AHL: Penguin Exhibit

With just one win in their first seven games, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins began the season vaguely resembling the group that were crowned Eastern Conference Champions during the 2003-04 campaign.

That seems like such a long time ago now.

Over the next 22 games, the baby Pens lost just four times in regulation and find themselves right back in the thick of the race for this year's Calder Cup.

Pittsburgh's top affiliate made their way to upstate New York recently for a date with the Syracuse Crunch and continued their winning ways by downing the Crunch 5-4.

Ryan Whitney (Pit), D

Pittsburgh's top pick in 2002 kicks off his first full season in Wilkes-Barre after appearing in 16 games with the baby Pens during their run to the Calder Cup Finals last season .. already anchors blueline, manning the top pairing with fourth-year pro David Koci .. Whitney received major icetime, playing in all situations .. operated the point on the power play and also saw some PK duties .. showed excellent poise throughout, displaying mental abilities beyond his years .. possesses a nice fluid stride, rarely loses race to loose pucks .. very intelligent performance, consistently made sound decisions .. still needs to be more aggressive in the defensive end, however .. seemed to let the game come to him early on, yet did become more physical as the night progressed .. earned an assist on team's second goal, yet would benefit from being more assertive offensively, but that will come in time .. there was no hair-raising, end-to-end rushes like he showcased in college, instead concentrating primarily on his defensive-zone technique .. should be a cornerstone on Pittsburgh's backline for years to come.

Michel Ouellet (Pit), RW

Steadily developing prospect out of Rimouski spent majority of first pro term in ECHL before graduating to AHL last year and leading the team with 30 goals and 49 points .. once again pacing the Pens having bulged the twine 20 times this season in first 29 games, second most in the league behind Manchester's Mike Cammalleri .. main triggerman on one of AHL's most dangerous lines along with Kris Beech and Matt Murley, the trio also forming the top powerplay unit .. despite being among the team leaders in shots, Ouellet hit the net just once .. seemed snakebit in this contest, failing to convert prime opportunities from the doorstep on a few occasions .. possesses slightly above-average wheels .. uses anticipation skills extremely well .. puck has knack for finding him in the offensive end .. blessed with soft hands, great shooting mechanics and a good nose for the net .. did display excellent vision and patience with the puck .. good size, plays physical at times, however, still needs to be more consistent on the defensive end .. capable of making positive contributions away from the puck as his plus-17 rating would indicate, though the numbers may be somewhat inflated due to his line's dominance .. shaping up to be a real find for Pittsburgh.

Colby Armstrong (Pit), RW

Another possible late bloomer for the Penguins .. struggled early with the transition to the pro game after a successful junior career with Red Deer .. seemingly turned the corner in third season with Wilkes-Barre and needs only five more points to surpass last season's output .. definitely benefiting from being in talented Wilkes-Barre lineup and playing on a line with vets Shane Endicott and Ramzi Abid .. rarely faced the opposing team's top defensive pairing .. demonstrated excellent aggressiveness away from the puck, creating space and scoring chances .. really asserted himself with physical intensity at both ends .. crashed the opponent's net and was consistently measuring up opponents on the defensive half .. saw some time with the man advantage and also on the penalty kill .. showed good playmaking touch, but would benefit from improvements to his finishing skills .. nevertheless, developing nicely into a candidate for third or fourth-line NHL duty if progress continues.

Erik Christensen (Pit), C

Talented former WHL scoring champ (`02-3) is being brought along slowly in pro debut after a disappointing final junior campaign split between Kamloops and Brandon .. saw limited action skating on the fourth line .. worked hard every shift, focusing on little things away from the puck .. made a great effort on one particular backcheck early in the contest to negate a Crunch opportunity .. coach displayed plenty of confidence in the young center by putting him on the ice late in a tie game, and he rewarded them by stealing the puck at the blueline and notching the game-winner with just over a minute to play .. displayed great hands on the goal, easily beating Crunch netminder with a nifty move .. possesses instinctive finishing abilities and is used regularly whenever Wilkes-Barre go to a shootout .. looks capable of putting up good numbers at AHL level as well, but is currently caught in a numbers crunch on deep Penguin roster.

Ben Eaves (Pit), C

Gifted rookie out of Boston College playing in just his second pro game after missing two months due to off-season knee surgery .. centered the Penguins third line with Matt Hussey and Tomas Surovy .. similar to fellow freshman, Eaves didn't see a ton of icetime due to deep forward ranks .. saw some powerplay action in a game overloaded with special teams play .. understandably looked a bit rusty after lengthy absence, but showed impressive maturity by not trying to do too much, too early .. way undersized, but doesn't play like it .. possesses a thick frame that should continue to fill out .. will likely need another full year at the AHL level to fully acclimatize to pro ranks.