-The Binghamton Senators crushed the Portland Pirates 6-1 last night (I was able to watch some of the third).  Ben Bishop made 40-saves to earn the win, while Pat Cannone and Patrick Wiercioch each scored twice and Jakob Silfverberg and Hugh Jessiman added singles.  Cannone, Jessiman, and Wiercioch each had three-point nights.  With the game out of reach things got a little goofy (Brett Hextall went after Jean-Gabriel Pageau for no particular reason).  Bobbykelly was able to watch the entire game and has an entertaining piece about it.  Here are the highlights.

-Tonight Binghamton faces off against Norfolk (9-12) who are lead by Peter Holland (21 points) and backstopped by Frederik Andersen (6-6).

–Brad Peltz has been loaned back to Elmira (the Jackals have played a man short the last couple of games).

-Speaking of Elmira, they lost 7-4 to Reading last night with Louie Caporusso and Jack Downing each having three-point nights.  The teams play each other again tonight.

–Hockey’s Future has weighed in with their team rankings and placed Ottawa fourth.  They write:

Strengths: Ottawa has a talented group of talented, versatile forwards led by Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen, and Matt Puempel. Further down the depth chart, the Senators have many players with top-nine potential such as Shane Prince, Mark Stone, and Andre Petersson. They also possess a diverse group of defensive prospects led by offensive defenseman Cody Ceci and stay-at-home defenseman Fredrik Claesson. Goaltending prospect Robin Lehner is among the top netminders in the AHL.

Weaknesses: While the organization has several quality goaltending prospects, they are short on depth at that position. The Senators could also stand to add some more depth on the right wing.

Top 5 Prospects: 1. Mika Zibanejad, C; 2. Jakob Silfverberg, RW; 3. Robin Lehner, G; 4. Stefan Noesen, RW; 5. Cody Ceci, D.

One could quibble with where players are positioned, but it’s a fair assessment and the nuance of who is where within the top group isn’t terribly important.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 8, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 3 Comments

-Not much happened yesterday beyond more of the CBA back and forth–brief moments of optimism were followed by consternation and anger.  The soap opera continues and I’ll get excited when a deal is struck.

-Binghamton plays Portland (10-9-2) tonight; the Pirates are lead by Alexandre Bolduc (22 points) and backstopped by Chad Johnson (7-5-0).  Former B-Sen Rob Klinkhammer and former Sen David Rundblad are also part of the crew.

–Don Brennan reports that Mark Borowiecki is doubtful for tonight’s game after suffering a neck injury when he was jumped by Eric Neilson.  He also indicates Chris Wideman has been recalled from Elmira and is expected to play.

–Luke Richardson talked about Jakob Silfverberg‘s improvement through the season thus far:

I was talking with Ben Bishop about him the other day. He scored a goal on Sunday night or afternoon, we had a late afternoon game. He ripped one top corner and there was no windup on the release; it was just a rocket. That’s what Ben said, ‘You know he’s going over the glove and you still can’t get there quick enough.’ He has that spot picked and he’s dangerous every night. Not only did he score the last couple of games, but he is creating chances and now he is creating so much awareness that he is so dangerous in small areas. And he is getting comfortable in those small areas and the smaller, tighter surface with the tighter checking and the physicality. He is getting more comfortable with it, as we’ve talked about. People are paying more attention to him, so that’s just going to make more people on the ice open and available for those great, little plays that he makes. Not only does he have the big cannon, but he does make great, little plays in small areas. So he is coming along great, and he’s a competitor. When things don’t go well on the power play, he comes off the bench and slams the door because he’s frustrated because he wants to make something happen all the time.

It’s more of the same from Richardson, but illustrates that the adaptation phase for Silfverberg seems to be ending.

-Richardson then talked about Stephane Da Costa:

