g 41a 67p	NHL 12gp 2g 6a 8p
AHL 21gp   7g   6a 13p	NHL   0gp

L Greg Crozier 6'0" 185lbs. Has power forward potential.
AHL 77gp 24g 36a 60p	NHL 1gp 0g 0a 0p
AHL 21gp   6g   5a 11p	NHL 0gp

R Billy Tibbetts 6'2" 215lbs. Gritty and not bad around the net.
AHL 38gp 14g 24a 38p 185pim	NHL 29gp 1g 2a 3p 131pim
AHL 12gp   4g   6a 10p   55pim	NHL  0gp

G Rich Parent 6'3" 215lbs. Was huge factor in AHL championship.
AHL 35gp 17w 12l 5t 2.35gaa .922sp	NHL 7gp 1w 1l 3t 3.08gaa .887sp
AHL 21gp 13w   8l 0t 2.58gaa .912sp	NHL 0gp

D Andrew Ference 5'10" 190lbs. Proved he belongs…should be NHL regular.
AHL 42gp 6g 18a 24p 95pim		NHL 36gp 4g 11a 15p 28pim
AHL   3gp 1g   0a   1p			NHL 18gp 3g   7a 10p 16pim

R Dennis Bonvie 5'11" 220lbs. Fan favorite in AHL…brings nasty streak.
AHL 65gp 5g 18a 23p 221pim	NHL 3gp 0g 0a 0p
AHL 21gp 0g   4a   4p			NHL 0gp

D Chris Kelleher 6'1" 210lbs. Huge offensive surprise in AHL playoffs.
AHL 66gp 6g 13a 19p
AHL 21gp 7g 18a 25p

D Michal Rozsival 6'1" 205 Another offensive weapon the big club could
use.
AHL 29gp 8g 8a 16p		NHL 30gp 1g 4a 5p
AHL 21gp 3g 9a 22p		NHL   0gp

D Josef Melichar 6'3" 215lbs. Physical, mobile, and another Czech. Can't
hurt.
AHL 46gp 2g 5a 7p 69pim	NHL 18gp 0g 2a 2p 21pim
AHL 21gp 0g 5a 5p		NHL  0gp
WILKES-BARRE BOUND -

These are the players that could definitely use another season of development in the AHL. They have all shown flashes of raw talent, but need to polish their skills and discover their true roles. 
R Tom Kostopoulos 6'0" 205 Solid power forward prospect.
AHL 80gp 16g 36a 52p 120pim
AHL 21gp   3g   9a 12p

R Eric Meloche 5'11" 195lbs. Needs to bulk up, but good hands in close.
AHL 79gp 20g 20a 40p 72pim
AHL 21gp   6g 10a 16p

L Martin Sonnenberg 6'0" 185 Disappeared in AHL playoffs, needs
consistency.
AHL 73gp 14g 18a 32p 89pim
AHL 21gp   4g   3a   7p

G Sebastien Caron 6'1" 160lbs. Upstaged by Parent, but still has
potential.
AHL 30gp 12w 14l 3t 3.54gaa .882sp
AHL  0gp
WHEELING WHISPERS -

These gentlemen are in danger of taking a trip down to the ECHL affiliate Nailers unless they significantly pick their games up. 
C Alexandre Mathieu 6'2" 177lbs. Had 1 good season in QMJHL and that's
it.
AHL 77gp 11g 17a 28p
AHL 16gp   4g   2a   6p

L Alexander Zevakhin 6'0" 197lbs. Was a scorer in Moscow, what happened?
AHL 77gp 14g 11a 25p
AHL 21gp   2g   4a   6p