-Binghamton defeated Rochester 3-1 last night, playing their best hockey of season (including pre-season).  There were far fewer turnovers and errors and much better flow to the game.  David Dziurzynski scored twice (including an empty-netter) and Patrick Wiercioch had the other goal.  Lehner was solid between the pipes.  Here’s the game story (Pat Cannone took a puck in the face during the game, but was fine).  Luke Richardson said the following:

I thought Patty [Wiercioch] really tried to skate and play physical. He’s gotten a lot stronger over the summer and he’s going to get better. He was out on the power play contributing and that’s something he has always done well at.  Big Dave [Dziurzynski] and Derek (Grant) up front were great on the penalty kill but also helped on offense and that’s great to have. To have a tandem line like that that can play against the top line and stay together all night on the power play and penalty kill. It’s valuable. We made a few mistakes here and there tonight but 5-on-5 we were outskating people. We’re back on the ice Thursday to get ready for the weekend and we’ll start the planning for the three games.

-New Jersey assigned goaltender Maxime Clermont to Elmira.

-D. J. Powers has posted par-one of his ECAC preview.  It includes comments about Tim Boyle from his coach Rick Bennett:

One thing about Tim that we were pleasantly surprised with is his work on the offensive blueline. He will need to learn to play within our system and just get used to the speed of the (college) game. I don’t think Tim has to worry about the size (of opposing players), but he’ll have to adjust to the speed of the game throughout his freshman year.

-Ryan Kennedy wonders about the way forward for the CWHL, posing the following question:

Do you need the NHL in order to legitimize the women’s game in the eyes of mainstream fans? And can women grab headlines outside the Olympics without Maxim-style photo spreads or skimpy uniforms? These are two questions I don’t have answers for right now.

I don’t think these are the most pertinent questions, but they are both easily answered: yes and yes.  Women’s hockey can succeed without either the NHL or skimpy uniforms, but both would offer short-term benefits which (if the WNBA is illustrative) won’t create a long-term market.  There is an appetite for women’s hockey in Canada, but the calibre needs to improve and there needs to be an evolution in marketing.  When (or if) those two elements will evolve remains to be seen, but to me it’s never a question of whether it’s possible for women’s hockey to become a viable commercial enterprise.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 17, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-The hockey world is buzzing about the CBA because the NHL made a proposal today which is a little closer to the land of reason.  What really interests me about this offer is that it includes the proviso of a full NHL season that would begin November 2nd.  The timeline suggests there may be a nugget of truth to Bruce Dowbiggin‘s theory that the league wants to come to terms with the NHLPA before late November in order to meet its commitments to HBO and NBC.

-Binghamton plays Rochester tonight, so here’s a look at the Americans (no word on any changes to Bingo’s lineup as yet).  Rochester plays in the AHL’s Western Division and finished seventh in that conference last season (36-26-10).  Top players: Cody Hodgson (NHL 41), Luke Adam (NHL 52-20), Kevin Porter (NHL 35-7), Mark Mancari (58), Phil Varone (52), Marcus Foligno (60-39), Brayden McNabb (D) (45-30), T. J. Brennan (D) (52-30), Evan Rankin (35-29), Corey Tropp (27-22; injured), Mark Pysyk (D)(WHL 57-38).  Goaltending: David Leggio (2.63) and Connor Knapp (NCAA 1.69).  Key players departed: Paul Szczechura (57-46), Derek Whitmore (44), Mark Voakes (34), Colin Stuart (51-32), and backup goaltender Drew MacIntyre (3.19).  Four of the team’s top-six scorers are gone from last year’s roster, but with the influx of NHL talent they have a better lineup.  Here’s a blog that covers the team.  Tropp has suffered a season-ending knee injury, incidentally.