He had a little bit of an illness at the summer that held him back. He had a little medical procedure that just kind of slowed him down in preparing for camp. So when he came into camp, he was a little bit… not out of shape but not in top shape. I think that hampered him in the fitness testing and it wore on his body and he had a bit of a sore back because of that. In his first game back after that, after missing a few games at the start of the year, he got slashed on his baby finger and that split open and he broke the tip of it. So that was very sore, especially when the centerman takes draws, for a while. And then in his first game back from that, he had a great game in Norfolk and in the next game, he flew into the boards and hurt his knee. So then he just had a rough start; very frustrated. His body was beaten up and he was very down on himself. We took him right out. We gave him a week of just gym exercises to build up his body. And then he skated all last week and to his credit, we challenged him to work hard and push himself and build his body and he did that. He had a smile on his face all last week. He didn’t get into the game on Friday because we had a healthy lineup. We dressed him in warmup and he still had a great attitude and worked his butt off every day. He got in there Sunday and just continued to work hard and things went well with Shane Prince. It really clicked and they got off to a good start in the game; they were one of our best forechecking lines and he got rewarded with three goals and an assist that game. He was the game’s first star, I believe. He just looked engaged. He’s a special player and he makes very good plays – not just scoring goals but he can really find people. He has great vision. If he can continue to build his body, because he’s not a big guy, but play in a big man’s league in big games over here on smaller ice surfaces, he will continue to grow and get better because of his talents. He just has to make sure that he keeps up that drive, that inner drive and the compete level. And he’s proving that right now, so we just have to make sure that we remind him every day to continue to build on that.

A big info dump from Richardson, but it provides context to Da Costa‘s slow start.

-Richardson moved on to Mika Zibanejad:

He just had his four wisdom teeth out last week and a throat infection, so that put him on the sidelines for the weekend, last weekend. But other than that, he’s on the mend and hopefully he’s back in the lineup in the next game or two. He’s doing really well on the smaller ice surface. We have tried him on the wing. We have had him at center and he’s very versatile. He kills penalties very well and he’s starting to get engaged and use his body a little more. But we’re just trying to get him skating and getting used to skating into areas where maybe he doesn’t get enough room because it is a different dimension to look at out there on that smaller ice surface. But just feeling myself, I didn’t really have much input into it. I just gave my opinion in that I think that he’s coming along fine and if you send him over there for two weeks to a month for the world juniors, then you’re right back onto the bigger ice surface again. You’re holding onto the puck too long. You’re skating to the wrong areas and looping in the neutral zone. It’s not the same style as it is here, so when he comes back, you’re starting all over again at the adjustment stage. If you’re making a commitment and hopefully the lockout comes to an end soon, the intentions of Ottawa is to develop and keep developing here in this type of game – the North American game and the North American ice size – and give him a real chance to vie for a roster spot when the lockout ends or soon after. So that was the thought process and it kind of makes sense to me.

The message boils down Zibanejad not yet adjusting to the North American style and Richardson wants the team to spend with him to get him there (the focus seems to be in timing and offensive positioning).

–Finally, Richardson talked about Patrick Wiercioch:

He came to training camp in great shape. He suffered an injury during training camp, but he has come back strong at the time Jared Cowen left us. He really knew how to seize this opportunity. He plays more than often with Andre Benoit. Because he has improved defensively, we’re not afraid to use him in crucial situations. He had to improve defensively to play in the NHL. In Ottawa, he knows he will never be the number one offensive defenseman.

The refrain about Wiercioch all season is praising his conditioning and how much that comes into play with his ability to perform.

-Elmira plays Reading (14-7-1) tonight; the Royals are lead by Denny Urban and David Marshall (20 points each) and backstopped by Philipp Grubauer (11-4-0).

-Speaking of Elmira, Danny New has been placed on the 21-day IR.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 7, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

–Stephane Da Costa talked about his goals for the season:

I just want to be more of an all-around player. Physically I want to be a little better, too. I got a little better physically, I think. I can take impacts a little better. We played simple, because that was my first game back and it was a hard game. I’m trying to make an impact, trying to show I can play here. I need to work hard, and I think I can make it there again. I just want to have a really good year. I’m trying to take it week to week and we’ll see what happens.

–Stefan Noesen has made the preliminary US roster for WJC.

–D. J. Powers writes about NHL prospects in the NCAA, but other than a passing reference to Jeff Costello offers nothing on the Sens.

–Brochenski writes about former Sen Brandon Bochenski and I bring it up only for this:

Even Don Cherry was on the Bochenski Bandwagon, as he picked him to win the Calder Trophy that year, despite Bochenski up against a stacked rookie class which included the likes of Crosby and Ovechkin. Oops.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 5, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The debate over Ottawa’s decision to keep Mika Zibanejad continues, but nothing has changed since yesterday (nor is anything expected to change).

