Team Report Card Part 3

Hey pens fans,
Here is the thhird and final segmet of the team report card.

Nils Ekman
Nils only played in 34 games this injury plagued season. He was -14 and besides a few patches, his play was ineffective. I think we should be able to expect more from him, but this year was a disappointment.
Grade: C-

Josef Melichar
How is he still a Penguin? Every season I ask my self how he is still here. His play is streaky and mediocre at his best. He makes bad passes and game decisions. Melichar just continues to disappoint each year. This was no exception.
Grade: F

Robert Scuderi
One thing was his play was consistent. I think his play could improve a bit. At least you knew what to expect night in and night out.
Grade: C+

Joel Kwiatkowski
Since he came to us at the deadline, he did not make much of an impact. In the few games he played, I did not think he was doing much of anything that contributed positively.
Grade:F

Ronald Petrovicky
He played fairly well. His contribution was not stellar, but not bad, as well. I think more time will allow for him to improve.
Grade: C

Brooks Orpik
This season his play improved quite a bit. He did have a few slumps, but they were rare. He became one of our more solid defenseman and I think next year he will be evene better. He needs a little polishing, but his play exceeded my hopes for him.
Grade: B

Chris Thorburn
I was not impressed by him this season. I do not think he is particularly bad, but I do not see him contibuting any more than this. I think that his play was his best, but I do not think it is what the team needs. I ama just not impressed by his play and he needs to work at it to improve. If not, he will not be here long.
Grade: C-

Alain Nasreddine
When he was playing at his best, I was quite impressed. Unfortunetly, that occured less and less often, as time went on. He was streaky and played poorly most of the time. I think if he cacn play at the higher level we caught glimpses of, he could be a solid player. Unortunetly, that did not happen this year.
Grade: C-

Mark Eaton
He started off the season well and then just got progressively worse. I think he can play much better than he did. Perhaps, he will improve next year.
Grade: C

Marc-Andre Fleury
Fleury was turning into the goalie we all knew he could be. With a little more experience and a bit of polishing he can be a true star. He dazzled in many games and held the team together. If he gets a little more help fomr the D, he will be amazing.
Grade: A-

Jocelyn Thibault
This year his play was far better than last year. He was a backup that could be relied upon when needed most of the time. He did have some weak moments, but overall his play was quite good.
Grade:B+

That is all the players. Now the GM and coaching staff.

Ray Shero, GM
Shero had big shoes to fill replacing Craig Patrick. He proved he is up to the task. He has a different style, but you can see a clear vision, as to where this team is going. He did well at the trade deadline, for the most part.
Grade: B+

Michel Therrien and the coaching staff
Therrien is truely one of the best coaches in the league this season. He and his staff turned this team around. He is not afraid to change things if somthing is not working, but he knows when he needs to ive things some time.
Grade: A

This gives the team (players and staff) a B average, which is far better than last year.
In case you are wondering there is a grading scale I use eachc year, so these comparisons are based in fact,