Ottawa Rookies 4 Pittsburgh Rookies 0

The first game of the rookie camp is in the books and the Ottawa Senators prevailed over Pittsburgh’s rookies 4-0.  As expected, the game was sloppy and the pace slow as players got used to their linemates.  Robin Lehner started for Ottawa, while Patrick Killeen was in goal for the Penguins.  The broadcast on Rogers wasn’t terrific, as the guys calling it had difficulty figuring out who the Sens were, but I expect that to improve as the tournament goes on.

The Ottawa scratches: Jordan Fransoo (healthy) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (injury); nothing was said about Wacey Hamilton in the broadcast, so I assume he was a healthy scratch
The Pittsburgh scratches: Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo, Zach Sill, and Kevin Veilleux

Ottawa Forward Lines (these were fairly consistent throughout the game)
Prince-Zibanejad-Petersson
Puempel-Da Costa-Stone
Noesen-Grant-Cowick
Culek-Caporusso-Kramer

Defence Combinations (these became inconsistent after the first period)
Cowen-Rundblad
Wiercioch-Gryba
Godfrey-Borowiecki

Summary
First Period
1. Ottawa, Derek Grant (Corey Cowick, Mark Borowiecki)
Stefan Noesen actually made the pass to Cowick
2. Ottawa, Corey Cowick (Derek Grant)
Noesen touched the puck prior to Grant
Shots: Ottawa 16, Pittsburgh 12
Ottawa Penalties: Cowick took a dumb boarding call
Second Period
No Scoring
Ottawa Penalties: Caporusso took a hooking call off a faceoff
Fights: Borowiecki fought Alex Grant after levelling Paul Thompson (short fight without many punches landed); Kramer fought Jessey Astles (another short fight with virtually no punches landing)
Shots: Ottawa 11, Pittsburgh 9
Third Period
3. Ottawa, Corey Cowick (Mark Stone)
4. Ottawa, Andre Petersson (unassisted)
Mika Zibanejad and David Rundblad should have received assists on the goal
Shots: unknown (the building did not keep a shot count, but the broadcasters at Rogers did–however, they did not show it for the third period)
Ottawa Penalties: Gryba took a hooking call trying to prevent a goal
Other stats: the Sens were good on faceoffs, although Rogers didn’t show the final numbers

Player Performances
Forwards*
* I tracked scoring chances and they are included in brackets next to the player’s name
Derek Grant (3) – to my mind the best forward on the team; excellent passing (Cowick should have had a hat-trick), great shot, and was good on faceoffs
Corey Cowick (5) – scored and was physical
Shane Prince (6) – didn’t wind up on the scoresheet, but was excellent throughout
Mika Zibanejad (4) – reminded me of development camp where he provided a mix of dominance with trying to do too much (there are only so many between-the-legs moves he needs to make in a game)
Stefan Noesen (3) – his line scored three goals and he had a couple of great chances (including missing an empty net on the powerplay)
Stephane Da Costa (4) – largely invisible in the first period, he was much better afterward and had some great chances
Andre Petersson (3) – was good and played more physical than expected
Mark Stone – (3) enjoyed a solid game creating chances
Matt Puempel (2) – didn’t stand out
Louie Caporusso (0) – he took a dumb penalty, but worked hard and was strong on faceoffs
Darren Kramer (0) – tried to be physical and in-your-face, but didn’t accomplish much
Jakub Culek (2) – missed an empty net and nearly set up a Penguin goal

Blueline
David Rundblad – although he was guilty of a couple of turnovers, overall he was excellent (the Rogers broadcast team thought he was the best player on the ice besides Lehner)
Mark Borowiecki – threw the two biggest hits of the game and was good defensively
Jared Cowen – solid defensively and physically
Eric Gryba – physical and responsible; showed a little offensive flash during the 4-on-4 in the third period
Patrick Wiercioch – mostly invisible, but made a couple of great passes
Josh Godfrey – struggled defensively and didn’t accomplish much

Goaltending
Robin Lehner – fantastic

I would expect Fransoo to play instead of Godfrey tomorrow, along with Machovsky starting instead of Lehner.  If Pageau can play then I’d guess Culek will sit, while if Hamilton plays I’d think Kramer will sit.

