-No changes are expected to the Sens roster tonight

–The Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch is beating the drum for Paul MacLean to get Jack Adams consideration.  MacLean talked about his goals, “Our goal is to build a foundation here. Right now, we still have a long, long way to go. We just want to be consistent on a nightly basis.  I still think we have a long way to go. We’re happy with where we are and we’re pleased that our fans are happy with the way the team is playing, but we understand that there are a lot of games left to play and an awful lot can still happen.  We’re trying to make sure we keep the finger on the pulse of our team and what we need to do get better, but by no means are we anywhere close to where we feel we need to be.”  I admire MacLean’s restraint, although how the Sens have played the last couple of games would give anyone pause.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Allen Panzeri reminds us that the Sens have played more games than any other team they are competing against, making their position in the standings a bit tenuous.

–ESPN‘s power rankings are out with Ottawa 8th

-Binghamton lost 3-2 yesterday, their fourth loss in a row.  Mike McKenna took the loss while Da Costa and Klinkhammer scored the goals.  Eric Gryba was -3 on the night.  Click here for the box score and Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

-Elmira won last night, with Jack Downing scoring twice and Louie Caporusso picked up an assist.  Maxime Gratchev went pointless and Brian Stewart served as the backup.

January 16, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-I missed last night’s game so I’m reliant on reports (certainly the highlight package was not flattering to the team), but everyone seems to agree that Craig Anderson stole the game for them.  Here’s The Silver Sevens‘ write-up of the game.  Speaking of Anderson, he stated the obvious in the post-game, “I don’t think we brought our best game, but in the third period, we found a way to win. That’s how this game goes. You’re not going to play or feel your best, but if keep getting points, everything gets washed under the rug.”  Matt Carkner played under ten minutes last night, but I’m not sure if that was related to his play.

-Binghamton gave up a 4-2 lead in the third period to lose 6-4 to Hershey.  Robin Lehner took the loss, while Da Costa had a pair of goals with Petersson and Gryba adding the others.  Tim Conboy and David Dziurzynski were both -4.  Click here for the box score and here for Joy Lindsay’s game summary.  I can’t think Kurt Kleinendorst is very happy with the result, but post-game comments haven’t been posted yet.

-Joy Tweets that Josh Godfrey is nursing an injury

-Elmira lost 2-1 last night with Brian Stewart taking the loss and Caporusso, Downing, and Gratchev held off the score sheet.

January 15, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

The Ottawa Senators under Bryan Murray have rarely dipped into European leagues except to draft players out of Sweden (the last player drafted by Ottawa outside of Sweden was Kaspars Daugavins in 2006).  They have brought in veterans to play in Binghamton (such as Justin Mapletoft from the DEL in 2007-08) and I think it’s worth looking at the top-performers in the leagues and the undrafted young players who are older than the usual draft age.

While there’s debate over which European league is the best outside the NHL, most opinions I’ve read settle on the SEL (the Swedish league).  The KHL is usually next, but I’ve listed it at the end of this both because of the difficulty in getting players to come to North America and Ottawa’s particular problem in attracting Russian players.  As I go through the leagues I’ll list the top-scorers and then the most interesting prospects (if any).  The most intriguing players are highlighted and I delve more into them at the end of the article.  I’ve indicated where prospects were ranked by Central Scouting where applicable.

Here’s a glance at the SEL (in terms of prospects I’ve also looked at the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second-tier pro league).

Nicklas Danielsson, RW, MODO, 35-15-21-36 (2003 Vancouver pick who was never signed)
Mike Iggulden, C/W, Vaxjo, 34-13-19-32 (unsigned out of college he spent 4 years in the AHL)
Mikael Johansson, C/W, Farjestad, 36-6-25-31 (2003 Detroit pick spent part of one season in the AHL)
Jakob Silfverberg, C/W, Brynas, 32-13-17-30 (Ottawa’s 2009 draft pick)
Per-Age Skroder, LW, MODO, 35-13-17-30 (undrafted Norwegian has spent his career in Europe)
Richard Gynge, RW, AIK, 36-18-11-29 (undrafted 24-year old)
Jason Krog, C, HV71, 33-10-19-29 (career AHLer)
Bud Holloway, RW, Skelleftea, 37-11-17-28 (2006 LA pick spent 3 years in the AHL)
Johan Davidsson, C, HV71, 37-6-21-27 (1994 Anaheim pick spent 2 years in North America)
Calle Jarnkrok, C, Bryas, 38-11-15-26 (2010 Detroit pick)

