We’re 10-games into the BSens-season, so it’s a good time to take a snapshot and see how they are performing. It’s worth keeping in mind that this season the BSens added no high end prospects other than Merilainen in net, so we have a few ‘maybes’ (Daoust, Ostapchuk and T. Boucher) along with free agent shots in the dark (Smejkal and Matinpalo). T. Boucher, just like in his amateur seasons, is hurt, so can’t be assessed as a pro yet, while the others have all shown flashes to varying degrees.
Standings
5-4-1; 3-1-1 (division); PP 17% 4th (div)/10th (conf); PK 80.5% 4th/11th; 27 GF t-6th/t-12; GA 32 2nd/7th)
Game-by-Game (divisional games marked with *)
3-0 Hershey (McPhee scratched; Currie out)
2-5 Leigh Valley (Mandolese pulled; McPhee scratched; Imama, Larsson out)
*5-4 Laval (JBD recalled; MacEwen in; Imama, Pilon out)
1-4 Milwaukee (Currie out; Smejkal injured)
*2-1 Toronto (Kleven, Matinpalo recalled; MacKinnon in; Pilon out; Smejkal injured)
*3-4 (OT) Toronto (Supryka in; Mandolese demoted; Imama out; Smejkal injured)
3-6 Springfield (Daoust in; MacEwen, Jarventie recalled; Currie out)
3-2 Wilkes-Barre
*3-2 (SO) Syracuse (M. Boucher in; Heatherington sick; Fizer injured)
*2-4 Cleveland (Highmore recalled; Matinpalo, Heatherington, Lukosevicius, Betts in; Supryka, McPhee scratched; Saulnier injured)
There are no streaks (good or bad) as the team is basically treading water behind excellent goaltending. Compared to their conference there are plenty of concerns (special teams and scoring), but they are simply mediocre in their division thus far.
Individual Performances
I’ve marked those significantly above/below their career averages (cf, where appropriate); @=veteran, *=rookie, #AHL-contract, %=PTO, italics=drafted player
Forwards
@Highmore 9-2-5-7 (currently in the NHL)
Crookshank 10-2-4-6 (includes empty net goal)
Sokolov 10-2-4-6 (leads the team in shots)
@Pilon 8-3-2-5 (games missed due to the team being over the veteran limit)
Reinhardt 10-2-3-5
*Ostapchuk 10-2-2-4 (has the team’s only shorthanded goal)
Jarventie 6-1-2-3 (currently in the NHL; includes empty net assist)
@Currie 7-1-2-3 (games missed due to the team being over the veteran limit)
*Smejkal 7-1-2-3 (games missed due to injury)
@MacEwen 4-2-0-2 (back in the NHL)
#Saulnier 9-1-1-2 (game missed due to injury)
*Daoust 4-0-2-2 (initially assigned to the ECHL; now injured) [ECHL 5-3-2-5]
#McPhee 7-1-0-1 (scratched three times)
@Imama 7-0-1-1 (games missed due to the team being over the veteran limit)
*#Fizer 8-0-0-0 (games missed due to injury)
%M. Boucher 2-0-0-0 [ECHL Trois-Rivieres 8-7-5-12]
%Lukosevicius 1-0-0-0 [ECHL South Carolina 8-5-3-8]
%Betts 1-0-0-0 [ECHL Utah 5-1-4-5]
*T. Boucher (injured)
Of the players under their usual numbers, I don’t make much of it yet–one or two good games would fix it. If there’s a general issue it’s that no one is breaking out–the BSens have struggled to score (an expected issue coming into the season).
Defense
Guenette 10-1-7-8
Thomson 10-1-2-3
@Larsson 9-2-0-2 (game missed due to veteran limit)
Kleven 4-0-2-2 (currently in the NHL)
*Matinpalo 5-1-0-1 (games missed due to being in the NHL)
@Heatherington 9-1-0-1 (game missed due to illness)
#MacKinnon 6-0-1-1 (scratched four times)
%Supryka 4-0-0-0 [ECHL Fort Wayne 3-0-1-1]
Bernard-Docker 2-0-0-0 (currently in the NHL)
Sebrango (injured*) [ECHL 1-1-0-1]
*[Sebrango’s case is a little strange–he was assigned to Allen Oct.22, but is listed as injured by Belleville; I’m unclear if he was assigned after injury recovery and got injured again or was scratched, re-assigned, and then injured]
This has been a great start for Guenette and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain it. As with the forwards above, it’s too early to be concerned with those below par, particularly as the team in general struggles with offense. On the whole I think coach Bell has done well with his ever changing blueline, particularly with so many top players recalled. That said, it remains a work in progress.
Goaltenders
Sogaard 4-3-0 .923 2.35
*Merilainen 1-0-1 .922 2.37 [ECHL 1-0-0 .956 2.00]
Mandolese 0-1-0 .667 11.3 (demoted to the ECHL, 0-1-0 .902 4.03]
#Sinclair [ECHL 2-3-0 .900 4.43]
Sogaard has been excellent and unfortunately Mandolese‘s erratic play is unchanged from every other season–you simply never know what you’ll get with him and that’s put Merilainen solidly ahead. I do think the team has relied a bit too much on Sogaard and needs to rotate more.
Powerplay (8 goals)
Guenette 1-4-5
Sokolov 2-2-4
Highmore 1-3-4
Smejkal 1-1-2
Thomson 0-2-2
Crookshank 0-2-2
Currie 0-1-1
Pilon 0-1-1
Reinhardt 1-0-1
Jarventie 1-0-1
Matinpalo 1-0-1
Outside the first three players no one else has established themselves with the man advantage–something that’s heavily contributed to the BSens scoring woes.
Fights (7)
Currie (2), Saulnier (2), Kleven, Reinhardt, MacKinnon
I’ve included this just for trivia–it’s not relevant to performance.
The addition of ECHL blueliner Cameron Supryka (DL, 59-5-19-24) is the only added PTO who had not played with Belleville last year. The team brought back Matthew Boucher (passim), Jarid Lukosevicius, and Kyle Betts (cf). Clearly the BSens have a preference for known quantities. I don’t think much of Betts, but as he’s intended to play fourth-line minutes that’s not a big deal. Both M. Boucher and Lukosevicius can score (to some degree) at this level, which is something the BSens need throughout their roster.
On the whole the team has defensive issues that goaltending is patching over and has yet to find its momentum offensively. Whether either can be truly cured without more players being returned from Ottawa remains to be seen. As it stands, I think the immediate results are fine, but I don’t think they are sustainable without progress/changes.
This article was written by Peter Levi
eyeonthesens 