-Here’s the weekly prospect update (for players with more than 10 games played I’ve indicated where they are in scoring; for blueliners they are compared to other defensemen on the team):

CHL
Matt Puempel (OHL Kitchener) 26-21-7-28 (1st) (injured)
Cody Ceci (OHL Ottawa) 30-7-23-30 (1st)
Stefan Noesen (OHL Plymouth) 23-16-8-24 (3rd)
Jordan Fransoo (WHL Victoria) 23-2-6-8 (t-2nd)
Jakub Culek (QMJHL Cape Breton) 8-4-3-7 (9th)
Jarrod Maidens (OHL Owen Sound) (injured)
Chris Driedger (WHL Calgary) 15-4-2 2.26 .922
Francois Brassard (QMJHL Quebec) 15-6-1 2.54 .909

Allsvenskan (Swe)
Mikael Wikstrand (Mora) 27-9-9-18 (1st)

KHL
Nikita Filatov (Salavat) 31-8-9-17 (3rd)

NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio) – 14-6-7-13 (1st)
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) – 12-5-7-12 (t-2nd)
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) – 14-2-8-10 (2nd)
Max McCormick (Ohio) – 14-4-4-8 (3rd)
Michael Sdao (Princeton) – 10-3-4-7 (1st)
Tim Boyle (Union) – 6-0-2-2

USHL
Robbie Baillargeon (Indiana) – 21-5-8-13 (6th)

–Stu Hackel warns against being too optimistic about the player-owner meeting today, which seems only sensible.

–The Ottawa Sun is finally going down the path of requiring a paid subscription to read the erudite thoughts of Don Brennan et al.  I wonder how well that will do for them, as The Ottawa Citizen went the same route long ago, but was forced to make most of its sports coverage free with Senators Extra to avoid complete oblivion.  I don’t really see a way forward for newspaper sports journalism unless they make most of their content free–it’s available from far too many sources for fans to have to pay for it.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 4, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Binghamton’s streak continues at eight as they defeated Syracuse in a game I was unable to watch (here are the highlights).  Stephane Da Costa celebrated his return to the lineup with a hat trick and a team-leading four points; Silfverberg and Wiercioch had the other goals.  Da Costa‘s line (Prince and Schneider) were all +4 and Ben Bishop earned the win facing23 shots.  The game entered the goofy zone when the B-Sens made it 5-2, with Syracuse goon Eric Neilson earning 27 penalty minutes for attacking Mark Borowiecki wh0 talked about it in the post-game.

-Elmira defeated Trenton 6-2 last night with Cheverie picking up the win while Downing had a three point night and Caporusso picked up an assist.

-WJC Swedish coach Roger Ronnberg has asked the Swedish federation to intervene with Ottawa in the hopes of getting Mika Zibanejad to Ufa.  He said:

It is a big disappointment that Ottawa does not want to release Mika to join the team for the World Juniors. I have asked our federation to intervene and I am confident they will. Having said that, I must focus on the players I have and I can’t let that [Ottawa not releasing Zibanejad] steal energy from my work.

As expected Sens prospect Mikael Vikstrand was named to the team.

-Speaking of the WJC rosters, neither Cody Ceci nor Matt Puempel were invited to Canada’s camp.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 3, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-Binghamton faces conference leading Syracuse (13-4-2) this afternoon.  The Crunch are lead by Tyler Johnson (22 points) and backstopped by Dustin Tokarski.

-Highlights of last night’s game are trickling in: watch the slick pass by Silfverberg to set up Pat Cannone; here’s Mark Stone‘s goal.

–Chris Wideman was recalled from Elmira, while Dustin Gazley was sent back to the Jackals.  Speaking of Elmira, Darren Kramer was placed on 21-day IR.

-Elmira faces the Trenton Titans again this afternoon.

–Brian Cazeneuve wants the NHL All-Star game fixed by having it decide home ice advantage ala MLB.  This is a terrible idea.  The game is meaningless, it will stay meaningless, and a half-assed attempt to make it matter is just going to irritate players (and fans).  If the game has to be played at all (and the NHL will never get rid of it), I’d rather see it played at the end of the season, but that’s just not going to happen.  As things stand I don’t foresee any meaningful changes to the game.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 2, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Binghamton defeated Adirondack last night in a game I was unable to watch, extending their winning streak to seven games.  Ben Bishop made 45 saves and Andre Benoit scored twice with Mark Stone, Pat Cannone, Derek Grant, Mike Hoffman, and Jakob Silfverberg adding singles.  Benoit lead the way with three points and Grant and Eric Gryba finished the night +3.  Full highlights of the game haven’t been posted yet, but here’s Silfverberg‘s goal and Adirondack coach Terry Murray‘s post-game comments.