John Norman, LW, Djurgarden, 37-4-9-13 (21-year old; #174 CSE 2009)
Niclas Burstrom, D, Skelleftea, 34-5-4-9 (20-year old undersized blueliner; #153 CSE 2009)
Oscar Fantenberg, D, HV71, 35-3-4-7 (20-year old defenseman)
Nils Andersson, D, Vaxjo, 34-1-6-7 (20-year old defenseman; #72 CSE 2010)
Frederik Styrman, D, Skelleftea, 17-1-3-4 (20-year old undersized blueliner; #46 CSE 2009)
Adam Pettersson, C/RW, Sundsvall (Allsvenskan), 36-9-12-21 (20-year old; #9 CSE 2010)
Victor Backman, LW/RW, Boras (Allsvenskan), 30-7-9-16 (20-year old; #39 CSE 2011)
Jesper B. Jensen, D, Rogle (Allsvenskan), 34-4-10-14 (20-year old; #84 CSE 2010)

The Finnish league (SM-Liiga) is the European league considered to be closest to the North-Amerian-style of play.  The Mestis the Finnish second-tier pro league.

Tomas Zaborsky, LW/RW, Assat, 38-28-15-43 (2006 Ranger pick spent a couple of years in the ECHL)
Stephen Dixon, C, Assat, 38-12-28-40 (2003 Pittsburgh pick spent 3 years in the AHL)
Mikael Granlund, C, HIFK, 31-16-23-39 (2010 first-rounder for Minnesota)
Ryan Lasch, RW, Pelicans, 36-13-22-35 (undrafted undersized college player is in his second year in Europe)
Matti Kuparinen, C, KalPa, 37-10-21-31 (undrafted European vet has never come over)
Eric Perrin, C/LW, JYP, 36-7-24-31 (36-year old won a Cup with Tampa Bay)
Sakari Salminen, RW/LW, KalPa, 34-16-14-30 (undrafted 23-year old)
Ville Vahalahti, LW, TPS, 37-14-15-29 (undrafted European vet has never come over)
Tuomas Kiiskinen, RW, KalPa, 38-10-19-29 (undersized foward was never drafted)
Ville Peltonen, LW, HIFK, 31-14-14-28 (1993 San Jose pick played nearly 400 games in the NHL)

Julius Junttila, LW/RW, Karpat, 33-8-9-17 (20-year old undersized winger; #41 CSE 2010)
Jesse Mankinen, LW/RW, SaiPa, 37-7-8-15 (20-year old undersized winger; #182 CSE 2009)
Charles Bertrand, LW, Lukko, 35-7-6-13 (20-year old; #104 CSE 2010)
Juha-Pekka Pietila, D, Pelicans, 7-0-5-5 (20-year old blueliner with good size)
Olavi Vauhkonen, RW, Jokipojat (Mestis), 31-18-11-29 (big 22-year old; #159 CSE 2008)
Toni Jalo, C/LW, TuTo (Mestis), 34-5-23-28 (22-year old)
Samuli Virkkunen, C/RW, Sport (Mestis), 31-8-17-25 (21-year old)

The Swiss league (NLA) has been a steadily improving league and probably features more overall talent than the Finnish league, but plays the distinctively European-style of hockey.  The NLB is the second-tier pro league.

Damien Brunner, RW, Zug, 35-19-29-48 (25-year old was never drafted)
Julien Sprunger, RW, Gotteron, 37-23-17-40 (2004 Minnesota pick never come over to North America)
Pavel Rosa, RW/LW, Gotteron, 35-16-23-39 (1995 LA pick spent five years playing pro in North America)
Jaroslav Bednar, RW/LW, Lugano, 34-13-26-39 (2001 LA pick spent parts of three season playing in North America)
Tommi Santala, C/W, Kloten, 35-8-31-39 (1999 Atlanta pick spent three years in North America)
Petr Sykora, C, Davos, 34-19-17-36 (1997 Detroit pick spent parts of three seasons in North America)
Simon Gamache, LW/C, Gotteron, 37-17-19-36 (2000 Atlanta pick played over 300 games in the AHL)
Jeff Tambellini, LW, ZSC, 37-19-16-35 (2003 LA pick spent last year with Vancouver)
Micki DuPont, D, Kloten, 38-4-31-35 (2000 Calgary pick played over 300 games in the AHL)
Bjorn Christen, RW, Zug, 36-13-20-33 (undrafted long-time European player)

Simon Moser, LW/RW, Langnau, 38-15-16-31 (22-year old; #154 CSE 2009)
Ronalds Kenins, LW, ZSC, 37-4-11-15 (20-year old)
Anthony Huguenin, D, Biel, 37-0-13-13 (20-year old undersized blueliner)
Jeremie Kamerzin, D, Lausanne (NLB), 34-6-19-25 (23-year old blueliner)
Marco Pedretti, C/LW, Ajoie (NLB), 28-10-14-24 (20-year old)

The German league (DEL) is not a great development league, as its dominated by imports (typcally former AHL-players).  Regardless, I think it’s the next best among the European leagues.  I haven’t included any players from the tier-two league (Bundesliga).

Derek Hahn, C, ERC, 34-16-23-39 (undrafted college-grad is a long-time European player)
Daniel Pietta, LW, Krefeld, 35-13-23-36 (undrafted 25-year old)
Kai Hospelt, C, Grizzly Adams, 34-14-19-33 (2003 San Jose pick never played in North America)
Eric Schneider, C/LW, EHC, 35-10-23-33 (undrafted CIAU-grad is a long-time European player)
Daniel Kreutzer, RW, DEG, 34-6-26-32 (undrafted 32-year old is a career DEL player)
Adam Mitchell, RW, Adler, 34-9-22-31 (undrafted college-grad has spent his career in Germany)
Chris Lee, D, Adler, 35-6-22-31 (undrafted college-grad was a long-time minor-leaguer)
Robert Hock, C, Iserlohn, 35-5-26-31 (undrafted 39-year old is a career European player)
Patrick Reimer, RW, DEG, 35-16-14-30 (undrafted 29-year is a career DEL player)
Laurent Meunier, C/RW, Straubing, 34-13-17-30 (undrafted 32-year old spent a year in the ECHL)

David Wolf, LW, Hamburg, 30-9-17-26 (big 22-year old)
Laurin Braun, RW, Eisbaren, 32-7-11-18 (20-year old undersized forward; #109 CSE 2009)

The Czech league (Extraliga) is not what it used to be, but it’s still a professional and competitive league.  From here on out I’ll only include the top-five scorers; there are no young intriguing prospects to include.

Petr Ton, RW/LW, HC Sparta, 36-19-19-38 (undrafted 38-year has spent his career in Europe)
Petr Nedved, C, Liberec, 33-16-21-37 (1990 Vancouver draft pick played close to 1,000 games in the NHL)
Petr Koukal, C, Pardubice, 35-15-20-35 (undrafted 29-year old has spent his career in Europe)
Jiri Burger, C, Vitkovice, 33-12-23-35 (undrafted 34-year old has spent his career in Europe)
Radek Duda, RW/LW, Plzen, 35-17-17-34 (1998 Calgary draft pick never played pro in North America)

The Austrian league (Erste Bank Liga) is very similar to the DEL in being dominated by imports (former AHL-players primarily).

John Hughes, C, Olimpija, 35-15-32-47 (undrafted 24-year old has spent his career in Europe)
Mike Ouellette, C, EHC, 36-15-30-45 (undrafted 29-year old spent two years in the minors)
Brett Lysak, RW/C, Graz, 36-16-27-43 (1999 Carolina draft pick played less than 200 AHL games)
Benoit Gratton, C, Vienna, 34-17-24-41 (1995 Washington draft pick played over 400 games in the AHL)
Zdenek Blatny, LW, Graz, 35-16-24-40 (1999 Atlanta draft pick played over 200 games in the AHL)
Istvan Sofron, RW, Szekesfehervar, 37-24-15-39 (23-year old)

The Slovakian league (Extraliga) has suffered even more than the Czech league since the break-up of Czechoslovakia, but still produces players taken in the draft.

