Penguins Rookie Vasily Ponomarev Bashed Publicly by Kyle Dubas After Signing Overseas
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Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas laid into Pittsburgh prospect Vasily Ponomarev, who they received from the Carolina Hurricanes in the Jake Guentzel deal.
The Pittsburgh Penguins made the difficult decision to trade goal-scoring forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes at last year's Trade Deadline; part of the package they received in return included prospect Vasily Ponomarev.
But after being unable to guarantee him time in the NHL next season, Ponomarev has reportedly decided to return to his native homeland and will be playing for Omsk in the KHL.
Dubas, who said that the Penguins will choose to retain his rights should he choose to return to North America, also threw some shade his way by comparing the way he played since joining the Penguins organization compared to his days with Carolina.
When he came up last year, before the trade with Carolina, he played with a lot more pace there. Obviously, it's a different environment. Carolina was at a different point in its evolution. It's the way it goes sometimes.
Ponomarev played in 55 games with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and had 41 points (15G, 26A).
For Penguins fans who are still a bit unfamiliar with Ponomarev, his scouting report via Elite Prospects reads as follows:
The motor on this kid is unrelenting. He backtracks well through the neutral zone, consistently applies back-pressure, and is dogged in 50-50 puck battles. He's a legitimate two-way centre, the type that makes his presence felt at every corner of the ice.
If Ponomarev decides to eventually return to North America, it sounds as though he'll have to work overtime on his game to get back into Dubas' good graces.
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