-Through the month of November (where Binghamton went 8-1-1) Jakob Silfverberg, Andre Benoit, and Tyler Eckford lead the team with 8 points each; Patrick Wiercioch (and Eric Gryba) were each +8.  Among the team’s regulars only Andre Petersson had a rough month (2 points and -5).

-Elmira lost 4-2 to Wheeling last night with Cheverie taking the loss; among B-Sen signee’s Caporusso and Wideman each had assists.  Tonight Elmira faces the 7-9-1 Trenton Titans who are lead by Andy Bohmbach (18 points) and backstopped by Scott Wedgewood.

-Speaking of the Jackals, they traded defenseman Jimmy Martin to Utah.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

December 1, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Binghamton plays Adirondack tonight, with the Phantoms sitting at 9-9-0 on the season.  Adirondack is lead by Brayden Schenn with 22 points and backstopped by AHL veteran Scott Munroe.  The B-Sens won their last meeting 5-2 back on the 17th.

-Elmira plays Wheeling tonight, with the Nailers a meagre 5-8-3 on the season.  Wheeling is lead by Paul Crowder and Cody Wild (each with 11 points) and backstopped by Patrick Killeen.

–Tim Murray talked about Binghamton’s play this season:

Our goaltending has been outstanding, so you have the two guys there obviously who have been basically, really good every single game. So, they keep you in games. Our blue line has been basically been really good every single game. Our forwards are playing well and I mean, I keep hearing this negativity that we don’t score, but who cares? I don’t care. I mean, the idea is to win. They’ve all bought into the system and like I say, we’ve been playing some very hard, physical games and I think that can only help (the prospects) development and prepare them for the next level.

Yeah, great numbers and again, great attitude [from Robin Lehner]. He has really learned a lot in two years. The talent has always been there and I think, when these players get to the American (Hockey) League and the National Hockey League, the talent has got them so far. But it’s preparation, it’s execution and it is focus and these are things that young guys have to learn and some learn them quicker than others. He has come in with a great mindset this year. He knew that he had made some mistakes in the past and owned up to them, finally and I think it has made him a better goaltender and a better person.

He’s [Jakob Silfverberg] been playing with different linemates and he is certainly getting his power play time and killing some penalties. But he himself has stated that it has been a struggle at times in certain games. Against Toronto he (had a goal and an assist) on Thursday night and then (against) Syracuse, see the tape, right from puck drop, he is being hit, sticked, spit on, whatever… He is the focus of their game plan that night and he doesn’t get a point. But what he did was he took a lot of their attention and then other guys step up and we win a game against arguably, the best team in the league. Again, there has been a learning curve but he has taken it all in stride. I just think that you will see a lot of these guys, including him, in the second half, be more comfortable and start to produce on the scoreboard a little more than they are now.

Different people (are) stepping up every night, so he’s [Luke Richardson] done a great job. And even beyond that, if you go and watch (Binghamton) play, we play the game right. We don’t have a tough guy but we have team toughness. Different guys step up when they have to and we don’t fight for the staged fight. We play the game right. We check hard. We track the puck hard. We always have a man high. We pinch our D. We do a lot of good things that you want to see your NHL teams do. We play an aggressive brand of hockey and again, I’m not too worried about how many goals we score. I think that is going to bode well for the young guys coming up and I think there are quite a few guys down there that can step up. Whether it’s to have a long career or just play games, I think they are really learning a lot (from) Luke about what it takes to get to the next level and then how you stay at the next level.

They are just guys [like Mark Borowiecki] that you do not find. Huge heart. Whatever. Every kid tells you at the draft that they will do whatever it takes (to be an NHLer) and most of it is bull. This guy, it is that. It is whatever. He goes to the wall every night for you and for his teammates. He is the most courageous guy that I have ever been around. And it’s not just his play, it’s the way he practices. Nobody wants to practice against him in battle drills, well you’re going to, so you better practice a little harder. You better battle a little harder. He just makes everyone around him better. He certainly makes our scouting staff (look) better. A fifth round pick and a North American defenceman at that, that doesn’t usually happen after two rounds or so, that is going to play in the National Hockey League and is going to be hard to play against. He has his limitations for sure, but he is just a guy that nobody really wants to dump the puck in his corner anymore. Everything is a battle against this guy, and we love him.

That is a lot to absorb, but the sentiments are nothing new.  The most interesting thing to my mind was Murray’s comment that it’s hard to snag good defensemen from North America after the first two rounds–that’s food for thought when looking at Tim’s approach to drafting.

-The Sens have decided to keep Mika Zibanejad in the AHL rather than releasing him for Sweden’s WJC roster.  Given that he won gold last year this makes sense to me (Tim Murray, in the link above, said essentially the same thing).  When asked about it Zibanejad said all the right things:

You’re putting me in a really tough spot right now. I guess I’m happy I don’t have to make that decision. I don’t know what I would do. I’m fully trusting (in the Senators) right now and I’m just respecting their decision. I know where I’m going to be at Christmas. It feels good. It’s always a big thing. Especially because the world juniors are getting bigger every year back home. It was always a goal and a dream for me to play world juniors, ever since my brother (Monir Kalgoum) played there (almost a decade ago). At the same time, I have a contract with Ottawa and I pay close attention to what they have to say and I agree. I think it’s good for me to stay here and get a full season in and not have to travel all the way to Russia and back just for two weeks or three weeks. I had a really good experience at the world juniors last year. You want to make both (sides) happy, but that’s not possible. Right now, I’m just going after what Ottawa wants me to do. I try to get just a little bit better every day and get used to everything around me. All the travel and the games, the three games in three days and everything, it takes time getting used to and I feel like I’m getting there. I think it’s been really good so far and I enjoy playing here. I knew this was one option, that Ottawa wouldn’t let me go. I always had that in the back of my mind. It doesn’t come as a shock. Now I get a good opportunity to focus on the team over here, making sure we’re winning games. I’m trying to help as much as I can. I guess now that it’s kind of clear what’s going to happen, it’s easier for me to focus, too.

-Not surprisingly, the NHL and NHLPA have booted their mediator.  It’s clear the NHL believes that keeping a hardline position will allow them to “win” the negotiation.

-For the sake of fans of Marc Spector who I pilloried not long ago, here’s a largely sensible piece on Brian Burke’s tenure as Toronto’s GM.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 30, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Chris Wideman has been re-assigned to Elmira while Dustin Gazley has been recalled to Binghamton.  I expected the Wideman move with Gryba‘s return to the lineup.  In six games with Binghamton Wideman had no points and was -5.  Gazley currently leads the Jackals in scoring with 19 points.

-Here are highlights for Binghamton’s win over Bridgeport as well as their win over Syracuse.

–Jared Cowen had a lot to say about his injury, as well as confirming that Wacey Hamilton (who he’s sharing a house with in Kanata) has been out all season with a concussion:

It was only six months (as the projected recovery time) with my knee, but more like a year and a half until I felt normal again. I know what it’s really like. Six months until I can play, a year until it feels close to normal. I know the reality. It doesn’t even hurt. I wish there was a little bit of pain, to keep me from doing stuff. I can walk, but I’m supposed to keep right off of it, so (the stitches) stay tight. It’s way better than when I did my knee, though. It’s totally different. My knee was swollen. I had it in a straight brace for awhile. Now, it’s not even been two weeks and I can ride the bike and everything. (In) the consultation, (the surgeon) said it’s important to not do too much now. You’ll feel like you’re doing well now, progressing, but when you go to do more, in terms of running, or walking … doing too much now would be inhibiting later. It’s kind of hard to pull back on the reins and take it easy, but he said later ‘you should be fine.’ The first time I hurt it [the hip], it wasn’t that bad. I was coming back … I skated twice or three times, and it felt like I was progressing. I kind of hurt it a second time … which actually tore it, they told me. That time I kind of figured there was something wrong, because my leg went numb a little bit, and it wasn’t getting better, like before. I didn’t know how bad it was until they told me I was getting an MRI. Then I was like, it’s bad. I only got to play three games (for the B-Sens), which was brutal. If there’s a time to do it, I guess it’s now, if the (NHL) season doesn’t go on. But there’s no good time at all, really. It’s already my second injury like this, so it kind of sucks. It’s nice to have someone around [Wacey Hamilton], or I’d be going crazy. We don’t do much, because he has a concussion and can’t do a lot, and I’m not supposed to do a lot anyway. We’re couch potatoes. I’m not sure what kind of issues I’d have with the hip. With my knee, I had tendinitis in the front, which is normal, but I’m not really familiar with the hip. It’s kind of hard to imagine how it would feel bad, since it feels pretty good right now. (But) it’s hard to say where I’ll be six months from now. It’s a long ways away, so I’ve got time on my side. That’s the one good thing about it. And I have all summer. Lots of time to skate and feel good about it.