For a different perspective on how players performed, Senshot‘s Tony Mendes analysis is here: senshot.com/2011/09/11/sens-rookie-analysis/#more-8523

Sens TV has four post-game interviews posted (video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/ console?catid=1196&id=122640&navid=DL|OTT|home) with Stephane Da Costa, Corey Cowick, Kurt Kleinendorst, and Robin Lehner.

Both Shane Prince (fans.senators.nhl.com/community/blog/1/entry-256-prince-a-great-way-for-us-to-start) and David Rundblad (norran.se/bloggar/davidrundblad) have written about the game.

Video highlights are available on TSN (http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/#clip530059)

September 11, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Draft, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Senators News: Saturday Edition

With the rookie tournament a couple of hours away there are lot’s of Senators stories to cover:

-James Gordon writes about the rookie camp and the roster going forward for Senators Extra (senatorsextra.com/feature/ottawa-senators-rookie-camp-day-one-wrap/).  He has an interesting quote from Bryan Murray about Mika Zibanejad, “I don’t know that he has to be a second line centre or not, he just has to see if he can be one of 12 forwards if that be the case. It’s a big step. He played in the (Swedish) elite league though, with men and he played well, so I think that we’d like to think our league is better, our team is going to be better than it was last year by a margin and for a young guy to play on it he just has to be able to compete every day and hopefully develop along the way.”  He also has an interesting observation about Andre Peterson, “You can’t really judge a player based on one practice, but Zibanejad wasn’t the guy that jumped out at me most. He got a little fancy with the puck here and there and bobbled it from time-to-time. No, it was linemate Andre Petersson who looked particularly impressive. While small at 5’9 and about 175 pounds, Petersson showed a lot of quickness and an ability to handle the puck with confidence at high speed. He was also an annoying waterbug on a couple of defensive drills, stealing the puck from lumbering defencemen.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch talked to Tim Murray while naming five-rookies to watch (www.ottawasun.com/2011/09/09/5-sens-rookies-to-watch-3). Garrioch’s five are David Rundblad, Jared Cowen, Mika Zibanejad, Robin Lehner, and Stephane Da Costa. The comments on the latter were the most interesting, given how little I’ve heard from management about Da Costa this summer, “He’s gotten stronger. He’s made sacrifices to be over here: He rented his own apartment and he’s done all the things he can do to make himself better. Now, he can come to camp to show us what he can do. I expect him to have a good camp and a good tournament. If he’s not ready, I want him to show he’s close.”

-Alan Panzeri, writing for The Ottawa Citizen, talks about the chances for rookies at Sens camp (www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/ottawa-senators/Murray+hopes+ Sens+rookies+tough+position/5379884/story.html).  Bryan Murray was noncommittal, but did say he would create spots for rookies if warranted.

-Rob Brodie talked to Bryan Murray about the Sens prospects (senators.nhl.com/ club/news.htm?id=588043&navid=DL|OTT|home), where he echoes Murray’s sentiments in Panzeri’s article above.

–Shane Prince is blogging for the Sens website (fans.senators.nhl.com/community/ blog/1/entry-255-prince-new-experience-familiar-surroundings).

-Former Binghamton Senator Jason Bailey has announced his retirement (www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?=personaDest).

September 10, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Senators News: Friday Edition

Ottawa’s news this morning:

–Peter Regin tweaked his ankle yesterday, but Tim Murray confirmed he’ll be fine for training camp (www.ottawasun.com/2011/09/08/tough-turn-for-senators-at-informal-workout).

-Rob Brodie interviewed Jared Cowen (http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587963).  “I’m pretty excited to start this year. It’s pretty exciting that we’ll have a younger team. I wouldn’t say the culture is changing, but it’s a different feel around here, for sure. It’s new for everyone, so I’m pretty excited to get things going. I feel really good on the ice. This is the best I’ve felt in awhile. Any time you feel good about yourself, you play better and have confidence. Going into camp, that’ll be on my side, for sure.” And “When you’re trying to become a pro, you have a pretty good idea of what you have to work on. You get a pretty good image of yourself and what you need to be. We talk but at the same time, they’re my competition and they don’t want to give me too much.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch talked to Chris Phillips (www.ottawasun.com/2011/ 09/08/phillips-ready-to-be-a-leader).  The quote that stood out to me was this, “I’ve got to make sure that I help (the young) guys out. I’m going to have to make sure I can communicate more with all the young guys and be a leader.”  I don’t think Phillips meant to imply that previously he did not communicate much with younger players, but that’s how it reads.

