Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

NEW MANAGEMENT IN PITTSBURGH
Optimism over youth movement reigns supreme

PITTSBURGH - Newly appointed Hornets general manager Lance Lavelle finally gave in to the demands of the local and national media and held his first press conference earlier this week. Reluctant to be seen in public, the elusive interim general manager discussed his immediate plans for the organization, as well as what he sees as the strengths of the club.

“Clearly the on-ice product isn’t on par with the rest of the league,” Lavelle remarked with a muffled snarl. “We have some work to do in order to build a roster that will instill a sense of industrious pride in this city and this team. That’s not to say the base for a great team isn’t there -- it is. We just need to build around that base.”

When pressed on how that process may pan out, the interim general manager danced about. “To be honest, the previous management sold our future away. As we all know, the Hornets don’t have a single pick in this summer’s draft. That needs to be fixed, which means the on-ice product is going to suffer. We’re certainly not going to mortgage our future just to get a couple draft picks.”

“That said, the cupboard is bare,” Lavelle continued. “Our pipeline is dry, and that may force our hand. We have our key players locked up for at least another season. Beyond that, the organization isn’t opposed to any reasonable trade.”

Lavelle flew back to his retreat near the southern Delaware coast shortly after the press conference, a location he says will serve as his primary base of operations. “It provides me the opportunity to remove myself from the hype and the spotlight. Being in Sussex County gives me time and space to think.”

With Lavelle at the helm, the Hornets on-ice performance has improved. Since taking over seven games ago, Pittsburgh has gone 2-4-1, which improves their record on the season to 10-32-10. “While not stellar, it’s a definite improvement,” said a source close to the team.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS SLOWLY TRENDING IN RIGHT DIRECTION
Lose Jake Allen for extended period of time

PITTSBURGH - After 10 games at the helm of the Hornets franchise, interim general manager Lance Lavelle has guided Pittsburgh to three wins and two draws, with those three wins accounting for nearly one-quarter of the team’s season total.

“The first game was a loss to Ottawa,” Lavelle recalled. “Then a 4-1 victory over New Jersey really gave us a boost. There was a stretch of three straight losses to New York, Baltimore, and Johnston. All the good vibes left the locker room pretty quickly.”

The Hornets then managed to take five out of a possible six points against Ottawa, Boston, and Alaska before getting demolished by Cincinnati, 5-1.

“The scoreboard didn’t tell the whole story, but it was the only story that anyone read,” Lavelle mused. “We had some issues in the first period and let them go ahead 3-0. Our first line let us down, and they know it. Everyone picked up the pace after the intermission -- we just couldn’t muster any meaningful challenges.”

In Lavelle’s tenth game, Pittsburgh traveled to Boston where the Bears peppered Jake Allen with 43 shots. Cory Schneider, on the other hand, faced only 11 Hornets shots. Allen and Schneider were both perfect in the game, but Allen will be sidelined with a currently undisclosed ailment. Observers in Boston did note that Allen was seen with crutches following the game.

“We’ll evaluate Jake in about three weeks and see where he is,” said Lavelle. “In the meantime, Anton Khudobin will be called up.”

The Hornets travel to Moncton on Thursday before returning to Pittsburgh for a Saturday matchup against Hartford. Pittsburgh then embarks on a three-game road trip at the middle of the month.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

EARLY STARTS NOT NECESSARILY TRANSLATING INTO SUCCESS
Hornets score within first minute for three straight games

PITTSBURGH - Three straight games have produced Hornets’ goals within the first sixty seconds of play.

Last Thursday, Henrik Zetterberg tallied 45 seconds into the game against Moncton, sparking Pittsburgh to a 2-0 lead before they surrendered three straight goals in a 3-2 loss. Very little went well for Pittsburgh two nights later against Hartford in a 4-1 loss despite David Jones’ goal 26 seconds into the contest. Tonight, however, Tyler Bozak’s marker at the 40-second mark was part of a 3-2 victory over Hamilton.