-Binghamton’s lineup tonight: Silfverberg-Pageau-Zibanejad, Hoffman-Cannone-Petersson, Dziurzynski-Grant-Stone, Cowick-DaCosta-Jessiman; Cowen-Benoit, Gryba-Borowiecki, Ekford-Wiercioch.  As expected Claesson comes out of the lineup as does Downing.  Also scratched/injured are the recalled Blood along with Caporusso, Prince, Hamilton, Schneider, and Kramer.

-Here’s a profile of Mike Hoffman (a gritty left winger?) who said the following:

Every time you come back in the league you want to be bigger and better than last season, and help the first-year guys accomplish their goals as well. I always want to get better as a hockey player. I have a lot of confidence from last season going into this season and I want to keep that going. We want to stand up for each other. If one guy goes down, we got to help him out.

–Jeff Simmons offers a belated preview of the Binghamton Senators, but other than naming a few players on the team offers no analysis.

–Marc Cheverie was named ECHL goalie of the week after a 2-0 start for Elmira.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 16, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-Here are highlights from Binghamton’s win on Saturday.

–Ben Blood has been recalled to Binghamton from Elmira.  Ben Bishop has also officially signed to play in Binghamton.

-Here’s part two of D. J. Powers look at the WCHA, but other than casual mentions of Bryce Aneloski and Ben Blood there’s nothing to be gleaned for Sens fans.

-Here’s the weekly prospect update:

CHL
Cody Ceci (OHL Ottawa) 9-2-8-10
Matt Puempel (OHL Kitchener) 8-6-2-8
Stefan Noesen (OHL Plymouth) 8-6-1-7
Jordan Fransoo (WHL Victoria) 6-0-3-3
Jakub Culek (QMJHL Rimouski) DNP
Jarrod Maidens (OHL Owen Sound) (injured)
Francois Brassard (QMJHL Quebec) 7-1-0 1.87 .926
Chris Driedger (WHL Calgary) 5-1-1 2.92 .902

Allsvenskan (Swe)
Mikael Vikstrand (Mora) 11-6-2-8

KHL
Nikita Filatov (Salavat) 15-3-6-9

NCAA
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) – 2-1-1-2
Max McCormick (Ohio) – 2-1-1-2
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio) – 2-0-0-0
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) – junior year upcoming
Michael Sdao (Princeton) – senior year upcoming
Tim Boyle (Union) – freshman year upcoming

USHL
Robbie Baillargeon (Indiana) – 7-1-4-5

-Unsurprisingly, Nathan MacKinnon tops ISS’ early 2013 draft rankings.
1. MacKinnon, Nathan – C – Halifax – QMJHL
2. Jones, Seth – D – Portland – WHL
3. Barkov, Sasha – C – Tappara – FinE
4. Monahan, Sean – C – Ottawa – OHL
5. Lazar, Curtis – C – Edmonton – WHL
6. Burakowsky, Andre – F – Malmo – SweAl
7. Ristolainen, Rasmus – D – TPS Turku – FinE
8. Shinkaruk, Hunter – C – Medicine Hat – WHL
9. Lindholm, Elias – C – Brynas – SweE
10. Drouin, Jonathan – C – Halifax – QMJHL
11. Hagg, Robert – D – Modo – SweJE
12. Lehkonen, Artturi – F – Kuopio – FinE
13. Pulock, Ryan – D – Brandon – WHL
14. Nichushkin, Valery – F – Chelyabinsk Chelmet – RusS
15. Santini, Steve – D – USA Under18 – NTDP
16. Nurse, Darnell – D – S.S. Marie – OHL
17. Erne, Adam – F – Quebec – QMJHL
18. Zadorov, Nikita – D – London – OHL
19. Compher, JT – C – USA Under18 – NTDP
20. De La Rose, Jacob – C – Leksands – SweAl
21. Rychel, Kerby – F – Windsor – OHL
22. Morrissey, JT – D – Prince Albert – WHL
23. Gauthier, Frederik – C – Rimouski – QMJHL
24. Harper, Stephen – F – Erie – OHL
25. Fasching, Hudson – F – USA Under18 – NTDP
26. Dickinson, Jason – F – Guelph – OHL
27. Buchnevich, Pavel – F – Cherepovets – KHL
28. Horvat, Bo – C – London – OHL
29. Downing, Mike – D – Dubuque – USHL
30. Kujawinski, Ryan – C – Kingston – OHL

