-Things are still quiet in Sens land, but in the midst of the IEM qualifier here’s a roundup of various news of interest
-A brief update from when I initially posted: here’s a scouting report on Ludwig Karlsson from Red Line Report (made back in 2012):
The Swedish winger arrived on the scene this year and showed gifted offensive instincts in leading Northeastern in scoring as a rookie – albeit a 21-year old freshman. Has a nice long stride and mixes up speeds well to beat defenders. Very good hands and stickhandles well enough to beat defenders off the rush and create passing lands for teammates. Quick release and has a goal scorer’s touch. Has a fine-sized frame, but needs to work on strength to get better in battles along the walls. Reminds us of fellow Swede Victor Stahlberg, who played in Hockey East for Vermont.
When Karlsson was signed no one could find a solid scouting report on him–this helps.
–Nichols combs through Paul MacLean’s comments about leadership in the absence of Daniel Alfredsson as well as looking at the coach playing with the idea of Bobby Ryan not playing with Jason Spezza. The part that stuck out to me was the idea of Mika Zibanejad playing center on the third line. This idea (which MacLean indirectly confirms) does not surprise me, as Zibanejad has been a much better pivot than winger in his short time with the organisation (Travis Yost also approves). That likely means Zack Smith plays on the fourth line, Jean-Gabriel Pageau‘s place on the roster is in question and Jim O’Brien is going to wear out his seat in the pressbox. I realise Smith could ride the wing with Zibanejad, but I think the organisation prefers him at center.
–CAustin takes a look at goaltender development, using the 2000-10 period and breaking it down by development league (junior, NCAA, and Europe). It’s an interesting article, although I wonder how the changes the league went through after the 04-05 lockout impacted things (if at all). He concludes (with a caveat) that European pros are safer bets and further along than any other category, but suggests the small sample size makes it difficult to be settled with that conclusion. This echoes my own look at undrafted players, where European goaltenders were far more successful than any other category missed by the draft.
–Cam Charron takes a look at the notion of the “hot hand” when it comes to goalies to see if ‘tenders truly perform better after a win. It turns out, in his samples, they don’t. He concludes:
I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why goalies do slightly better following a loss than a win. It could be anything from fatigue to team adjustments being more common after losses, but I’m not going to subscribe to either theory until I see evidence.
I like Cam’s restraint here–he has small sample size for his data, but the results within that sample are consistent. Anecdotally, I think Robin Lehner has had strong starts after a loss, but that’s purely based on my memory which is hardly perfect. The article is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.0
–Dave Lozo makes his predictions of the upcoming season and thinks the Sens will finish fourth overall:
Even with the loss of their captain, the Senators have enough offensive punch to thrive in the East. They have two very capable goaltenders and as a team, and have improved every season under Paul MacLean.
There’s nothing to really sink your teeth into with this; Dave doesn’t compare the lineup to the rest of the division or conference, so this is essentially his gut feel. Take it for what it’s worth.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
2 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
eyeonthesens 
J.Maidens just got sent home with PSC, thinking this might be it for him.
A bad sign that he’s out again already; he was always a boom or bust pick because of his health, but I wouldn’t count him out yet, albeit the signs are grim.