Monday, July 24, 2006

Penguins sign Ronald Petrovicky

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Ronald Petrovicky, 29, to a contract. No terms were disclosed.

Petrovicky is another winger who fits in the gritty style that Shero seems to like. He had 20 points last year (8 + 12), so he can chip in a bit offensively. He was second on the Thrashers in hits last year with 109 in 60 games.

According to the article I linked to on the Penguins website, we'll love his "blue collar style" (rough translation - he likes to hit people and skate fast). However, I particularly like this quote from Ronald:
"They want to make a new statement and bring young blood into the team and organization - to spark it up," he said. "I want us to be tough to play against - teams coming in have us on their minds a little bit. They won't be happy to play against us because we will be tough to play against and make them pay the price for the length of the hockey game."
In light of that last sentence, combined with the fact that he most recently played for the Thrashers, I'd like to make the following early request of Mr. Petrovicky: Please crush Ilya Kovalchuk. Make sure you point to him first, either right before the hit, or (preferrably) when he's in the penalty box, so he knows it is coming.

Taking a quick look at what Shero has done this offseason, it sure looks like he's building this team for Michel Therrien. Tough, hard-nosed players that play defense and like to hit fill the roster. Petrovicky is just another one of those guys, and he's not coming here to play in the minors - this is an accomplished NHL veteran. Should be fun to watch.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

" I am personally placing a hundred-dollar bounty on the head of Ilys Kovalchuk. He's the head coach and chief punk on that Syracuse team."