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 15, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 1 Comment

-Binghamton opened their season with a 2-1 win over Wilkes-Barre.  I watched the game and it was not a particularly good one for Binghamton until the third period, but they survived on the goaltending of Robin Lehner and solid performances from Hugh Jessiman and Jakob Silfverberg (who scored each of Binghamton’s goals, the team coming from in the third).  The powerplay was brutal, although eventually the top unit began to apply pressure.  There are recaps here and here.  For some reason Mark Parisi posted his impressions while admitting he missed half the game (a Silver Seven trend)–look for it if that interests you.  There was general sloppiness in the team’s play; in particular keeping the puck in the Penguins zone and applying offensive pressure.  Bingo was awful on faceoffs and I suspect that will be something they work on in subsequent practices.  Luke Richardson emphasized character in his post-game remarks:

I said the word character and I’ll say it again because that’s what they showed tonight. In the third period it’s really easy to come apart as a team when you have a lot of offensive talent and everyone is going on their own page and trying to win it themselves, but we didn’t do that.

There were two fights in the game, the first with Marc Borowiecki (vs Eric Tangradi) trying to create energy after Wilkes-Barre opened the scoring while the second was a surprise battle with Fredrik Claesson (vs Adam Payerl) that was much more spur of the moment.

-Elmira crushed Greenville 7-1 last night with Marc Cheverie picking up the win.  Brad Peltz had a goal and an assist and finished +5, while Chris Wideman had an assist/+2, Danny New 2 assists/+2, and Ben Blood was +3.  Here’s the recap.

-D. J. Powers offers up part one of his WCHA preview, but it does not include any Sens prospects.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

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

-Some of tonight’s Binghamton lineup has been announced: Cowen-Benoit, Eckford-Claesson, and Borowiecki-Gryba are the defensive pairings (Lehner gets the start).

-Elmira won 3-2 last night with Marc Cheverie picking up the win; Chris Wideman had an assist and was +2, while Ben Blood had no points and was -1.  Brad Peltz had one SOG while Danny New picked up an assist and was a +1.  Here’s the recap.  The team plays Greenville tonight.

–Andre Benoit has been named captain of the Binghamton Senators, which comes as no surprise (Eric Gryba and Mike Hoffman are the assistant captains)–notably, none of these players are expected to challenge for regular spots in Ottawa.

–Luke Richardson was on The Team 1200 yesterday and Nichols has transcribed the relevant parts of the interview.  One interesting tidbit is that Ben Bishop is not yet in Binghamton nor has Richardson heard any confirmation that he’s been signed–all that information is coming from Andy Strickland.  Richardson had a lot to say about Jean-Gabriel Pageau:

He has stepped up his offseason conditioning with a lot the guys here around Ottawa and it has really helped. He has been very poised defensively; which is kind of a surprise to me because of his age and his size. At this level, he has played in all three exhibition games and he has contributed offensively, so with the injury to Stephane Da Costa, it has given him an opportunity to start the season with us and he made a real case to make it very difficult to make any movements on him (when Da Costa gets healthy).

This confirms that 1) Pageau is a placeholder for Da Costa, and 2) Da Costa‘s injury is the primary factor in him still being with the team.  Nichols believes these comments mean that Pageau is a serious candidate for Elmira, but I still believe he’ll be returned to the CHL once the team is healthy.  Richardson then talked about Da Costa:

I think working on the strength this summer, he really limits the energy that he spends every shift on skating because he is a great skater. He really can save that strength when he goes into the boards or around the boards into a battle with a big guy. I noticed that he wasn’t afraid at all. He was in there battling with some of the big guys on the other roster in the AHL that were experienced and he showed no signs of backing down or being overpowered, so that’s a great sign because he still has some upside to him to improve in the areas of strength and speed (aspects). He is just a smart hockey player and he’s a great prospect within the Ottawa organization.