-Pierre Dorion was interviewed on The Team 1200 this morning (www.team1200.com/ default.asp).  The main points of interest was him trying to temper the hype around Mark Borowiecki as well as saying that the scouting community give him a lot of positive feedback about Mark Stone after his participation at the World Junior camp (the most hype, he said, that he’s heard since Erik Karlsson).  He also said that Andre Petersson is the organisation’s most skilled prospect while Derek Grant is their most underrated prospect.

-Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wrote about the top ten storylines to watch in the NHL this year (http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/41682-THNcom-Top-10-Storylines-to-watch.html), which includes the Sens at #8, “Other than the presumptive first line of Jason Spezza centering Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek, Ottawa’s forward group is a giant mystery. THN’S depth chart shows the second line as Peter Regin between Nick Foligno and Bobby Butler – and if that’s the way it plays out as the year begins, it could be a very long season in Canada’s capital city.”  The sentiment isn’t unique to Proteau.

–Sports Illustrated has an interesting article looking into the use of painkillers in the NHL (http://nhl-red-light.si.com/2011/09/06/does-the-nhl-have-a-painkiller-problem/?sct=nhl_bf1_a3).  It’s a very interesting read and, until recently, not something much discussed in the league.  Here’s a quote from Justin Bourne who was interviewed for it, “When you’re playing in the minors, they’re always around. You don’t have to stop. I have no idea if use is as prevalent in the NHL as they are in the ECHL, but there was certainly plenty of casual use by guys on the way up….When you talk to any hockey player in his mid-20s and beyond, a huge majority of them have endured something horribly painful that required these pills. And I mean required them. Just by nature itself, some people are hard-wired to love ‘em, some are hard-wired to hate ‘em. When you run enough pills through enough guys, it’s inevitable you’re going to hit a handful that love ‘em just a touch too much.”

-TSN’s Scott Cullen’s top-300 fantasy point projections are up (http://tsn.ca/ fantasy_news/feature/?fid=49646) and here are the Sens:
44. Jason Spezza 67-24-38-62
154. Erik Karlsson 73-12-31-43
212. Milan Michalek 68-20-17-37
242. Nick Foligno 75-15-19-34
248. Daniel Alfredsson 65-14-19-33
262. Peter Regin 72-11-21-32
265. Bobby Butler 74-17-15-32

-Updates on a former Sen and a former B-Sen: Jarkko Ruutu has signed with Jokerit of the SM-Liiga (http://twitter.com/#!/jokerithc/status/112049919132565504); Tim Spencer, who last year was sent from Binghamton to Elmira to the Florida Everblades, has signed with the Chicago Express of the ECHL (www.oursportscentral.com/services/ releases/?id=4292131).

September 9, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

Senators News: Thursday Edition

Most of the hockey news today is understandably focussed on yesterday’s tragic plane crash in Russia.  A few other stories are worth mentioning however [The Hobbs information is incorrect–it’s from last year–the error was derived from Elite Prospect‘s Senators roster posted here http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=69]:

–Blueliner Matthew Hobbs (QMJHL 65-16-24-40) has been invited to Senators camp on a tryout basis (en.lhjmq.qc.ca/article/91-qmjhl-players-set-to-partake-in-nhl-training-camps).  Hobbs participated in last year’s rookie tournament, but it appears as though this invite is to the team’s main camp (or so I guess given that he’s not listed on the rookie tournament roster).

-Rob Brodie interviewed Mark Borowiecki for the Sens website (senators.nhl.com/ club/news.htm?id=587838).

-Kevin McGran of The Toronto Star posted the NHL’s disaster plan in light of the KHL tragedy yesterday (www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/ 1050813–nhl-has-contingency-plan-for-disasters).  The plan:
•The league requires each team to have a $1 million (all figures U.S.) insurance policy on each player.
• The “disabled team” would be allowed to negotiate to buy players under contract from other teams, with payment coming from the insurance money.
• If that didn’t fill out the roster, a draft would be held, much like an expansion draft. Teams could protect 10 players and one goalie.
• The disabled team would be allowed to take no more than one player from each of the other teams. The price for each player is $1 million in insurance money.