Zigmund Palffy, RW, HK 36, 36-20-45-65 (1991 NYI draft pick played close to 700 games in the NHL)
Rene Skoliak, C, HK 36, 39-14-35-49 (undrafted 32-year old career European player)
Martin Kulha, RW, SKP, 39-27-19-46 (undrafted 35-year old career European player)
Miroslav Satan, RW/LW, Bratislava, 35-17-22-39 (1993 Edmonton draft pick played over 1,000 NHL games)
Tomas Bulik, C, Bratislava, 39-19-19-38 (undrafted 26-year old has spent his career in Europe)

Michael Vandas, C, SKP, 33-8-23-31 (20-year old)
Martin Bakos, LW, Bratislava, 38-10-19-29 (21-year old; #148 CSE 2008)
Andrej Stastny, C, Trencin, 36-7-15-22 (big 20-year old; #42 CSE 2009)

The Danish and Norwegian leagues are the only other ones (besides the KHL) which receive some attention.  Typically good prospects graduate to the Swedish junior leagues before putting themselves on the map, but it’s not always the case.  Given that, here are the leaders in the Norwegian league (Get Ligaen) and Danish league (AL-Bank Ligaen):

Martin Strandfeldt, LW, Stavanger, 31-28-27-55 (undrafted 30-year old career European player)
Ryan MacMurchy, RW, Stavanger, 30-30-24-54 (2002 St. Louis pick spent five years in the minors)
Justin Donati, C, Valerenga, 21-14-37-51 (undrafted 25-year spent three years in the minors)
Shay Stephenson, LW, Valerenga, 30-15-33-48 (2003 Carolina pick spent parts of three years in the minors)
Knut Henrik Spets, C/RW, Lorenskog, 31-14-33-47 (undrafted 29-year old has spent his career in Norway)

Mats Rosseli Olsen, LW, Valerenga, 30-14-26-40 (20-year old)
Fredrik Killi Csisar, C, Valerenga, 30-11-26-37 (21-year old)
Andreas Martinsen, C/RW, Lillehammer, 31-15-19-34 (21-year old)

Christoffer Kjaergaard, LW, Sonderjyske, 31-23-20-43 (undrafted 31-year career European player)
Jordan Smotherman, LW, Esbjerg, 30-22-19-41 (2005 Atlanta draft pick played nearly 400 games in the AHL)
Jannik Karvinen, RW, Rodovre, 30-25-14-39 (undrafted 25-year old career European player)
Kim Lykkeskov, RW, Sonderjyske, 31-14-25-39 (undrafted 28-year old has spent his career in Europe)
Quinn Hancock, C/LW, Sonderjyske, 31-14-25-39 (undrafted 34-year old spent three years in the minors)

Finally there’s the KHL. One of the best league’s outside the NHL, high payrolls retain many players who would otherwise play in North America.

Alexander Radulov, RW, Salavat, 35-20-29-49 (2004 Nashville pick left while still signed by the Predators)
Vadim Shipachyov, C, Severstal, 39-16-31-47 (undrafted 24-year old)
Tony Martensson, C, St. Petersburg, 35-13-27-40 (2001 Anaheim pick spent two years in North America)
Petr Vrana, C, Amur, 37-18-19-37 (2003 New Jersey pick spent four years in North America)
Mikelis Redlihs, RW, Riga, 38-9-28-37 (undrafted 27 year-old spent one year in the EJHL)