There’s nothing surprising in any of this, other than confirming the organisation still thinks highly of Da Costa.  Richardson also talked about the system he’s employing:

It is all about puck movement. We have a very strong defence down here. Some of the guys are bigger and stronger but they can still move the puck well, so that’s great.  So, I think we can run a very similar, if not identical, style [to Paul MacLean’s]. Everybody is just a little bit different, but overall, pretty much close to the same style, so I think the transition will be much easier for players moving up. And really, that’s what it is all about – we want to have that fine line of competitiveness here to win and teach them to win and be unhappy when you lose and learn to fix things when you’re not doing them properly and you don’t have success. At the same time, you want to develop them for the parent club and for the dreams of where those players want to go.

-A comment made by assistant coach Steve Stirling comment worth repeating:

There’s only a handful of teams in the league [AHL] that will have a good team every year, because their goal is to win it every year, and sometimes that may be at the expense of development. Our philosophy is to develop first. We’re here to get prospects ready for the NHL, but at the same time everyone likes to win.

-Here’s my look at Binghamton’s roster and expectations (point projections).  I’ll be posting my thoughts on how the team will perform in the AHL later today.

-Speaking of roster projections, Bobby Kelly weighs in with part two of his own (this time defense and goaltending), which is pretty elementary at this point.  He believes that (when healthy) Eckford and Gryba will form one pair (behind the obvious Cowen-Benoit), while Borowiecki and Wiercioch will form the other.  He suggests seventh defender Fredrik Claesson will get regular playing time, but not at whose expense.  My personal feeling is that Claesson, Blood, and Wideman may transition back and forth between Binghamton and Elmira regularly, although it’s admittedly easier to let the teenage Claesson sit as opposed to the two college grads.

-D. J. Powers provides a CCHA preview, making no mention of Jeff Costello at Notre Dame.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

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

-The lack of meaningful hockey news prior to the start of Binghamton’s season tomorrow created a flood of Ben Bishop-to-Binghamton articles.  This possibility has been up in the air for weeks, but given the difficulty goaltenders have found in finding jobs in Europe it’s no surprise this was the route Bishop had to take.  The only real impact of the signing is on Nathan Lawson, whom Andy Strickland reports has refused assignment to Elmira.  I’m not sure how that will be handled, although it’s Lawson‘s prerogative to refuse.

–Mika Zibanejad and Matt Puempel were both interviewed on The Team 1200 recently.  No earth-shattering comments from either, as you’d expect.

-Elmira has announced their opening night roster (they play Reading tonight; Sens prospects in green): Forwards: Brad Peltz (NCAA 9-1), Dustin Gazley (ECHL 72-85), Jordan Pietrus (ECHL 65-40), Brandan Blandina (NCAA 39-9), Corey Bellamy (FHL 32-14), Jean Bourbeau (ECHL 49-26), Andrew Rowe (AHL 34-11), Alec Kirschner (ECHL 30-2), Rob Bellamy (ECHL 63-24), Artem Demkov (ECHL 67-57), Kevin McCarey (NCAA 37-12); Defense: Ben Blood (NCAA 42-21), Chris Wideman (NCAA 41-24), Danny New (NCAA 36-14), Kyle Bushee (ECHL 57-19), Jordan Southorn (ECHL 50-21), Matt Campanale (ECHL 58-22), Jimmy Martin (ECHL 70-27); Goalies: Marc Cheverie (ECHL 2.71), Nick Niedert (ECHL 2.07).  Chaz Johnson (ECHL F 64-35) is on injured reserve while Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (ECHL D 62-14), Kevin Harvey (ECHL F 34-11), and Jarrett Rush (ECHL D 57-13) are on reserve.  That’s 12 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders excluding reserves.  Clearly the team expects more forwards from Binghamton in the near future.

