–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan explores a flight of fancy in comparing Ottawa’s young blueliners to those of the 1970s Montreal Canadiens (link).  Putting aside the hyperbole, he quotes Rundblad, “It’s easier when you get more ice time, easier to get into the game, get more confidence. I think I had just three shifts in the first period, but then Sergei went out, and of course they can’t play with three D … I think I played pretty good.”

-In the same article Paul MacLean assess the team’s play overall, “We feel if we play more like we played against Minnesota and we played (against Washington), and the third period in Detroit, and the third period in Toronto … the only game we’ve really been no good in is the Colorado game. We’ve had parts of the way we want to play in the other four games this year. So those are certainly building blocks.”  Alex Auld offers up his reason for the Johansson wrap-around goal, “It was kind of a tough play. Those plays early in the year can be tough, when you haven’t seen a lot of game action.”  He’s suggesting he gets a mulligan in his first start, which is a poor excuse for him to use.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s James Gordon has started beating the drum to bring Nikita Filatov back (link).  To me, Filatov‘s fate is tied to Stephane Da Costa‘s, since they are the only two-way contracts on the team (I’m assuming Mika Zibanejad is sent back to Sweden).

-The Binghamton Senators won their second game in a row, defeating Albany 4-2.  I did not see the game, so I’m reliant on reports (the box score is here link, Joy Lindsay’s game comments here link).  Pat Cannone lead the way with a goal and assist, Filatov scored again and shared the best plus/minus with Bobby Raymond (+2).  Albany tough guy Tim Sestito ran Mark Borowiecki head first into the boards in the second period; Borowiecki left the game, but tweets he’s fine (link).  Binghamton’s next game is on Friday.

-Joy Lindsay has post-game comments up (link), including the following from Kurt Kleinendorst, “Well, I only had six forwards that were honest. That’s the way it works. Honestly, you can’t keep feeding ice time to guys who don’t deserve it. And if you think about, the last seven minutes of the second period, where was the puck? It was in their end. The first 13 minutes, it was in our end the whole time. That’s just … But I give the guys credit, because we basically just wiped the slate clear after two, and everyone got a chance in the third, and they all responded.”

-Prospect updates (their position in team scoring is noted in brackets for the CHL and Europe; defenseman are compared to themselves):
CHL
Jakub Culek (Rimouski, QMJHL) 9-0-3-3 (15th)
Mark Stone (Brandon, WHL) 9-6-15-21 (1st)
Stefan Noesen (Plymouth, OHL) 8-1-6-7 (6th)
Matt Puempel (Peterborough, OHL) 10-6-7-13 (1st)
Shane Prince (Ottawa 67s, OHL) 3-2-1-3 (missed time due to injury)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Gatineau, QMJHL) 8-8-6-14 (2nd)
Darren Kramer (Spokane, WHL) 7-6-4-10 (2nd)
Jordan Fransoo (Brandon, WHL) 9-0-1-1 (5th)
SEL
Jakob Silfverberg (Brynas) 12-3-4-7 (4th)
Marcus Sorensen (Skelleftea J20) 7-2-2-4 (6th)
Fredrik Claesson (Djurgarden) 12-1-0-1 (4th)
NCAA
Ben Blood (North Dakota) 4-1-1-2
Chris Wideman (Miami) 4-1-3-4
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) 2-0-2-2
Brad Peltz (Yale) DNP
Michael Sdao (Princeton) DNP
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) 4-0-4-4
Max McCormick (Ohio State) 4-1-3-4
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio State) 4-3-2-5

-The following comments were made in regards to mine about head shots (which are appreciated and are well put):

“1. Lots of fans go to the games to see star players get blown up. IMO the price of the ticket would be worth it to see Neil destroy Crosby the way he did Stoner or Little. Big hits are an exciting part of the game and is at least part of the reason why many fans pay to see the games.”

Without a formal study it’s difficult to say what most fans want, but presumably if having players getting their heads taken off was a big draw the NHL wouldn’t continue languish in obscurity south of the border.  When you see the most successful league on the planet (the NFL) moving away from hits like these, it should be a sign of which way the wind is blowing.

“2. Players always targeted the stars. People didn’t hit Gretzky because they didn’t want to get their ass kicked by the three or four enforcers protecting him. The only difference now is that there is an instigator rule so players who would normally target the stars no longer have to worry about fighting for their actions. If you get rid of the instigator rule than you won’t have to worry about players like Cooke taking dirty hits at star players because they will get their head caved in the first time they do it.”

I think fans forget that fighting was much rarer in the pre-expansion NHL (1967) and not used as a deterrent (there are arguments it began in the 1960s, but I don’t want to get into the minutia of when–my point is that the role is not an original facet of the NHL).  I don’t think it’s at all clear that the instigator rule suddenly created these kinds of hits.  I remember hockey in the 1980s very well and enforcers protected their rats as much as they did their superstars.  It’s apparent the instigator rule will never be taken out, so that as a solution (if it is one) is a dead letter.

If we all agree there is a problem with head shots (and I think everyone agrees that there is), those who dislike the changes to the rules need to offer a viable solution.  I like the OHL approach, but perhaps some other method will evolve.  In the meantime there are still plenty of shots to the head (like the one on Colin Greening on Saturday) that will go uncalled and unpunished.

October 17, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 6 Comments

–The Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan writes about Erik Karlsson (link), with the blueliner saying, “I know I’m not a bad defensive player. As long as I know I’m fine back there, people can write whatever they want about me, and tell me I can only play offence or whatever. It doesn’t really bother me at all.”

-Brennan also wrote about tonight’s game (link), which includes comments by Daniel Alfredsson: “There was a lot of great things, the way we limited their chances the last two periods was outstanding. Overall it was a great game, and frustrating when we don’t put the puck in the net.  I had three or four great chances, and I can’t get it up. That’s the difference really. Too much Swedish, not enough finish.”

-In his post-game interview (link) Paul MacLean thought his team deserved a better fate.  He was happy with Spezza‘s, Regin‘s, and Konopka‘s line (Da Costa‘s goes unmentioned) and with the work the team did defensively after Gonchar‘s injury.

-Here’s The Silver Seven‘s Mark Parisi’s take on last night’s game (link).

-ESPN takes a look at fantasy rankings after the first week and in Victoria Matiash’s piece on blueliners (link) she includes this preamble, “Fans across North America — with the possible exception of those cheering on the Ottawa Senators — can still legitimately dream about their own beloved club winning it all before the start of next summer.”  Erik Karlsson is 37th on her list based on how she projects him (Gonchar is 20th, Kuba tied for 75th).  Tim Kavanagh (link) has Craig Anderson falling in his list of goaltenders, while Sean Allen (link) has Daniel Alfredsson on his powerplay unit (the only Ottawa forward ranked is Jason Spezza at 61st).

-Joy Lindsay has her post-game comments for Binghamton up (link).  Kurt Kleinendorst said, “I don’t think we actually played that great tonight. First period, we came out pretty good, but then we were pretty bad until start of second. We talked in the room that we can’t play this way. We came out in second and played a little better. In third, we started good again, middle was a little sloppy then. They’re a good team. They were outworking us quiet a bit in our end. It was a really tough game to play against them. But somehow, we got it done. That’s the most important thing.” And “When you win a game, it just builds mentality to come out next game, you actually believe you will win. Especially coming back from losing 4-3, 3-2. It just builds something for next game. You know you have that extra mile to go in the third period wherever you need to score a goal, and have confidence in everything. When you win, it helps. We didn’t play great, but we got it done, which shows team character. And goalies played well. Robin played awesome. All the D were blocking shots, probably like 15 blocked shots today. That shows character.”

October 16, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

The Ottawa Senators lost a game they could have won tonight.  They played hard and they played well, but couldn’t complete the comeback against Washington.  The officiating was awful in the game–soft calls and no calls.  The no-goal call against Ottawa was a joke, but I don’t blame it for the loss.  Ottawa really outplayed the capitals, with much better defensive support throughout.  For the box score go here link.  A quick look at the goals:
1. Washington, Backstrom
The cross-crease pass is missed by Phillips and Zack Smith isn’t able to come down far enough to interfere with it
2. Washington, Johansson
A wrap-around goal Auld should have had
3. Regin (Foligno, Rundblad)
A great shift by the forward line; Rundblad gets his shot through, Foligno and Neil provide the net presence, and Regin makes a great shot

My thoughts on the top performers:
Daniel Alfredsson – his best game of the season, leading the team in shots and scoring chances
Milan Michalek – another strong game where he could have had a couple of goals

Players who struggled:
Mika Zibanejad – his confidence appears to be shot and he’s been largely invisible
Stephane Da Costa – no flashes of brilliance tonight

Finally, a puzzler: Regin scores the team’s only goal but is 8th in forward ice time?

In Binghamton, the Senators won their first game of the season 5-4 in overtime.  The heroics tonight belonged to Mark Parrish who lead the team with a four-point night (for the box score link).  I did not see the game so I’m reliant on reports, but Robin Lehner got the win.  Corey Locke, Mike Hoffman, and Jim O’Brien had multi-point games.  Both David Dziurzynski and Andre Petersson were inserted into the lineup.  For Joy Lindsay’s game blog go here link.

In Elmira, the Jackals won 3-1 over Trenton.  Downing picked up an assist while Gratchev, Godfrey, and Caporusso were pointless (Stewart did not start).

October 16, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

Today I’ll start with a look at Binghamton’s loss and then go into Sens news:

Looking for their first win of the season and bolstered by the addition of Nikita Filatov, Binghamton fell just short in OT.  The box score link and Joy Lindsay’s game log link.  Filatov lead the way with two goals and an assist while Kaspars Daugavins had a goal and assist.  Mike McKenna took the loss while Corey Cowick, Mark Parrish, and Patrick Wiercioch all finished -2.

Joy Lindsay has post-game comments (link and link).  Kurt Kleinendorst talked about Filatov‘s debute, “I thought he was excellent.  There are some things that we definitely can help him with — absolutely, no question. He’s never going to be Frankie (Francis Lessard) when it comes to finishing checks. But I know we can help him be honest on the puck. Even if he’s not going to go through his check, he’s going to at least stop on the puck, stop on his check. If we can do that one thing for him, I think that we’ve really helped him. I bet you I saw him three times bury his head and backcheck tonight. What a nice … that was good to see. It just shows you that he came with the right attitude, that he came down here to do what they’re challenging him to do.  He’s a talent. He’s definitely a talent. And so what we need to do is help him, help his game when he doesn’t have the puck, because he doesn’t need a whole lot of help with the puck. As long as he’s not turning pucks over — which players like that will do, because they’re special players, and you give them a little bit of slack. For me, I thought it was a real nice start. If we can just keep him playing like that every night with the puck, and then just help him a little bit without the puck, I think it’s mission accomplished.”

–Filatov himself said, “It’s always nice to have a goal right away in the game. It kind helps you a lot, especially because that was the first one for me on the season. I can’t say I was under pressure or something, like nervous or something about scoring a goal even though it was pretty long, just happy that it went in — finally.”  Mark Parrish also commented on his performance, “A guy with his talent, his skill, obviously Ottawa liked him enough to keep him up there, give him a nice extra look. You get a chance to get a guy like that on your team, and he can come out and produce like that, play like that, it shows a message not only to the guys on the team, but to the organization, that he’s willing to play hockey and he’s willing to come down here and work hard and do what it takes to get back up. That’s impressive. I like to see that. It’s fun to be a part of.”

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan writes about Mika Zibanejad (link), with Nick Foligno saying “Just shows how our scouting staff did a great job finding him. He’s definitely a man-child, so to speak. But he still has a lot of things to learn. I remember coming in at 19 and you’ve got lots of things to learn. He’s 18 years old. There’s a whole new world almost to him right here … it’s learning the ways of life over here and becoming a good NHL player. It’s a lot to ask, but he’s been really good. He’s asking questions, he’s learning a lot. I think he’s surrounded himself with good guys, sitting right next to Alfie. It’s only going to get better for him.”

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Allen Panzeri writes about the game ahead (link) and while there’s nothing new, he forebodes that the Senators season is in jeopardy unless things changes.  The season in jeopardy?  Perhaps Panzeri had dreams of the team challenging for the playoffs, but rebuilds are ugly, especially in the first couple of months.  I’ve read and heard this sentiment from other members of the Ottawa media and it makes me scratch my head.

-Panzeri’s partner at the Citizen, Wayne Scanlan (link) understands the idea behind the rebuild, but worries that fans booing the 7-1 loss somehow means they don’t understand the pains of what a rebuild means (“So much for fans being patient with the Senators’ rebuilding effort. What  happened to everyone being on board? It all sounded so good in theory. And yet,  in the final minutes of the season’s fourth game, fans cheered sarcastically  when Ottawa managed a shot on goal (there were only 16 all night).”  Scanlan is a savvy guy so I think he’s just addressing the possibility of fan impatience.

–Bobby Butler has a groin problem and won’t play tonight.

-The debate about head shots in the NHL continues to burn (here’s Sports Illustrated‘s Stu Hackel’s thoughts on Don Cherry, link) and I wanted to offer an opinion I don’t hear in Ottawa very often (I find the views of The Team 1200, The Ottawa Sun, and The Ottawa Citizen fairly homogenous).  I’d describe the opinion of the media here as follows: the game needs to be played a certain way and that includes a lot of physicality–with that comes an element of risk.  It’s a straightforward opinion and on the surface it’s not something you can argue with, but I don’t think it addresses the issue.

There are two points I want to make.  The first is very simple: the implication of the above argument is that there are an acceptable number of brain injuries in the league.  Those who advocate eliminating hits to the head already accept the fact that you cannot completely prevent them–that’s not the issue–but they want players to be able to live their lives after their short careers are over.  This point has not been meaningfully addressed at all by those who oppose headshot rules (other than to say players tacitly or implicitly accept the risk when they lace on the skates, ala Brooks Laich‘s comments).  My problem with the consistent comment of “keep your head up” or “be aware of who is on the ice” is that it’s not an argument or an answer.  The hits people want out of the game are illegal to begin with.  Awareness makes sense in any circumstance in life, but that doesn’t give others the right to take advantage of you in moments of vulnerability.

The second point is that the game isn’t played the way it was 15-20 years ago.  Star players never used to be targeted–Wayne Gretzky skated around untouched throughout the bulk of his career.  That’s no longer the case, star players (Paul Kariya, Marc Savard, David Perron, etc) are subject to the same physical punishment dished out by marginal players.  No one pays for a ticket to watch a player like Garnett Exelby blow up a star player.  To me, the paying customer is the ultimate issue in the discussion.  People will pay to see Sidney Crosby play, but they won’t buy tickets to watch Matt Cooke.

-Joy Lindsay thinks Corey Cowick and Bobby Raymond will be the scratches for tonight’s Binghamton game (link), with Robin Lehner getting the start.

-Former Senator David Hale has announced his retirement (link).

–Max Gratchev has been assigned to Elmira (link).

-The Elmira Jackals won their first game of the season 7-3 over Trenton.  Josh Godfrey had two assists, Jack Downing an assist, Louie Caporusso no points and Brian Stewart got the win.

October 15, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan gleefully writes about Nikita Filatov‘s demotion to Binghamton (link).  He quotes Bryan Murray, “He wasn’t playing and the indication from the coaches was that he wasn’t going to be playing over the weekend. He’s a young player, he has to play. If he’s going to be a player on our team, we want him to be a Top 6 forward. Skill level indicates that’s what he should be.”  The Ottawa Citizen‘s Allen Panzeri, who doesn’t have an axe to grind with Filatov, so includes a further quote from Murray in his story (link), “We’ve asked (Filatov) to play hard, have the right frame of mind, and that’s  what he says he’s going to do.”  Joy Lindsay has the most complete look at the move (link), making the point that Filatov is on on an entry-level contract which makes sending him down easier and cheaper. “That was part of it [his contract]. The other part was we had extra bodies, and we didn’t want one guy sitting around who we couldn’t see getting back in the lineup the next couple games. The best way to try to get him to get his game going is playing games down there, just competing, playing the way we want him to play.”

So what can be gleaned from all this?  First, neither major publication really delved into the issue, but more to the point: Filatov wasn’t going to play this weekend and Murray believes he needs to play.  The only other roster player who could have been sent down was Stephane Da Costa, but he’s played too well to be demoted.  I don’t think Filatov will have any issues in Binghamton in the short term.  Looking ahead, it’s hard to imagine at this point that the Sens will keep Mika Zibanejad and then the decision on Filatov will be a matter of injuries and Da Costa.

-This morning Pierre McGuire’s segment on The Team 1200 (link) believes there’s a need to worry about Craig Anderson, “He shows flashes of brillance and then for some reason it won’t kick in.”  McGuire says that his problem is he gets comfortable and then doesn’t respond well to the pressure of being the starter.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Waynce Scanlan and James Gordon had an online chat with Sens fans today (link) and Scanlan made some interesting comments: “I think the Senators are going to be grilled about the contract to Phillips, to Anderson, Gonchar, Kuba. They’re paying these guys big $ and for what? To head to a lottery pick. It’s going to be a long year, last night we got a sense of just how long it will be.”  I like his general point, but the latter two contracts were signed before the team started the rebuild so are more a product of being difficult to move than desired.  “I think MacLean felt pressure from within the org to get Butler into the lineup, and to do something about Lee, who sat for so many games last year. BUT, he didn’t want to sit Rundblad, so he played, but just 12 minutes, not enough time to break a sweat. He doesn’t look comfortable yet, to me.”  I agree completely with Scanlan here.  I don’t think MacLean has been impressed by Butler and I think he’d prefer to play the dynamic Rundblad over Lee.

-Joy Lindsay has posted the lines prior to tonights game (link): Filatov-Locke-Daugavins, Cowick-O’Brien-Parrish, Grant-Cannone-Hoffman, Gratchev-Hamilton-Lessard; Borowiecki-Conboy, Gryba-Schira, Heshka-Wiercioch.  Petersson, Dziurzynski, Caporusso, and Raymond are the scratches (the first two are dinged up), while McKenna gets the start.

–The Hockey News has posted its AHL predictions (link), with Binghamton in 9th (on the outside looking in).

-Tonight is also the first game of the season for the Elmira Jackals.

October 14, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Paul MacLean has made two changes to his lineup, sitting Zenon Konopka and Erik Condra in favour of Bobby Butler and Brian Lee.  He had interesting comments about both moves (link and link), “Erik Condra is also a young player who needs to learn and sometimes you can learn a lot by sitting in the press box.” And “We want to see what we can do with the minutes and see if we can get out of our zone better.” I think Condra‘s play has been fine, but as an undersized fourth line forward he’s easy to shift out.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Wayne Scanlan looks at the coming roster changes in Ottawa (link).  It’s worth reading the whole article, but some highlights: “The roster will soon change, says head coach Paul MacLean, but when injured forward Jesse Winchester and defenceman Matt Carkner return to the roster, assignment decisions will also have to be made. A player like Filatov, for example, here on a two-way contract, is a good bet to be sent to American Hockey League Binghamton eventually. Is it fair that Filatov, Butler and Lee are missing games when the season has barely started? Hardly. Hockey people love to call this a “numbers” problem. At the moment, the Senators have too many players. Someone has to sit.” And “Following Wednesday’s practice, MacLean said he sat Lee not because he was playing worse than his veterans, but because he needed the vets to step up. They  more or less did against Minnesota, with Chris Phillips having his best game of the season. The Lee move was also an opportunity to activate prized Swedish rookie David Rundblad, and he is expected to stay in the lineup after Ottawa’s first win of the season.”

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Ken Warren writes about Colin Greening (link).  There’s not much new here, but Greening does say “When you have that net presence, it gives your  more skilled guys, like Alfredsson and Spezza, time to shoot, and goalies are  not as prepared. If I can get that little bit of an advantage, great.”

-On the same theme but with better content, Rod Brodie writes about Greening for the Sens website (link).  He quotes Greening himself, “Until they tell me to stop going to the front of the net, that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing. I want to be able to provide a good (scoring) option as well. There are other aspects to it besides just being in front of the net but, if you kind of break everything down, that’s what my job is. I’m built for that area. I consider myself to be a pretty good shape, and I can take the hacks and the whacks and the bangs. You’ve got to be able to take it. There’s a certain mentality that goes along with it as well. I don’t have the skill set a Jason Spezza has, so if that’s what it takes to get on the power play, that’s fine with me. I spent four years there in college doing the same type of stuff. For me, it’s nothing new and something I can thrive at.”  Randy Lee said, “We all said if you are a hard player to play against, you’ll create more space and you’ll be a lot more effective. There’s lots of skilled players in the league, but he’s such a physical specimen that he’s hard to control, he’s intimidating, he can hurt guys on the forecheck and he creates lots of space for himself and his wingers. If he plays that way, he has a chance to be more than a good player. That’s what Bryan (Murray) has told him, that’s what Kurt (Kleinendorst) has told him, that’s what I’ve told him. His teammates like playing with him because he’s got speed and decent hands.”

–Senators Extra‘s James Gordon talked to Paul MacLean about Sergei Gonchar being booed (link), “I’ve been booed, so it’s something that you…I think it’s a motivator,” MacLean said. “If your fans are unhappy with how you play, they should express that they’re unhappy with how you play. Conversely, if you play better, they should appreciate that you play better and to me, it’s just a signal that you need to be better.”  MacLean didn’t think the booing bothered Gonchar and for the team’s sake I hope he’s right.

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Don Brennan says writes that Ottawa won the Dany Heatley trade because they have Milan Michalek and another 3.2 million for another player (link).  It’s not much of an argument, but Michalek does state the obvious in speaking of himself, “The main thing for me is to stay healthy. If I’m healthy and I can play my game, I can use my speed. I guess (the injuries) are from maybe my style of play, but I don’t want to change the way I play, I wouldn’t be affective.  If injuries happen, they happen. I’ll just have to battle through them like in the past.”

–The Hockey News‘ Adam Proteau writes about the ten most untradeable contracts in the NHL (link), with Sergei Gonchar represented as the only Sen at #2.  The list itself is questionable, but perhaps Proteau just wants to stir up a reaction.

–The Silver Seven‘s Adnan makes some statistical analysis of the Sens last game (link).  I take Corsi numbers with a grain of salt, but for those unfamiliar with them I’d recommend taking a look.

-Joy Lindsay tweets that Andre Petersson is still questionable for Friday’s game (link).  The Binghamton lines at practice were: Grant-Locke-Daugavins, Cowick-O’Brien-Parrish, Hoffman-Cannone-Gratchev, Dziurzynski-Hamilton-Lessard; Borowiecki-Conboy, Gryba-Schira, Heshka-Wiercioch.

–Hockey Futures has listed their top-50 prospects (link; the list is divided into five pages and the link is just the first).  Several Sens make the list:
7. David Rundblad, “A tremendous skater and puck handler, Rundblad also possesses a calm demeanor and deadly shot. Though not particularly physical, he shows good defensive awareness and positioning, uses his stick effectively to block passing lanes or strip attacking forwards, and makes fluid outlet passes. On offense, Rundblad shines. He has a hard, accurate slapper, a sniper’s wrist shot, and can deke and dive around defenders with ease. Rundblad needs some time in the AHL to get used to the smaller size of North American rinks, but will probably play the bulk of the 2011-12 season in the NHL as the Sens do not want to risk him going back to Sweden for another year.”
14. Mika Zibanejad, “A strong two-way center with very good size, Zibanejad enjoys using his body to both protect the puck and in hitting along the boards. The young center does not shy away from the physical game and his work ethic is one of the best among all prospects.”
30. Jared Cowen, “has solid positioning in all zones of the ice, has improved his decision-making with the puck, and has solid hockey knowledge. He can play the shutdown role while playing both the power play and penalty killing units. The large defenseman has good skating speed for his size and a strong point shot, but he must continue to improve his mobility without the puck and develop the physical side to his game.”
Honourable mention: Nikita Filatov, “Filatov‘s spot was heavily debated during the construction of the top 50. Ultimately, it was decided a second chance for enigmatic winger in Ottawa was not enough wash away yet another sub-par season in 2010-11.”

-Tonight TSN is doing a feature on Sens prospect Darren Kramer prior to the Jets/Hawks game.

October 13, 2011
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment