The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally made it official –
Simon Despres has called up and is expected to make his National Hockey League debut this evening. The Pens
take on Alexandre Ovechkin and the rival Washington Capitals tonight at 8pm in
DC.
Reports began to surface last night that Despres had been
called up to the big club. The former Saint John Sea Dog defenseman had been
playing with the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins where
he has three goals and four assists in 22 contests.
The callup was necessary after defensemen Kris Letang and
Zbynek Michalek were both injured in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 overtime win in Montreal
on Saturday. Alexandre Picard was sent back to the baby Pens.
Despres helped Saint John capture the Memorial Cup last
season, recording 13 goals and 28 assists in 47 regular season games and
another four markers and eight helpers in 21 playoff games. He scored one goal
at the Memorial Cup - and it was a big one. Despres opened the scoring while
shorthanded in the final against Mississauga. The Dogs went on to win that game
3-1.
The ‘Big Horse’ was selected by Saint John with the first
overall pick in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft. He
spent four seasons in Saint John, helping the Dogs reach three semifinals, two
league finals, a Quebec league championship and a national title.
Despres was selected by the Penguins in the first round
with the 30th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
It has been quite a year for the defensive stud. Along
with helping the Sea Dogs capture the Memorial Cup, he also won a silver medal
with Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships and was named
the QMJHL’s defenseman of the year.
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
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