–Varada looks at the Forbes estimates for the worth of NHL franchises to point out that ownership whinging over financial struggles is just that–hot air.

-For those who didn’t hear, former B-Sen Barry Brust broke the AHL consecutive shutout record playing for Abbotsford.

–Stu Hackel writes about fan efforts to punish the league and the players for the lockout, but all I took away from it was how futile it is–hockey fans have nowhere else to go, so the impact is only on marginal fans who can easily be persuaded back by a good product.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 29, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

–Luke Richardson talked about Jakob Silfverberg:

Well, Silfverberg has been a great forward for us all year. He’s a talented guy and I know that everyone thinks that means offence, which he does have – he has got unbelievably quick hands. Defensively, penalty killing, he has been one of our most consistent, best forwards. What we have asked of him to do this year, maybe with the smaller rink size that takes a little bit away from his offence at the beginning until he finds some comfort in the surroundings of the small rink. But the other night when we played Toronto, he basically won the game (for us) in the first period. He set up Shane Prince for a beautiful goal on a forecheck and then stole the puck on the blue line from a strong Toronto team and raced down the ice with a guy basically on his back. A quick one-two move with his quick hands (before) firing it home and that was it. He really controlled that first period and set the tempo of that game. I know the next game, we played the next night against Syracuse and they were all over him. I guess they read the clips. They know who he is and they really tried to play physical against him but to his credit, he made some really smart dumps and just drew people to him and got them out of position. He just gave other people room and he’s a real smart player. It won’t be long before Ottawa sees him.

Yet more confirmation about the strength of Silfverberg‘s play.  About Mika Zibanejad he said:

Zibanejad just had some wisdom teeth taken out this week, so hopefully he won’t be out for very long at all and reacts well to that. I know that was bothering him a little bit in the last week, but he had a really strong start. He has gotten a little frustrated in the last little bit. He hasn’t been able to score. He has hit some posts and he has created some chances and just hasn’t been able to finish (them) off. But again, we ask him to do a lot on the defensive side – in killing penalties and winning faceoffs in the (defensive) zone. He’s been great at both.

Pretty much on par with his other comments about Zibanejad.  About Mark Stone he said:

Mark Stone unfortunately had a bit of an upper body injury after the first few games. I think he got it in the first game and then he had to play through it for a while but then he missed some games. He has been back for a few and he is probably our…I don’t know if you want to call it the smartest forward with your stick if you want to talk about it like that. (He) is almost like a defenceman. He knocks every puck down that is around him. He is so good with his hands that he is almost like a lacrosse player. He has had the same thing, countless stolen pucks that he has just shot over the net and he probably should have three or four more goals at least. But still, he is a really reliable player. A real smart player. Engaging. He is always listening and trying to learn. He is doing a great job. We have got him on a line with Derek Grant and Dave Dziurzynski and they check the other team’s best line and they have been doing a great job of that and they’re also putting some offence on the board. So those three forwards, there are lots of great things to come from them and they’re just getting better as the more reps they get and the more games they get. Unfortunately, they’re in an organization where there is a lot of great young forwards so they’re going to have to battle against each other. But it is healthy competition and they’re great teammates; they just push each other harder.

Clearly Richardson is very happy with Stone.  He also provided an injury update on Stephane Da Costa:

He banged up his leg when he came back from his first injury – the broken finger.

–Nichols writes about the Sens being an older team as defined by their core players with a graph that makes my eyes bleed.  His point is that a team’s average age doesn’t tell you how old the core players are, but rather than just stating who those players are and looking at their ages there’s a graphing system because…reasons?  I don’t think the team versus team comparison is all that relevant–where Ottawa sits in relation to the rest of the league in terms of core age only seems meaningful in a league where player movement is impossible.  The team has two players approaching retirement (Gonchar and Alfredsson) with another (Phillips) on the downward side of his career, but the Big Rig is not a core player anymore.  Projecting forward (which seems the only value of the graph) is risky business since the unknowns of progression and regression are simply that–unpredictable.

–Forbes estimates the Sens are worth 220 million dollars (16th in the league).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

November 28, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment