Tuesday's Talk 8/22/17

The weekly reader's mailbag questions answered!

Editor's Note: The weekly Tuesday's Talk feature will remain a free article for everyone to read after our premium content kicks into effect in September. We want to continue interacting with our readers, clearing up common misunderstandings/misconceptions around the American Hockey League (AHL) and more.

@kyrish7nd on Twitter -> Can the new guys coming in replace what the team lost with Weal, Miele, Zengerle, and two of Morin, Hagg, and Sanheim departing?

Jordan Weal and Andy Miele are point-per-game players at the AHL level, and Mark Zengerle could have filled a top-six role more permanently last season if not for the team's depth. Time will tell, but bringing in Phil Varone via free agency and bringing back Corban Knight helps with the Phantoms' need for depth down the middle, not to mention the addition of Mikhail Vorobyev and possibly even Mike Vecchione.

As for replacing the production of guys potentially making the jump to the Flyers' roster out of training camp - Robert Hagg, Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim - the addition of Phil Myers to the Phantoms' blue line core helps ease the workload on the remaining pieces of the blue line - key veterans like Mark Alt, T.J. Brennan and Will O'Neill. Many forget about O'Neill's absence last spring, and he's certainly a game changer on an AHL blue line.

@queeeen_DEE on Twitter ->  Have you guys talked about your favorite prospects for each NHL team's AHL team?? Or where you think Will Butcher will land? Thanks!

I can't pinpoint a landing spot for Will Butcher, but it's clear there is significant interest around the NHL. As for a 'top prospects playing in the AHL this season' discussion, I think you've stumbled upon a great story angle for September. Thank you for the idea for a future story!

I'll delve into a more league-wide look at top prospects playing in AHL in 2017-18, but a quick off the cuff list of players I expect I'll be seeing a lot of this season that fit the bill as high-end prospects include guys like Phil Myers (Philadelphia Flyers), Daniel Sprong (Pittsburgh Penguins), Matthew Barzal (New York Islanders), Michael Dal Colle (New York Islanders), Madison Bowey (Washington Capitals), Jakub Vrana (Washington Capitals), Jake DeBrusk (Boston Bruins), Danton Heinen (Boston Bruins), Jakub Zboril (Boston Bruins), Julien Gauthier (Carolina Hurricanes) and Haydn Fleury (Carolina Hurricanes) just to name a few.

@desmithsego on Twitter -> How do you think my favorite team, WBS Pens, will do this season after losing many key players?

Having watched Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey since day one back in October of 1999, I can say now for sure that the Penguins at the AHL level simply reload year after year and are annual playoff contenders

While theyhave  lost some key players off of last year's roster, the organization always go out and gets solid replacements whether it be in free agency (see: Kevin Czuczman, Zach Trotman, Jarred Tinordi, Greg McKegg etc.) or by bringing back key pieces (see: Casey DeSmith).

I think with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith in net, a plethora of talented battle-tested AHL level defensemen and a combination of youth and experience up front with captain longevity himself Tom Kostopoulos leading the way that the Penguins will still be a team to look out for in the Atlantic Division this coming fall.

In case you missed it...

We've begun our Lehigh Valley Phantoms / Philadelphia Flyers prospect profile features and will continue to release them leading up to the start of the 2017-18 season.

Kyle Phillippi spoke with Nicolas Aube-Kubel reflecting on lessons learned in his rookie season, and I put together a write up on a frustrated Radel Fazleev searching for a more secure roster spot on the Phantoms this fall.

Yesterday, we brought back the weekly Monday's Catch Up & Links post.