The Pittsburgh Penguins roster has enough variety to make for an interesting mashup, and one recent exercise tried to build the ideal player by borrowing one trait at a time from the current group.
The result is a strange, enticing mix: Sidney Crosby’s mind, Erik Karlsson’s vision, Bryan Rust’s edge, Evgeni Malkin’s clutch gene, Kris Letang’s athleticism, and Egor Chinakhov’s shot and finish. That’s the kind of blend that would make just about any coach smile.
For hockey IQ, Crosby was the clear choice. Karlsson was in the conversation, but Crosby’s almost obsessive approach to the game put him on his own tier. He’s the guy who lives by Walter Gretzky’s idea of getting to where the puck is going, not where it is.
Karlsson, though, claimed vision. Crosby was again right there, and Rickard Rakell got a look too, but Karlsson’s ability to see the whole sheet of ice - on the power play, at even strength, from his own zone through the neutral zone - made him the pick. The way he strings plays together is a huge part of what he does, even if it can be easy to overlook.
The shot belongs to Chinakhov, whose wrist shot was described as the best in the NHL. The point there is simple: he doesn’t need much room to unleash it, and the idea is that more ice and more opportunity in the Penguins’ top six would only make it more dangerous.
Size went to Elmer Soderblom, who is listed at 6-foot-8 and 252 pounds. He may not be a bruiser, but he uses every inch of that frame to protect the puck and battle along the boards.
Rust took mentality. That was a close call, but the edge came from how he handles hard moments.
His intensity shows up from the start, and when things get messy, he tends to sharpen rather than fade. The piece noted that if Crosby weren’t around, Rust would make sense as a captain because of that scrappy leadership and persistence.
Clutch was Malkin’s lane. Rust’s series-clinching goals and Crosby’s overtime winners were part of the discussion, but Malkin’s reputation in the biggest games still stood out. Even if the Penguins haven’t had many of those nights lately and Malkin has aged, the image of him charging defenders in pressure games remains part of the franchise’s memory.
Letang got athleticism. That nod recognized how he carved out a brilliant career as an undersized defenseman in an era when bigger blueliners were the standard. He had to be quicker, smoother, and stronger just to survive at that level.
The finishing touch also went to Chinakhov, and this one leaned on a small sample but a loud one. In 41 games, he finished 44% of his high-danger chances, including 16 goals on 36 high-danger chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. That was enough to edge out names like Crosby, Rust, Rakell, and Malkin, even though Rakell’s 22% finishing rate was noted as somewhat surprising.
Put it all together and the Penguins’ laboratory project produces a player who is 6-foot-8, 252 pounds, has a 90 mph wrist shot, elite hockey sense, relentless drive, strong vision, and the ability to score from 25 feet. The only problem with that build is that it still comes up a little short of Mario Lemieux, who matched almost all of it - just at 6-foot-5.
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