“Well, we can’t lose them all,” general manager Lance Lavelle remarked. Despite being outshot 36-22, Pittsburgh grabbed the early lead and did not look back. “Our effort was typically sluggish. The Tigers came hard. Our five penalties don’t help. You can’t give a team that good all that time on the man-advantage. They nearly beat us on the powerplay alone.”

The Hornets’ revamped fourth line, which has seen an increasing amount of responsibility, accounted for the game-winner courtesy of Mark Arcobello’s stick. “Those boys will see some time down the stretch,” Lavelle said. “We can’t rely on the top two lines all sixty minutes.”

The victory puts the Hornets third-from-the-bottom in the GHL standings. Pittsburgh has scored only 99 goals this season, the only GHL club yet to break the century mark.

The Hornets are in action again on Valentine’s Day at Alaska before visiting Johnstown on Thursday night.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS FRONT OFFICE ABUZZ WITH RUMORS
Pittsburgh management in off-season mode

PITTSBURGH - Interim general manager Lance Lavelle addressed his organization this morning -- players, coaches, trainers, staffers, anyone who wears black and gold throughout the season -- in a closed-door session. While what was said in the meeting remains a mystery, several sources report that Lavelle gave an upbeat appraisal of the recently completed season, but tempered expectations for next season.

“He said we proved pundits wrong by not finishing at the bottom of the standings,” an anonymous source said of Lavelle.”

Another source with knowledge of what was said had a more blunt assessment of Lavelle’s words: “He said ‘Our last month was abysmal’ because we only earned two wins in our last twenty games. The front office underlined the fact that many on the team were targeted by other teams at the trade deadline and that they may still move prior to the start of next season.”

“‘No one is safe’,” said the source. “Those were Lance’s words.”

If the front office echoes the sentiment around most of the league that major changes must be made to be competitive, one has to look no farther than the top of the payroll to figure who may be searching for real estate outside Allegheny County -- goaltender Devan Dubnyk and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo are rumored to be available for blue chip prospects and young roster players that could make an impact in the next season or two.

“He doesn’t do anything hastily,” said a source who has known Lavelle for years. “Lance contemplates way too much. Sometimes he just need to pull the trigger and do the deal. But when he does make deals, they usually benefit his interests.”

The Pittsburgh management team will have an expansion draft to navigate this summer, which will diminish their player pool, but an entry draft where Lavelle will have his first chance to put his mark on the franchise. Rumor has it, management will try to consolidate draft picks and players in a trade to acquire a first round pick or two.

“The front office staff has been consistently heard grousing about the previous management’s trade of this year’s first round pick,” another source said. “They’re not optimistic about getting it back, for sure. But Lavelle greatly desires top-end talent from this draft. He has said that his franchise’s viability in Pittsburgh depends on it.”

And, indeed, the length of Lavelle’s own tenure may depend on this draft.

“The cupboards are bare,” Lavelle was quoted as saying in the aforementioned meeting. “We need to go shopping or we’re going to starve.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

PITTSBURGH FRONT OFFICE UPBEAT
Despite lack of talent, Hornets management optimistic

PITTSBURGH - With the “interim” tag removed, Lance Lavelle got to work over the summer in an agonizingly slow attempt to make the Hornets respectable. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans, that meant acquiring draft picks instead of players.

“We have four first round picks in the 2018 draft,” Lavelle said. “It’s not a particularly deep draft compared to this past summer -- and not having any real draft picks this summer stung -- but I don’t really want to talk about the decisions of the previous management group.”

Aside from the acquisition of draft picks, no notable roster positions were filled. The front office cleared away more cap space in what one can assume is a move preparing for the future, but the players brought in only served to ice a piecemeal squad.

“The management group has a three-year plan to be competitive, from what I understand,” an anonymous source confided. “But I think the first year is simply a “feeling out” year -- learning more about the league’s trade dynamics and gameplay. I’d look for a statement to be made next summer.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

BLEAK EAST COAST SWING WORST POSSIBLE START
Hornets head to Montreal before returning home for five straight

BALTIMORE - Score a little bit more each game.