-The Elmira Jackals (Ottawa’s ECHL affiliate) signed three forwards: Evan Barlow (ECHL 39-18-36-54), Jean Bourbeau (AHL 44-3-5-8), and Brian Roloff (AHL 76-4-20-24), http://www.jackalshockey.com/news/team-news/three-forwards-join-jackals-090711.

September 8, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Senators News: Wednesday Edition

Today’s instalment of Sens news [I’ve added the just-released Chicago roster to the Rookie Tournament post, eyeonthesens.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/ottawa-senators-rookie-tournament]:

-The biggest news is the tragic plane crash in Russian carrying the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team (www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=375297).  Former Sens Pavol Demitra and Karel Rachunek are believed to be onboard, as is Sens draft pick Vitali Anikeyenko (3-70 2005).

-Rob Brodie interviewed Paul MacLean for the Sens website (senators.nhl.com/ club/news.htm?id=587748).  Beyond the usual comments, I was intrigued by the following, “And if our team isn’t elite in its fitness level, we’re going to be behind 29 other teams in the league and that message was sent out shortly after I got the job, about my expectations that the players will be at elite (fitness) level. A lot of the players are — I’m not saying that was an issue here in the past.”  It’s an interesting statement–why make it unless there was an issue that needed addressing?  Given that MacLean has said he only made a point of talking to veterans after he was hired, I wonder whose fitness he was thinking about when he made the comment.  I might be making too much out of the quote, but it’s interesting.

-Mike Brophy wrote for Sportsnet looking at all the Canadian teams (www.sportsnet.ca/ hockey/2011/09/05/brophy_canadian_teams/) including Ottawa.  He had this to say, “The Senators are also in rebuilding mode, but do not have the benefit, like the Oilers, of having the top pick in the draft in back-to-back years. Nevertheless, Ottawa does believe youngsters such as Bobby Butler, Colin Greening and Erik Condra have the potential to be solid NHLers. If the Senators are to be viable this season they will definitely need massive contributions from the likes of forwards Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, defenceman Sergei Gonchar and goalie Craig Anderson. Really, though, it could be a long season during which they’ll probably challenge more for the first pick in the 2012 draft than anything else.”  There isn’t much analysis to this, as  Brophy simply echoes comments others have made.

-Ken Warren wrote for Senators Extra about which rookies to watch in Sens camp (senatorsextra.com/main/three-or-four-rookies-to-watch).  Most of the selections are what you’d expect, but he has one surprise, “If there’s one wildcard, it might be Andre Petersson, who has big league hands, if not big league size (5-9, 173 pounds). Petersson is expected to start the season with Binghamton, but for a team which will struggle to score, he could open some eyes.”  For more on Petersson: eyeonthesens.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/senators-player-profile-andre-petersson.

-Travis Yost posted Sportsbook odds for the NHL (www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Travis-Yost/Tuesday-Thoughts-Cowens-Weight-Gain-Vokouns-Other-Offer-and-Odds/134/37932):
Vancouver Canucks +275
Pittsburgh Penguins+275
Washington Capitals+350
Chicago Blackhawks+550
San Jose Sharks+450
Detroit Red Wings+450
Boston Bruins+450
Los Angeles Kings+550
Buffalo Sabres+700
Philadelphia Flyers+700
Tampa Bay Lightning+1000
Montreal Canadiens+1200
New Jersey Devils+1500
Anaheim Ducks+1500
Nashville Predators+1500
Phoenix Coyotes+2000
Calgary Flames+2000
Carolina Hurricanes+2000
St Louis Blues+2000
New York Rangers+2000
Toronto Maple Leafs+2000
Winnipeg Jets +2500
Columbus Blue Jackets+2500
Dallas Stars+2500
Minnesota Wild+3000
Florida Panthers+3500
Colorado Avalanche+3500
Edmonton Oilers+3500
New York Islanders+5000
Ottawa Senators+10000
The bookies, or at least those at Sportsbook, aren’t envisioning a Stanley Cup in Ottawa’s future this year.