The highlighted players:
Richard Gynge, RW, AIK, 36-18-11-29 +9; DOB 1987, 6’1, 196 lbs
He leads his team in goals and is second in team scoring.  He lead the Swedish junior league in scoring (05-06) and was part of Sweden’s WJC (06-07).  This is his third season with AIK, which was promoted from the Allsvenskan two years ago.  His contract expires this year.  Elite Prospects writes, “A technically skilled player with a good scoring touch. Gynge is skilled offensively, but lacks some defensive skills. His skating could use some improvement as well.”  I have no idea when that description of Gynge was written, so keep that in mind.  Players his age are rarely signed and even more rarely have success, but Ville Leino is a comparable in that sense.
Vadim Shipachyov, C, Severstal, 39-16-31-47 +13; DOB 1987, 6’0, 178 lbs
He leads Severstal in scoring and has consistently been a top scorer for the team for the past three seasons.  He’s never played for Russia on an international level.  His contract extends through next season (it may or may not have an opt-out clause).  I suspect interest in Shipachyov is limited both due to the lack of exposure and whatever he makes in the KHL.  He’s clearly talented enough to dominate in that league, so it would be a matter of him wanting to make the leap to come to North America.
Sakari Salminen, RW/LW, KalPa, 34-16-14-30 +12; DOB 1988, 5’11, 159 lbs
He leads the team in goals and is second in points.  He played in the WJC (07-08) and has been a full-time player in the SM-Liiga for the past five seasons.  His contract extends to 2013/14.  He was ranked #135 by Central Scouting in 2008.  Elite Prospects writes, “A talented, left-handed winger who skates well. Not very large or physical.”  I’m not sure how accurate his weight is, but clearly he couldn’t survive across the Atlantic without bulking up.
Simon Moser, LW/RW, Langnau, 38-15-16-31; DOB 1989, 6’2, 207 lbs
He leads his team in goals and points.  He’s never represented Switzerland internationally.  His contract runs through 2013/14.  He was ranked #154 by Central Scouting for the 2009 draft.  With his size I’d have to guess a lack of exposure is what kept anyone from taking a flyer on him.  The more time you spend studying the draft since it was reduced to seven rounds the more dependent on international events you realise scouts are when it comes to drafting out of Europe.
David Wolf, LW, Hamburg, 30-9-17-26 +12; DOB 1989, 6’3, 216 lbs
He’s second in points (first in points-per-game).  He played in the WJC (08-09) and was awarded one of the top-three players on his team.  His contract runs through 2012/13.  With good size it might be his skating that’s kept him off the radar.  Results in the DEL aren’t a great indicator for the NHL (think of Marcel Mueller), but I still wouldn’t be surprised if someone invites him to camp to at least assess what he can offer.

January 15, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 5 Comments

Binghamton has now played 40 games and it’s time to take a look at how they’ve done over the last 10 (for the previous review go here link). The B-Sens are 6-4-0, their best segment of the year. They continue to be 5th in the division, 15th in the conference, and are tied for 28th in the league (up from 30th). They are tied for 21st in goals for (up from 24th) and tied for 29th in goals against (down from 28th). Player’s stats (INJ=games missed due to injury, SCR= scratched, SUS=suspended, NHL=games in the NHL, ECHL=games in the ECHL):
Rob Klinkhammer 10-7-6-13 +3
Corey Locke 9-3-8-11 +2 SCR 1
Andre Petersson 4-3-5-8 +1 INJ 6
Stephane Da Costa 10-4-4-8 +1
Pat Cannone 10-3-3-6 +1
Mike Hoffman 10-2-4-6 Even
Mark Borowiecki 10-2-4-6 Even
Mark Parrish 5-2-3-5 +2 INJ 5
Corey Cowick 10-3-2-5 +5  
David Dziurzynski 10-2-1-3 Even
Tim Conboy 10-2-1-3 +5
Eric Gryba 10-0-3-3 +2  
Wacey Hamilton 10-1-1-2 +2
Derek Grant 7-0-2-2 -4 INJ 3
Craig Schira 10-0-2-2 Even
Bobby Raymond 10-0-2-2 +4
Jim O’Brien 2-0-1-1 +1 INJ 8
Mike Ratchuk 5-0-1-1 +1
Mike Bartlett 10-0-0-0 +5
Francis Lessard 8-0-0-0 Even SCR 2
Josh Godfrey 5-0-0-0 Even INJ 5
Brandon Svendsen 3-0-0-0 Even (ECHL 4-3-5-8)
Maxime Gratchev 1-0-0-0 -3 INJ 5 SCR 3 (ECHL 1-0-0-0)  
Patrick Wiercioch (injured)
Louie Caporusso (ECHL 9-5-4-9)
Jack Downing (ECHL 9-3-0-3)
Robin Lehner 0-1-0 3.05 .911 INJ 3 SUS 3 GAA and SV declined (he was pulled once)
Mike McKenna 6-3-0 2.86 .919 (he was pulled once)
Brian Stewart (ECHL 4-0-0 2.92 .913, GAA and SV improved)