That’s what Pittsburgh’s opposition has done in the opening three games to the 2017/18 GHL season. The Americans ran rampant on the Hornets for four on opening night, followed by New Jersey whizzing five past Dubnyk the following night, and Baltimore topping both with six goals last night.

“It’s been rough,” Dubyk admitted. “I’ll take the blame where I have to, but I shouldn’t be seeing an average of 38 shots a night. Certainly not the fifty that the Hawks put on me.”

Despite allowing 15 goals in this young season, Dubnyk still sports a .868 save percentage that has to be considered respectable given his supporting cast. In a season where the team knew the struggle would be real, it seems that even this magnitude of ineptitude was unexpected. 

Andrew Ladd, recently named captain, leads the team with two goals through those three games. “We need to stay out of the box.”

It is assumed that Ladd is referring to the Hornets’ abysmal 33.3% penalty kill rating to start the young season -- though some may take it as a not-so-subtle swipe at recent acquisition Alexander Radulov’s four minor penalties.

In the Maroon’s, Pittsburgh has its best chance for a victory to end the road trip, but the Hornets will need to put more than a couple goals past Carey Price to secure a win.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS OPEN THE HIVE
Pittsburgh opened season 0-4 on the road

PITTSBURGH - Outscored 19-5 on the road, including a 4-0 loss to Montreal, to open the 2017/18 GHL season, the Hornets have to yearning for the comforts of home. It is unlikely, however, that the end result will be any less disheartening for fans of the franchise. Pittsburgh hosts Washington, Detroit, Montreal, Hershey, and Baltimore -- teams that all have winning records in this young season -- in an 11-day span.

“Opening the season without a power play goal in only seven opportunities across four games is hard to swallow,” general manager Lance Lavelle said with little joy. “But we’re also killing penalties at only 50%. You don’t win games -- or even play close games -- with those numbers.”

Other numbers that contribute to losses are shown in Pittsburgh’s shot count. The Hornets faced 151 shots in those four games while only generating 68 on goal, a ratio that leads to little hope of sustained success. As a result, the team closed practice to the media yesterday and was rumored to working on simplifying their playing style with high-volume shot selections.

“No comment,” was the only reply Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had when leaving the practice facility yesterday.

With the prediction of a rough season ahead, talk amongst some of the local media has turned to the GHL record book -- specifically historical winning percentage. With Toronto and Hershey expected to have comparatively successful seasons, the Hornets may find winning one race this season: all-time lowest winning percentage. Moncton and Calgary, too, remain winless for now and will join the Hornets in the race for the all-time worst.

“After our season-ending stretch last year [two wins in the last twenty games], it’s not surprising,” said an inside source who preferred to remain anonymous. “These growing pains are temporary, but ownership is not satisfied with losing.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

PITTSBURGH MAKES NINE SELECTIONS IN 2018 DRAFT
Hornets take Pierre-Luc Dubois fourth overall

PITTSBURGH - Two seasons of heartache under general manager Lance Lavelle finally reaped tangible results. By all accounts, the Hornets’ management team put together an entry draft that would be the envy of many clubs within the league.

“Watching Auston Matthews get drafted with our pick last year did not sit well,” Lavelle said, referencing the first overall selection in the 2017 entry draft that was traded to Suffolk by the previous management group. “Enduring the quagmire of last season was unbearable, but being able to find and draft the caliber of players in one draft year that we did starts to alleviate some of the burn.”

Of the nine players selected by the Hornets, seven were forwards and two were defensemen; Pittsburgh did not select any goaltenders. It is expected that Tippett, Frederic, and Belpedio will likely be returning to their junior or college teams, while the other draftees will contend for playing time in Pittsburgh this upcoming season.

“We have opportunities for ice time for a lot of these kids,” stated Lavelle. “Everyone will need to earn a spot on the roster, but the opportunities are surely there for the taking.”

In addition to the draft picks, Pittsburgh also acquired the rights to restricted free agent Pontus Aberg from Suffolk.