September 7, 2011
Categories: Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

Senators News: Tuesday Edition

Here’s the latest batch of Senators stories:

-Brad Emons of the Observer & Eccentric interviewed Erik Condra (www.hometownlife.com/article/20110904/SPORTS10/109040534/Condra-acquires-taste-NHL).  Besides comments about this past season, Condra also talked about his preparations going into camp: “It’s been kind of a trial (off)-season,” said Condra, who signed a two-year deal with Ottawa on July 6. “Before this year, I only played into April, but this year I played over 100 games and into mid-June. You need the rest and recuperation, but you also want to be ready for next season. It’s kind of been a trial of getting my body back into the recovery mode, but also getting stronger and more explosive for next season.”

-Tal Pinchevsky wrote an article about Corey Locke for NHL.com (www.nhl.com/ ice/news.htm?id=587692#&navid=nhl-search).  Pinchevsky calls Locke “fleet-footed”, which is ironic since his lead feet are one of his major impediments in being an NHL-regular.  Locke said “There’s a different coaching staff now and I think there’s a different mentality behind what our team will look like. Time will tell. We have to get to training camp first and you just want to impress the coaching staff and give yourself the best opportunity to make the team.”  I thought Bruce Boudreau’s comment about himself in relation to Locke was the most interesting and telling, “He’s probably as smart as any of the top NHL guys going. With the puck, he can make plays if you give him the time and the space. I was 38 in the IHL, and I still thought I had a chance [at playing in the NHL].”  The dream never dies, but I don’t see Locke making the team–he isn’t the first AHL all-star who doesn’t make the transition, nor will he be the last.

-No Senator rookie made Sports Illustrated‘s NHL rookies worth watching list (http://nhl-red-light.si.com/2011/08/26/12-more-nhl-rookies-worth-watching/?sct=nhl_bf1_a3).  The rookies mentioned are Erik Gudbranson (Flo), Jordan Caron (Bos), Zac Dalpe (Car), Andrei Lokitonov (LA), Braden Holtby (Wsh), Tim Erixon (NYR), Ben Smith and Marcus Kruger (Chi), and Jonathan Blum, Ryan Ellis, Blake Geoffrion, and Craig Smith (Nsh).  I’m not sure the list is worth commenting on, but I will say that Nashville is reluctant to play rookie defensemen (Ellis), nor is there much room on Boston’s roster for Caron.

-In the same vein, no Senator made ESPN’s list of under-the-radar players who are set to make an impact (http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/10921/under-the-radar-players-set-to-make-impact).

The Senators website has been conducting interviews with players over the last two weeks and here are the highlights:

-Rob Brodie interviewing Erik Karlsson (http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587342), who talked about the upcoming season, “I think it’s going to be exciting for everybody. I’m really looking forward to being one of the guys that’s going to look after some (new) guys, maybe. Even though I’m still young, I think I like that role and I’m really looking forward to getting the season going now.” And “I think it will be a good year for us. We have a lot of young guys, but we’ve still got the veterans we need. It’s going to be an exciting year to watch. We’ll be a fun team to watch and we’re going to play some good hockey.”

-Brodie interviewing Peter Regin (http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587528), who talked about last season “I know I can play better. Most of the guys in the room know that they can play better. So I think we’re all excited to be back and to really show that we’re a better hockey team than we showed last year.” And “You can’t have too many bad years in this league and hang around, so I have to improve myself. I’ll try to relax a little bit more and just go out and play and do my thing. I think it’ll be better if I just do that.”  About the upcoming year “If we play that kind of style [as expressed by Paul MacLean] and skate a lot, I think that will fit me well. That’ll be exciting. We’re going to be a hard-working team that skates with a lot of energy … we’ll have that energy within the group.”

-Brodie interviewing Sergei Gonchar (http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=587620).  The veteran talked about the upcoming season, “It’s going to be kind of a fresh start for all of us. We’ve done a few chages since last year and last season was a big disappointment for all of us. So I think, going forward, it’s going to be a fresh start, not only for me but for all of us. With a new coach (Paul MacLean), I’m sure there are going to be adjustments and it’s going to benefit all of us, not just me.” And “The skill level on this team is very high … now we have to get on the same page and deliver.”

-Sens TV Interviewing Bobby Butler (video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=122328&navid=DL|OTT|home), in which he says he’s unsure how coach Paul MacLean will be using him this season.

September 6, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Senators News: The Monday Edition

Here are a few Senators stories making the rounds.