The team is slowly getting healthier and it reflects in their results.  Despite only playing four games in the segment Andre Petersson is tied for the team’s scoring lead.  Mike McKenna‘s play was strong as he played the vast majority of the games.  Derek Grant was saddled with the worst plus minus (-4), while Corey Cowick, Tim Conboy, and Mike Bartlett had the best (+5).  I expect Binghamton’s results to be better in the second half if they can stay healthy, but they will still wind up near the bottom of the standings.

January 14, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-The only expected changes to the Sens’ lineup tonight is Lee out and Carkner in

–Jason Spezza is not happy about Ruslan Fedotenko‘s knee two nights ago, “I thought it was dirty. He said he didn’t think it was dirty. (The officials) didn’t think it was dirty. He thought I was trying to hit him, I guess. I don’t really understand the logic there because I had the puck. I was kind of yapping with him about it and he just thought I made a move at the last minute and he did nothing wrong. He didn’t try to get out of the way, that’s for sure.”  I’m not surprised it went uncalled.  The league punishes results and Spezza was not hurt on the play.

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Wayne Scanlan argues that the Sens have benefitted from the topsy-turvy nature of the Eastern Conference (link), but I think his argument would be better if he simply said the topsy-turvy NHL (both conferences have been wonky).

-The Binghamton Senators got pounded 5-2 last night, with Mike McKenna giving up five goals in two periods of work before he was pulled.  Andre Petersson and Mark Borowiecki provided the offence.  Click here for the box score, and here for Joy Lindsay’s game summary.

-Elmira lost last night with Louie Caporusso, Jack Downing, and Max Gratchev held off the score sheet.  Brian Stewart did not play.

–The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin wonders if the NHL will address decreased scoring (link), but it’s unlikely the league will do much about it.  Goaltender equipment is the most obvious problem, but the league has consistently dragged its feet on doing anything meaningful.

January 14, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–The Ottawa Citizen‘s Allen Panzeri writes about last night’s game (link) with Jason Spezza saying, “Everybody played hard against a heck of a hockey club. They made  us work for whatever we got. They took it to us at times, we took it to them at times, and we were opportunistic on our chances. They’re a team that outworks a lot of teams. They grind you down, but I thought we were right there with them all night, not giving up any ground.”

–Colin Greening thinks Jared Cowen should be going as a rookie to the all-star game, “I think Jared should have definitely been invited. He’s been playing really well. He’s worked his way up to a lot more minutes, especially on the power play. To me, he’s more of a rookie than I am” (link).  Given that Greening is 25 and played a quarter of last season, his sentiments are understandable.

–Joy Lindsay provides Binghamton’s expected lines: Rob Klinkhammer-Corey Locke-Andre Petersson, David Dziurzynski-Pat Cannone-Derek Grant, Mike Hoffman-Stephane Da Costa-Jim O’Brien, Corey Cowick-Wacey Hamilton-Mike Bartlett.  Mike McKenna will get the start.

-Joy also reports that Max Gratchev has been returned to Elmira

-The Phoenix Coyotes have assigned David Rundblad to the AHL.  Rundblad played two games for Coyotes (2-0-2-2 +1).