“We’ve had our eye on Aberg for quite some time,” Lavelle admitted. “[Suffolk general manager] Chris [Frey] and I went back and forth for weeks. We left a lot of good players on the draft board and gave up two fifth round picks to acquire him, but we think he’s worth the risk. He’ll have to earn a roster spot just like the others, but we feel his speed and offensive awareness could begin to shine in the next season or two.”

Pierre-Luc Dubois (C/LW) - 4th overall

Scouts say: “He’s the complete package and will play first-line minutes. Great size and strength.”

Owen Tippett (RW/LW) - 16th overall (acquired from Suffolk)

Scouts say: “Pure goal-scorer. Upside of very productive top-line player.”

Jesper Bratt (RW/LW) - 25th overall (acquired from Toronto)

Scouts say: “Highly talented offensively and aggressive in all zones.”

Anders Bjork (RW/LW) - 26th overall (acquired from New Jersey)

Scouts say: “He has the speed, offensive smarts and play-making ability to be a strong player.”

Trent Frederic (C) - 33rd overall

Scouts say: “Good size for a center prospect; can chip in a respectable amount of offense.”

Victor Mete (D) - 52nd overall (acquired from Detroit)

Scouts say: “Excellent skating, vision, play-making, and positioning.”

Zach Senyshyn (RW) - 64th overall

Scouts say: “An outstanding speedster with an improving offensive game.”

Louie Belpedio (D) - 78th overall (acquired from Suffolk)

Scouts say: “Talented right-handed blueliner; a lot of special teams value.”

Jeremy Bracco (RW) - 88th overall (acquired from New Jersey)

Scouts say: “Elite vision, poise and skating; a powerplay guru.”

[Matt-Syracuse]

It's good to see that Pittsburgh will no longer be the sucker not getting a break from the trade sharks.

Congratulations on the draft!

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

Oh, I’m probably still a sucker.

I was just looking back at a couple trades I made early on here and just shook my head at the value-loss in the return. Oh well.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS TAKE UNPLANNED STEP TOWARD RELEVANCY
Pittsburgh’s three-year plan gets a burst of speed

PITTSBURGH - Talk out of the Pittsburgh front office last autumn focused on a three-year plan to become competitive. Those same rumors focused on a statement being made during the then-upcoming off-season. Perhaps after a summer that saw Pittsburgh replenish its depth and youth, general manager Lance Lavelle had a plan after all.

“Early recognition that Edmonton and Chicago were going to languish again this coming season helped expedite our process,” Lavelle said. “Our management team had every intention of waiting until next season to make a push for the playoffs while trying to gain a top-five selection in the next Entry Draft. It quickly became obvious that wasn’t going to happen.”

Indeed, Pittsburgh was very clear at the start of the summer of that intention -- listing goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and winger Alexander Radulov. And while rumors state that all three came very close to be trading multiple times, the returns were not to management’s liking.

“After the draft, we really only needed some solid defenders,” an anonymous source stated. “We had Methot as a cap dump from Cornwall, but that was it. So we went out and got some.”

After sitting out the initial blitz of free agency, Pittsburgh tested the waters and made a run at Ryan McDonagh -- their top free agency target.

“We vastly underestimated the interest in him,” conceded Lavelle. “To be fair, it was my first foray into free agency here. I learned quite a bit through this process.”

While McDonagh will suit up for the Toros this season, the Hornets are happy to have signed blueliners Connor Murphy, Jamie Oleksiak, Matt Hunwick, Roman Polak, and Paul Martin to lucrative contracts. Lavelle also brought in winger Alex Chiasson, center Mike Fisher, and goaltenders Steve Mason and Ondrej Pavelec as depth options.

As Lavelle noted, free agency was certainly a learning process. Pittsburgh watched restricted free agents Pontus Aberg (who was acquired in the off-season) and Zack Mitchell hit the open market due to some misinterpreted communication from the league.

“We had every intention of keeping all three of our RFAs,” Lavelle admitted. “We think Pontus is due to make a huge leap this season, and Zack would have slotted in nicely as a depth option, but it’s water under the bridge. Ultimately, we only lost a fourth and fifth round selection -- and a little bit of pride.”

