Getting to Know the New Kids on the Block

The trade deadline came and went, and the only deal made was a minor league move sending Anton Khudobin to the Providence Bruins in exchange for Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down the Wilderness, we like the deal. 

What we don't feel good about is our knowledge of the players. We know plenty about Borat. We know nothing about the new guys. We decided to ask an expert. 

Enter Sarah Connors of the Providence Bruins blog Something's Bruin. If you haven't read their site, you are missing out. A collection of great writers, providing everything you need to know about the Baby B's, and the relationship with the Boston parent.

Without further ado, an intro for our expert:

Make the jump to learn more about the newest members of the Wild organization. We promise not to make you sing Hangin' Tough.

Hockey Wilderness: What can you tell us about Jeff Penner that his stats don't show?

Conners:

What can you tell us about Mikko Lehtonen that his stats don't show?

Are either of these guys NHL material?

What type of game do these two players play?

Has Penner's size ever been an issue?

 Your overall thoughts on the deal?

What I get from this is that Penner sounds like another Jared Spurgeon, and Lehtonen sounds like a project with a mix of Benoit Pouliot and Petr Kalus. Hopefully Mikko Koivu and Niklas Backstrom can help ground him a bit. He could be the steal of the deal if they can. If not... not much of a loss if Penner was actually the target.

Thank you, Sarah for your insight into these players. Be nice to Borat, he's a good kid.

Thoughts, Wilderness? Now that you know more about these guys, have your opinions changed at all?