January 13, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-As expected, Erik Karlsson is in tonight’s lineup making Brian Lee the scratch

–Matt Carkner took a shot at Matt Cooke at the end of the Pittsburgh game and said, “He ran Gonch. We’re up 5-1. He dove (after he was hit by Carkner). I don’t understand why you dive when there’s zero seconds left on the clock. You’re not going to get much of a power play there. He’s one of those guys who always takes his cheapshots here and there. When I get a chance to give him a shot back. I gave him a little shot. I don’t know why he dove … Avoiding the second shot was probably was what he was doing so it was probably smart on that part. You deserve that. Keep your head up. You can’t run our good players. He’s one of those guys that always take liberties on other players. I don’t think he’s too fair of a player.”  It’s truly amazing how players like Matt Cooke never really do pay the price for their actions.

–Colin Greening has been chosen for the All-Star Rookie Team

-Joy Lindsay Tweets that Mike Bartlett has been signed to a standard player contract as his PTO was about to expire

–Sports Illustrated‘s Stu Hackel gives his first-half report for the season (link) with Ottawa included as one of the most surprising teams, “And the Ottawa Senators, an afterthought to many, had a very good — and very exciting, given their regular late game heroics — first half. Ottawa is a team that refuses to lose.”  He gives Paul MacLean credit and includes him among the best coaching jobs this season, but gives the final nod to Ken Hitchcock.  Hackel’s whole article is well worth reading.

–Dion Phaneuf was voted the most overrated player by his peers for the second year in a row (link).  I don’t think player polls mean a whole lot, but it’s amusing that Phaneuf is  annoying/arrogant enough to win it back-to-back.

January 12, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Erik Karlsson is expected to play tomorrow against the Rangers

-Not much was written about last night’s win, but Paul MacLean said, “I was really pleased we won the game. I thought the third was our best period  We didn’t play very well in the second period.  We basically defended the whole period. We were really pleased with the way we brought the game home in the third playing with the lead” (link).

-ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes about his mid-season award winners (link), with Erik Karlsson his fifth choice for the Norris, Jared Cowen third for the Calder, and Paul MacLean third for the Jack Adams.

–Sports Illustrated‘s power rankings are out (link) with Ottawa 13th and Adrian Dater crediting Craig Anderson as the reason for their high standing (!)

-Prospect updates (their position in team scoring is noted in brackets, defence compared to defence; I’ve also indicated if the player’s scoring position has change (with a + for up, – for down, and = for unchanged):
CHL
Mark Stone (RW, Brandon, WHL) 35-27-41-68 (1st=) (WJC 6-7-3-10)
Shane Prince (C/LW, Ottawa 67s, OHL) 31-19-25-44 (3rd=)
Stefan Noesen (C/RW, Plymouth, OHL) 35-18-26-44 (1st+)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (RW, Gatineau, QMJHL) 23-23-16-39 (4th-) (traded to Chicoutimi)
Matt Puempel (LW, Peterborough, OHL) 30-17-16-33 (4th-)
Jakub Culek (C/LW, Rimouski, QMJHL) 32-8-15-23 (5th=) (WJC 5-1-3-4)
Darren Kramer (C/LW, Spokane, WHL) 37-13-9-22 (6th=)
Jordan Fransoo (D, Brandon, WHL) 41-2-9-11 (3rd+) (traded to the Victoria)
SEL
Jakob Silfverberg (C/RW, Brynas) 31-13-14-27 (1st+)
Mika Zibanejad (C/RW, Djurgarden) 14-3-4-7 (15th-) (WJC 6-4-1-5)
Fredrik Claesson (D, Djurgarden) 30-1-4-5 (t-4th-) (WJC 6-0-0-0)
Allsvenskan
Marcus Sorensen (RW, Boras) 20-6-5-11 (6th=)
NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (C, CCHA-Ohio State) 20-5-12-17 (3rd=)
Michael Sdao (D, ECAC-Princeton) 18-6-8-14 (1st=)
Chris Wideman (D, CCHA-Miami) 22-1-10-11 (1st=)
Ben Blood (D, WCHA-North Dakota) 21-2-8-10 (3rd-)
Bryce Aneloski (D, WCHA-Nebraska-Omaha) 22-1-9-10 (3rd-)
Max McCormick (LW, CCHA-Ohio State) 13-3-6-9 (8th+)  
Jeff Costello (LW, CCHA-Notre Dame) 17-3-6-9 (9th=)
Brad Peltz (LW, ECAC-Yale) 6-1-0-1 (20th)