-Damian Cox has included a bizarre rumour in the Toronto Star (www.thestar.com/ sports/hockey/nhl/article/1049293–unfinished-business-dogs-nhl): “But what does the future hold for Bryan McCabe? His name is linked to any team short on veteran blue-liners (Senators, Islanders).”  Needless to say, unless McCabe wants to play in Binghamton there’s no interest in Ottawa–the Senators have more than enough blueliners.

-Jeff Blay of The Record-Gazette wrote an article about Senators prospect Darren Kramer awhile ago (www.prrecordgazette.com/ ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3240308) and I wanted to quote some of it.  Kramer talks about working on his footspeed while following programs given to him by Spokane (WHL) and Ottawa. In talking about his future, he says “I had to use my strengths in the physical side of the game to progress and fit in somewhere. I think the biggest thing is my character and charisma; bringing positive energy to the rink everyday and making sure everyone is having fun. When it comes to on the ice, it’s energy, energy, energy; helping make sure the guys are fired up and the fans as well, but also staying composed, sticking to my role and making sure my teammates feel safe on the ice. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a fight, but could be a big hit, an energizing play or an unexpected goal when we need it most, so just being a player that knows his role on the team is most important.”  Prior to the draft Dan Sallows of Hockey Scout compared Kramer to Bob Probert (dansallows.com/player-profile-darren-kramer).  While fighting will be what carries Kramer forward in his professional career, if he can improve the other facets of his game he’ll be a true draft steal for the Senators.

-Cam Collingwood has a Senators fantasy preview posted on The Silver Seven (http://www.silversevensens.com/2011/9/5/2398114/senators-2011-12-fantasy-preview#storyjump); he is very positive about Ottawa’s value for fantasy GMs.  His player predictions:
Jason Spezza 76-29-40-69
Erik Karlsson 75-15-34-49
Daniel Alfredsson 72-20-29-49
Bobby Butler 77-23-24-47
Nikita Filatov 73-25-21-46
Milan Michalek 72-23-20-43
Stephane Da Costa 70-14-27-41
Colin Greening 73-19-20-39
Peter Regin 75-12-22-34
David Rundblad 76-11-23-34
Nick Foligno 80-15-18-33
Erik Condra 76-19-14-33
Sergei Gonchar 70-10-22-32
Filip Kuba 71-3-23-26
Chris Neil 80-8-10-18
He also discusses several Senators prospects:
–Rundblad: “Swedish prospects with his experience in the SEL don’t typically spend much time in the AHL, so we’re pretty comfortable he’s NHL-ready and will be in Ottawa for most/all of the season. His situation could be better as he’ll have to defer to Gonchar & Karlsson for PP minutes but assuming Gonchar misses a chunk of time injured (or maybe is traded) then Rundblad would get a boost. Given Ottawa’s youth movement, we think there will be enough minutes for Rundblad to produce right away.”  There are a lot of assumptions in Collingwood’s analysis, but I cannot imagine the rookie out-scoring Gonchar (as indicated above).
–Butler: “There are a few areas of concern here and we may be overrating him and the impact of playing with Spezza but we really like the look of this kid and think he could surprise with a breakout season.”  His fantasy performance is based on his final stretch of NHL games, which to my mind is too small a sample to work from.  Regardless, if he spends an entire season in the top-six he should put up the numbers similar to those suggested.
–Filatov “has a ton of potential but needs to get his head screwed on straight before he can start to realize said potential. He could get an opportunity on one of the top two lines but we have a hard time seeing this guy consistently produce over the course of a full season.”  No reason is provided for why Filatov won’t produce consistently (as he has in the AHL and KHL; his NHL sample is simply too small).  I think it’s safe to say Filatov is the most talented forward added to the lineup, so it’s interesting he isn’t given the highest fantasy value among them.
–Regin “is in danger of being leap-frogged on the depth chart by a few prospects with more upside than what he supplies.”  Collingwood admits he’s not a fan of Regin‘s, but his point projection is reasonable.
–Da Costa: “Given the hype surrounding him he’ll likely make the team out of training camp but the Sens have a number of younger players that will compete against him for ice-time. So he may have to start out in a lesser role and work his way up… a breakout coming from that position will be difficult.”  I think Collingwood’s analysis demonstrates a misunderstanding Da Costa‘s place on the depth chart.  There’s only room for one two-way contract among the forwards and that’s not going to go to Da Costa (who needs time to develop and get stronger).