Pittsburgh will regain some of that pride on the ice this season. Early predictions have the Hornets as a bubble team, with this author predicting a fifth-place finish in the Adams Division, and a ninth-place finish overall. But a solid streak or two from Fleury could easily push Pittsburgh into the thick of the playoff race.

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

PITTSBURGH OPENS CAMPAIGN WITH HOT START
Hornets are winners in seven of their last eight contests

PITTSBURGH - While the Hornets’ opening stretch was not a showcase of the league’s elite squads, a season ago such a docket would have led to ten straight losses. The new season, complete with many new and young faces, has showcased marked improvement as the Hornets have jumped out to a 6-3-1 record in their first ten games.

“It might be easy to get excited,” general manager Lance Lavelle said after his Hornets put up seven goals in a 7-2 triumph over the Calgary Wranglers. “41 goals in 10 games, top-ranked offense in the Prince of Wales, 13 points, tied with Cleveland for the division lead. But we’re not excited. We know we’ve been handed a schedule that we were able to take advantage of.”

That schedule has allowed Pittsburgh to claim the league’s best penalty killing unit, working at 91.43% proficiency while allowing only three powerplay goals against in ten games. Likewise, the Hornets are converting powerplay opportunities of their own at the league’s fourth-best rate: 28.57%.

The Hornets’ first line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Alexander Radulov are each averaging more than a point per game and have single-handedly dominated games at times in this young season.

“It’s just nice to win,” noted Nugent-Hopkins. “It’s been a while since we’ve all felt this good.”

Rookie left winger Dubois, with 13 points, also leads the team in hits with 29. His teammates have noticed the feisty forward’s work ethic and have nothing but praise.

“He plays with some ferocity,” blueliner Jamie Oleksiak observed. “We see what he’s doing and want to do the same.”

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been a stalwart between the pipes, starting nine of the ten contests. Those starts have resulted in six wins, a save percentage of 0.919 and a GAA of 2.33.

The blueline remains a concern of Pittsburgh’s management, with all six of the Hornets regular defenders being new to the team this season.

“There’s some potential for long-term success with one or two of the blueliners throughout our entire organization,” a front office insider said. “We’ll be looking to add some younger talent to the blueline during the next season or two to complement our growing skill at forward.”

Pittsburgh’s next ten-game stretch includes opponents in the league’s elite, including current division leaders New Jersey, Adirondack, and Cleveland. The Hornets’ position in the standings after twenty games should be a much better indicator of their playoff viability.

“We’ll assess things around Thanksgiving,” Lavelle said, in response to whether the Hornets would make any changes. “We have some older talent that could serve a real contender, but we also have enjoyed this brief taste of success.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION
Pittsburgh still competitive twenty games into season

PITTSBURGH - While the Adams Division is clearly under the control of the Cleveland Barons this season, the Pittsburgh Hornets have emerged as one of a handful of teams that could compete for second place as the season continues.

“Hamilton has to be a favorite for the Number Two spot,” said general manager Lance Lavelle. “But our commitment to team defense this season could help us disrupt pre-season thoughts about our squad.”

“It’s early,” said Andrew Ladd, who sports a +5 along with five points. “But we’re looking for positive this season.”

Indeed, this season could be the first time since the 2015/16 campaign that a Hornet finishes the season on the positive side 0 with regard to plus-minus.

The Hornets next ten games are all against teams that currently have fewer points than Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia matchup on December 15 marks the next game in which Pittsburgh plays a higher ranked opponent -- at least according to today’s standings.

“It’ll be a nice test to see if we can keep playing our brand of hockey,” remarked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “If we can crank out seven wins, I think the coaches would be pretty pleased.”

On paper, those seven wins should be possible. On the ice -- that’s another story.

“Marc-Andre [Fleury] has shouldered a lot of the burden so far, so I expect we’ll see him get a bit of rest,” Lavelle stated. “Our original plan was to have Fleury start about half of the team’s games, then split the remainder between Steve [Mason] and Ondrej [Pavelec] -- Fleury would start two or three, then turn over the reins to either Mase or Pavy for a start. Marc-Andre’s early play threw a wrench in those plans. We’ll need to get back to that before we wear out Flower.

And what about those rumors that continue to swirl around some of the team’s older players? According to Lavelle, there has been some persistent interest.

“We get inquires about Radulov fairly often. Dorsett, Fisher, and Ladd, too, for the depth aspect, I assume,” he confessed.

“No one is off-limits, but we’re looking for assets that can be eased into the line-up. We’re not making a title run anytime soon.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

PITTSBURGH POWERPLAY IN TAILSPIN
Hornets have scored once with the man-advantage in the past seven games

PITTSBURGH - The Hornets have continued to surpass the expectations of their fans, players, coaches, and management in the early stages of the 2018/19 season. One area in which expectation and reality are meeting? The powerplay.

“We’ve been given the fewest opportunities in the league,” said general manager Lance Lavelle. “We don’t have a rhythm and it’s not given us time to put together five-man units that work.”

Pittsburgh’s 62 powerplay opportunities are, in fact, thirty-first in the league -- one fewer than Quebec.

“For all that lack of time,” Lavelle continued, “we haven’t been doing too poorly until recently.”

Over the last seven contests, the Hornets have managed a goal with the extra man only once -- an Anders Bjork tally against Chicago. Prior to that goal, Pitttsburgh’s last powerplay successes came against Adirondack and Cornwall.

Bjork himself has scored four of Pittsburgh’s last six powerplay tallies. His powerplay goal total for the season is five -- one-third of Pittsburgh’s season total.

“I like the open ice,” Bjork said.

Pittsburgh will debut revamped powerplay units for tonight’s matchup against in Toronto, one in which the Hornets hope to begin to see signs of powerplay change.

“Our team defense has been hanging with the league’s elite so far this season,” said captain Andrew Ladd. “Our offense -- that’s been a different story. We won’t keep our spot in the standings if we don’t get the powerplay clicking.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS HAVE A LOT TO LIKE ONE-THIRD OF THE WAY HOME
10-game unbeaten streak amongst the highlights of the beginning of the season for Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - With the Hornets’ win over Hartford on December 12, Pittsburgh eclipsed their entire win total from last season. The season before that, too.

“The bar has been pretty low these past two seasons,” general manager Lance Lavelle stated. “The fact that we’ve been able to put together the season we have has come as a bit of a shock.”

Indeed, the Hornets recently had a ten-game unbeaten streak snapped in a 8-4 loss away at Hershey. Prior to that, Pittsburgh had won seven of their last ten.

“It’s been a whole-team effort,” said goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. “Ondrej [Pavelec] and I have been sharing the crease, and he’s been playing well -- that Hershey game notwithstanding.

The Hornets currently find themselves sitting in third place in the Adams Division, six points behind second-place Hamilton and two points ahead of fourth-place Alaska.

“Our standing in the division is tenuous,” said captain Andrew Ladd. “We know those other teams haven’t been playing their best hockey.”

Some of the Hornets’ best hockey of the season came just last night against a superior Philadelphia squad.

Facing a team on a six-game winning streak and on their home ice, Pittsburgh was outshot 36-25 but walked away with a 4-2 victory -- in large part due to a 32-14 advantage in hits.

“We played our game,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “We’d like to continue that.”

Derek Dorsett, in his first game back from an extended injury, assisted on Pittsburgh’s first goal, recorded three shots, and had three hits. Unfortunately for the Hornets, he was injured during the game and is expected to miss another 3-4 weeks.

“It sucks,” Dorsett said. “I was humming out there with Bratt and Gibbons.”

It is assumed that Andrew Ladd may find himself with an increased role as a result of the injury.

The newly created line of Dubois-Chiasson-Kapanen impressed the coaching staff, recording two goals on nine shots -- as well as registering ten hits.

“We may leave them together for a while to see if that chemistry continues,” said Lavelle.

Chiasson has four goals in his last three games.

“I’ve just had some good luck,” Chiasson added.