-Just a clarification on Brad Peltz as I get asked about him frequently: despite being a Senators draft pick he was not offered a contract by the team when he turned pro.  He was invited to Binghamton on a tryout basis and remains with Elmira on a tryout.

-Speaking of Elmira’s game against Reading, the latter features prospect Philipp Grubauer (who lost to both Binghamton and Elmira in pre-season action), as well as former B-Sen Yannick Tifu.

-Elmira released goaltender Joe Spagnoli from their roster.

–Hockeys Future has finished it’s top-50 prospect list and Mika Zibanejad shows up at #5 (Jakob Silfverberg was #40 and Robin Lehner was #46).

-I’m not sure what their source is, but Hockey-Site provides a list of average player salary by league:
NHL
KHL
Czech Extraliga
SEL
SM-Liiga
NLA
AHL
DEL
With elite players in various other professional leagues making decent salaries.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 12, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments

-Binghamton has made two more roster cuts, with Marc Cheverie going to Elmira (as expected) along with Ben Blood who (for the moment) he’s lost his spot to Fredrik Claesson.  With Jared Cowen in a healthy lineup both Blood and Claesson were aiming to be seventh defenseman (behind Benoit, Cowen, Eckford, Wiercioch, Gryba, and Borowiecki), so it’s not that surprising the team would rather have teenage Claesson ride the pine while Blood plays a ton in Elmira.

–Ben Bishop has reportedly signed with Binghamton, putting Nathan Lawson in limbo barring injury or the end of the lockout.

–James Gordon wonders if fans will come back to the NHL when the lockout is over, a question whose answer is tied to context.  For hardcore hockey fans there’s nowhere else to go, so it won’t impact them, but for casual fans a prolonged lockout will hurt weaker markets.  The idea that fans can speak with their dollars is true only to a point–outside of walking away from the sport, there’s no real alternative for hockey fans.

–D. J. Powers looks at Hockey East (NCAA), which doesn’t feature any Sens prospects, although it contains mention of Sens Development Camp invitee Trevor Van Riemsyk:

Van Riemsdyk came to Durham as a highly touted rookie last season and didn’t disappoint. The Middletown, NJ native led all New Hampshire defensemen with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) playing in all 37 games. He also earned a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. Van Riemsdyk is a blossoming, two-way defenseman that is very good at both ends of the ice. But what really stands out about him is his excellent vision and hockey sense. He utilizes his speed quite effectively in the Wildcats’ transition game, as well. None of this has been lost on NHL teams. Among the teams already giving Van Riemsdyk a look are the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators, whose prospect camps he attended this summer.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 11, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment

-Roster changes are still coming to both Binghamton and Elmira, but mid-week everything is quiet (everyone in Binghamton was at practice today except for Shane Prince).  Binghamton’s season begins on Saturday (13th) and the Jackals on Friday (12th). [Reported practice lines: Silfverberg-Pageau-Zibanejad; Petersson-Cannone-Hoffman; Cowick-Grant-Stone; Cowen-Benoit, Eckford-Blood, Borowiecki-Gryba, Claesson.]

–Matt Weinstein is the new beat reporter for the Binghamton Senators and has big shoes to fill in the form of the departed Joy Lindsay.

–The Raaymaker worries that if Ben Bishop signs an AHL deal it may hurt Robin Lehner‘s development.  I don’t see the problem–competition is good for both players–the only guy sweating that possibility is Nathan Lawson.

-Sens blogger Brochenski joins the 6th Sens, which I only bring up because it reminds me that I forgot to mention his blog on the Sens penalty killing last season and how brutal Zenon Konopka was on it.

–Stu Hackel wonders if NHL players who sign in low-level leagues will see their play suffer post-lockout.  The conclusion he comes too is pretty simple: it depends on how hard they work.  The talent level of the league is less relevant than how much work they put into it.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

October 10, 2012
Categories: Binghamton Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: Leave a comment