–Red Line Report‘s pre-season look at the top prospects going into the 2012 draft is out.  Here’s their top-thirty:
1. Nail Yakupov (Sarnia, OHL)
2. Nick Ebert (Windsor, OHL)
3. Ryan Murray (Everett, WHL)
4. Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton, WHL)
5. Henrik Samuelsson (US NTDP, USHL)
6. Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec, QMJHL)
7. Alex Galchenyuk (Sarnia, OHL)
8. Olli Maatta (London, OHL)
9. Zemgus Girgensons (Dubuque, USHL)
10. Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw, WHL)
11. Filip Forsberg (Leksand, Sweden)
12. Matt Dumba (Red Deer, WHL)
13. Jacob Trouba (US NTDP, USHL)
14. Martin Frk (Halifax, QMJHL)
15. Sebastian Collberg (Frolunda, Sweden)
16. Jordan Schmaltz (Sioux City, USHL)
17. Derrick Pouliot (Portland, WHL)
18. Slater Koekkoek (Peterborough, OHL)
19. Pontus Aberg (Djurgarden, Sweden)
20. Matia Marcantuoni (Kitchener, OHL)
21. Gianluca Curcuruto (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
22. Eric Locke (Barrie, OHL)
23. Chandler Stephenson (Regina, WHL)
24. Brendan Gaunce (Belleville, OHL)
25. Cody Ceci (Ottawa 67s, OHL)
26. Ryan Olsen (Saskatoon, WHL)
27. Luca Ciampini (Halifax, QMJHL)
28. Teuvo Teravainen (Jokerit, Finland)
29. Patrik Machac (Brampton, OHL)
30. Scott Laughton (Oshawa, OHL)

September 5, 2011
Categories: Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

Senators Weekend Update

After being away for a few days, here’s a look at Senators news as the weekend comes to a close:

-The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan interviewed Zenon Konopka about the recent deaths of hockey tough guys (http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/09/02/i-leave-it-at-the-rink).  Konopka‘s most interesting comment was about how he deals with the emotions of the game: “For so many years I took hockey home with me. I mean I took losses hard. You’re not in a great state when you’re doing that. So now I kind of leave it at the rink. I put my headset on right after the game, and I talk about business, how we can improve our business and everything else. For me, I think it’s been a real positive. There’s certain games you just can’t let go, but for the most part, I do let go, I do leave it at the rink.”

–Jason Spezza made similar comments about leaving the game in the rink to The Fan 590‘s Joey Vendetta, albeit from a fatherhood angle (http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20110902_101639_6992), saying “Fatherhood’s been great — it definitely gets you up earlier in the morning and puts you to bed a little earlier.  Aside from that, every day there’s something new.” And “I want to get my days done earlier and be home earlier and it’s been great, it couldn’t be any better.  Sometimes as an athlete you can get in your own head a little bit too much, and you start having a family and expanding, there’s a lot of other things to life than just hockey and I think it’s probably done me better.”

–McKeen’s Hockey Pool Yearbook is out and The 6th Sens‘ Nichols quotes its predictions (https://eyeonthesens.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/senators-weekend-update/?preview=true&preview_id=1072&preview_nonce=ef24a05156).  McKeen’s joins the chorus that see’s Ottawa finishing last in the Eastern Conference.  Some of their individual player predictions:
Jason Spezza 75-25-35-60
Daniel Alfredsson 68-18-31-49
Erik Karlsson 77-14-33-47
Nikita Filatov 70-13-18-31
Peter Regin 75-10-19-29
David Rundblad 69-4-12-16
McKeen‘s pro scout Gus Katsaros was on The Team 1200 on Friday the 2nd (www.team1200.com/default.asp).  He said, in part, that Ottawa is in a transition phase; the magazine struggled to find a spot for Filatov in the lineup, but believed being in Columbus did a poor job handling him; they’ve very high on Bobby Butler; they believe Regin is a question mark, but they are high on him nonetheless; they see Sergei Gonchar playing his off-side; they see Ottawa as very young, very green, and making a lot of mistakes.  I’ll add more analysis when I have a chance to read the issue myself, but it is interesting food for thought.

The next major event in Sens land is the rookie tournament, with the team practicing September 9th beforehand.  All three rookie games are being broadcast this year on Rogers (http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=1&rid=4).

September 4, 2011
Categories: Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 4 Comments

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