-Central Scouting has released it’s mid-season rankings (North American skaters and goalies, European skaters and goalies).  The artificial division by nation and position drives me nuts, but here are the top prospects using their categories:
North American Skaters
1. Nail Yakupov, RW, OHL
2. Mikhail Grigorenko, C, QMJHL
3. Ryan Murray, D, WHL
4. Radek Faksa, C, OHL
5. Morgan Rielly, D, WHL
6. Olli Maatta, D, OHL
7. Mathew Dumba, D, WHL
8. Griffin Reinhart, D, WHL
9. Jacob Trouba, D, USHL
10. Derrick Pouliot, D, WHL
11. Brendan Gaunce, C, OHL
12. Zemgus Gigensons, C, USHL
13. Stefan Matteau, C, USHL
14. Colton Sissons, C, WHL
15. Matthew Finn, D, OHL
16. Cody Ceci, D, OHL
17. Slater Koekkoek, D, OHL
18. Brady Skjei, D, US-U18
19. Daniil Zharkov, LW, OHL
20. Gemel Smith, C, OHL
21. Jarrod Maidens, C/LW, OHL
22. Tanner Pearson, LW, OHL
23. Scott Kosmachuk, RW, OHL
24. Andreas Athanasiou, C/LW, OHL
25. Martin Frk, RW, QMJHL
26. Mike Winther, C, WHL
27. Nicolas Kerdiles, LW, USHL
28. Phillip Di Giuseppe, LW, NCAA
29. Michael Matheson, D, USHL
30. Dalton Thrower, D, WHL

European Skaters
1. Filip Forsberg, C, Allsvenskan
2. Sebastian Collberg, RW, Swe Jr
3. Tomas Hertl, C, Czech
4. Pontus Aberg, LW, SEL
5. Ville Pokka, D, SM-Liiga
6. Hampus Lindholm, D, Swe Jr
7. Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Fin Jr
8. Ludvik Bystrom, D, Swe Jr
9. Nikolai Prokhorkin, LW, Rus Jr
10. Mikko Vainonen, D, Finn Jr
11. Esa Lindell, D, Finn Jr
12. Christian Djoos, D, Swe Jr
13. Anton Slepyshev, LW, KHL
14. Vyacheslav Osnovin, C, Rus Jr
15. Valeri Vasiliev, D, Rus Jr
16. Calle Andersson, D, Swe Jr
17. Erik Thorell, C, SEL
18. Nikita Gusev, LW, Rus Jr
19. Henri Ikonen, LW, Fin Jr
20. Alexei Filippov, RW, Rus Jr
21. Nathan Walker, LW, Cze Jr
22. Erik Nemec, C, Cze Jr
23. Jakub Izacky, LW, Cze Jr
24. Niklas Tikkinen, D, Finn Jr
25. Mikko Lehtonen, D, Finn Jr
26. Miro Aaltonen, C, Finn Jr
27. Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall, LW, SEL
28. Radim Matus, C, Cze Jr
29. Ales Kilnar, LW, Cze Jr
30. Jesper Pettersson, D, Swe Jr

North American Goaltenders
1. Malcolm Subban, OHL
2. Matthew Murray, OHL
3. Brandon Whitney, QMJHL
4. Jon Gillies, USHL
5. Jake Paterson, OHL
6. Francois Tremblay, QMJHL
7. Daniel Altshuller, OHL
8. Andrey Makarov, WHL
9. Collin Olson, USHL
10. Patrik Bartosak, WHL

European Goaltenders
1. Andrei Vasilevski, Rus Jr
2. Oscar Dansk, Swe Jr
3. Joonas Korpisalo, Finn Jr
4. Marek Langhamer, Cze Jr
5. Jean Auren, Finn Jr
6. Mathias Israelsson, Swe Jr
7. Richard Ullberg, SM-Liiga
8. Richard Sabol, Svk Jr
9. Vasili Demchenko, Rus Jr
10. Marvin Cupper, Ger Jr

January 11, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments