Both teams head in to the final game of the Rookie Tournament with a 2-0 record and the winner will lay claim to this year's tournament. Robin Lehner will be back between the pipes tonight after a lights-out performance in the opening game of the tournament.
For many guys on both sides, this will be their first taste of the Battle of Ontario. No training camp battles are won or lost at this Rookie Camp but a few players have certainly served notice that they are going to be in the mix for spots with the big club.
Zibanejad and Da Costa have been stand outs for the Sens through the first two games and will both be in the mix for a spot with the big club at the main camp. It's hard to imagine there will be room for both of them though, especially with Peter Regin expected to secure one of the opening at the centre position.
Here is how the Sens line up is expected to look.
Petersson-Zibanejad-Prince
Puempel-Da Costa-Stone
Noesen-Grant-Cowick
Capurusso-Pageau-Culek
Cowen-Rundblad
Wiercioch-Gryba
Fransoo-Borowiecki
The game can be seen live on Roger 22 or you can tune in on the Team 1200.
After tonight, many of the players at this Tournament will be on their way back to Ottawa for the club's main camp. Camp opens later this week and the first preseason game goes next Monday, against the Leafs.
- You know it's almost hockey season when the new NHL game from EA Sports hits the shelves. NHL 12 comes out today and I'm hoping to get an EASHL team started. There is a thread in the forum for those that are interested. I will try to post details later tonight.
- Apologies for the technical issues with the site lately. The current comment platform has been acting up and I am currently looking at some options for another redesign. Will be sure to keep everyone updates as we move along.
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It has only been a couple games but you're right, surprisingly quiet. I have noticed him a couple times though. Looks solid on the puck but you can see why people have "concerns" about his skating.
Yep, that is probably a safe guess.
they will probably be a stream on the leafs website. they did stream there first 2 games.
Yea I did hear that. Bryan also mentioned that Zibanejad would not have to be a top 6 player to be included on the roster.
Yeah and then I said it would be a complete waste to have Zib on the bottom 6...
It wont happen...
Tim Murray will most likely have to eat those words, as I believe that some Rookies, will graduate right away !
Should be without a doubt, the most competitive Camp, in the 20 year history of these Senators !!
Rockin Robert
There's no rush for any of these guys. The decisions will be 100% about what's best long-term for their development and the team of 2013-14 or later.
Some of you guys have forgotten what it's like to follow a team that's rebuilding I think.
There is a 30-minute delay in that.. so it would start at 7:30.
Go Sens Go!!!
Agreed, I strongly expect that the only player on the opening night roster who did not appear in a Sens game last year will be Filatov.
Don't get me wrong, I'm more excited about the prospects Ottawa has than ever before, but that's just it - they've always had a pretty obvious lack of depth. This years bunch is promising, but more so because we are all comparing to past years. For those of you saying it's a shame we can only dress 4 lines, we do have depth, but I still don't see a proven second line...all the depth in the world doesn't help that.
Cowen- Size shutdown dmen we lacked last season PK -Cowen Philips
Rundblad -size quickness puck mover pp skill - Maclean wants to play puck control game
Zibanejad - "Size" grit skilled playing against 2nd line centres in this league his size and power at 18 years old is amazing and he is creative on playing and winning draws ..
When is comes down too Zibanejad and Da costa .. I'd have Size and Strength with Skill any day ..advantage Zibanejad
Regin's skill really showed on the wing ex Regin Spezza Alfie line
Yes, Brian said he just needs to be top 12, but Tim further specified top 9 as 4th line minutes would be a waste in their development.
So both Zibanejad AND Da Costa are going to make the team in your opinion?
Nikita Filatov - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson
Colin Greening - Peter Regin - Bobby Butler
Nick Foligno - Erik Condra - Milan Michalek
Zack Smith - Zenon Konopka - Chris Neil
Extra: Jesse Winchester
Chris Phillips - Sergei Gonchar
Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson
Matt Carkner - Brian Lee
Craig Anderson
Alex Auld
Andre Petersson - Stephane Da Costa - Corey Cowick
Derek Grant - Corey Locke - Louie Caporusso
David Dziurzynski - Jim O'Brien - Tim Conboy
Mike Hoffman - Mark Parrish - Mark Stone
Extra: Francis Lessard
David Rundblad - Jared Cowen
Eric Gryba - Mark Borowiecki
Craig Schira - Patrick Wiercioch
Robin Lehner
Mike McKenna
ECHL
Pat Cannone
Wacey Hamilton
OVERSEAS
Jakob Silfverberg
Mika Zibanejad
I did say "some Rookies" without mentioning any particuler player(s) !! The 2 players you named, might be part of these Rookies, and might not be .
Rockin Robert
Tim's comment was purely on those 2 players, for him to eat his words both would have to make it. Obviously other rookies can make the team, likely on D.
You are correct about the statement of Tim Murray.
I still believe that it is too difficult, after ony 2 warm up games, to mention which players will make it to the NHL.
How? The guy is the assistant GM, he obviously knows more about the team and organizational plans and big picture then the rest of us do. I honestly don't understand what you are trying to say.
....
McLean did say in an interview that he knows he can always go to Michalek-Spezza -Alfie... so it sounds like he is going to experiment.
What I don't like is the 60 players in camp -- making 3 teams of 20.
They need to get the new playing system set in camp.. They have 7 pre-season games + practices to get it down.
They need to be competitive right out of the gate...
I hope they don't keep the 60 total players past the first 3 or 4 games... Send them to Binghamton (provided it's cleaned up) and keep no more than 10 extra players that stand the chance of making the lineup).
But just my opinion....
Go Sens Prospects Go... stop 'em Lehner...
Pretty good lineup if I must say... But in the Sens lineup I would swap Michalek for Greening...
And for Bingo... you forgot the DAUG.... you can't forget the DAUG...
OK,
I think to make early judgements, on who might and who might not make it to NHL, should be based after 20-25 games.
Bryan Murray and Tim Murray know the game inside out, and do see the big picture, but still look at what happened to guys like Wickenheiser( Montreal Canadiens ), and Alex Daigle.
We really don't. Experimenting whilst the season progresses really costs us nothing this year. We need to compete right out the gate, which I think we will regardless of which 18 skaters dress.
I think ultimately it plays out like this:
-Cowen plays the year in Ottawa
-Rundblad starts in bingo as the #1 and is the first call up, ultimately finishing his season in ottawa.
-Zibby is given 9 games or less to wet his appetite and then he returns to Sweden for one more season
-Da Costa starts in Bingo as #1 ctr,is called up when Zibby leaves and finishes the year in Ottawa.
I think we're having 2 different discussions. That comment was about them making the NHL team this year, not in their lifetime.
Daigle played 616 NHL games getting a point about 1 out of every 2 games. He may have been a disappointment, but was still a pretty decent NHL player.
I like your plan and seems like the closest to what will actually happen, if not dead on.
What is the rule with Zibby though, is he allowed to play in the NHL and then return to Sweden? I thought if he plays in the NHL he'd be here for good? I don't think it works the same as the CHL rule, but I truly don't know.
ultimately, he was drafted based on stats and charisma without evaluating his core character. not sure when teams started looking at this aspect but its ultimately just as important as skill.
Petersson(20)-Zibanejad(93)-Prince(10)
Puempel(3)-Da Costa(24)-Stone (60)
Noesen(36)-Gran t(57)-Cowick(54 )
Capurusso(67)-P ageau(?)-Culek( 50)
Cowen(2)-Rundbl ad(7)
Wiercioch(?)-Gr yba(62)
Fransoo(?)-Boro wiecki(74)
Just west of Parkdale!
Thank You Sandy! I had no intent of leaving the Rooster out but when I went on Google to check his position out it said he signed with Lavita (SP?) and it was confirmed that he had. I had no idea! but with Greening and Michalek I find that Michalek has days were his fast and skillful then there's days his forchecking and scoring I think with Foligno and Condra he'd have maybe better luck? I'm no MacLean but it could be worth a shot. I think Greening might to be a Lucic type player
Patrick Wiercioch is number 46 same number he was drafted overall in the 2nd round
we also had one to many forwards so I had to waive Jesse Winchester, it was a numbers game and he just didn't fit.
Zibenajad made the team, but he will get it on an audition, playing 8-9 games before I decide.
My lines are as follows:
Filatov-Spez-Butler
Michalek-Zibenejad-Alfie
Foligno-Regin-Dvorak
Smith-Konopka-Greening
Neil, Condra rotate in with Regin, Dvorak, Greening until someone earns the spots.
On D:
Phillips, Karlsson
Runblad, Gonchar
Lee/Carkner, Cowen
I'm 1-1; destroyed the leafs. Lost by a goal to Detroit.
I'd like to get back to some other topics going on around the NHL. Did you guys hear that the Jets have officially signed Kyle Wellwood? He's one of those guys who has all the skills and some say the best hands in the NHL, he just cannot seem to keep with a club. Is it his fitness level, drive or determination that's the problem? It's strange because so many teams have given him a chance and they never tend keep him, yet you never hear bad stories about him. What gives?
It's his fitness level. He's not willing to be a gym rat, prefers to play soccer in the offseason I believe and is not a nazi about his own diet. I personally like him as a depth C though, can fill in 2nd line C when injuries occur and provide nice offense from the bottom 6 otherwise. Great move for a shallow Jets team.
1.Alex Galchenyuk
2.Filip Forsberg
Our prospects would look really good.
Where did you find Zibanejad?
Where did you find or get Zibenejad?
He's in the Be A Gm Mode; you have to go into the contracts section then hit square (ps3) to see the players in your system.
What are his stats? I don't want to buy NHL 12 (im too cheap)
Thanks man ya he was there cant believe i missed thanks alot. oh and for Xbox 360 you press the x button
Remember it's only scrimmages... so how much can we take from this... but it's interesting..
I'll do it over 2 or 3 comments as the 1,000 word limit.
--------------------------------------------------------
I watched them scrimmage today. Trust me: Condra isn't sitting. Smith isn't sitting. They both stand a very good chance of outperforming all of the prospect kids plus Regin and Filatov for 2nd line roles.
Some basic notes:
-Foligno looks to be pretty much the same player. I'm not sure there's a second liner in there...
-Alfie has a spring in his step that was missing all of last year. He's the unquestioned leader of the team. Where he goes, the Sens go.
-Karlsson is ridiculous. Just so good. Outclassed everyone on the ice and smiled the whole time. He and Spezza were on the same team and it wasn't fair.
-Spezza was pretty dominant, seems focused, led the early drills.
-On the other team, obviously Alfie had his moments, but Michalek was really shinning. He might surprise us and legitimize himself this year.
-Couldn't notice many youngins/bingo- ites too much (tried, couldn't), but the Hoff is uber-skilled. So smooth. It looks like he's due for a big year.
-Filatov still looks like a prospect in certain scenarios. There are NHL character traits that guys like Smith have that he doesn't.
-Same goes for Regin. Not sure he'll bounce back too hard. 40 points is a reach, I think.
-The D-corps look solid: Gonchar, Phillips, Kuba, Lee, and Carkner on the back end looked solid. I think the bubble 3 know exactly what they're in for with 2 and 7 on the way up.
-Kuba in particular was solid. Not a lot happened around his net when he was on the ice.
-Neil looks ready. It's crazy how skilled he is for a pugilist.
It feels like every year they pretend to come out with something new. when its just old things (i.e NHL94 helmets came off, NHL97 you could knock over goalies and nets) Sure the graphics are much better but have been the same for the past 3 years. They take the time to put faces on character like Alfredsson but really since when did Karlsson shave his head? We buy into the propaganda because we want the best game to quench are hockey thirst. $70 a year to play a game were they don't fix rosters right and only care about certain players and It's annoying and the company has a Rep for every team in the league to get things right. but they just copy and paste the same mistakes from previous games. GIVE US SOMETHING NEW! At least the 2K series for B-Ball had interviews with players(BAP). A linesman would be nice.
P.S. Craig Anderson in purple pads? were was the Ottawa Rep on that.
feedback much appreciated.
Thanks Mike! I can't believe I missed that either I could of sworn I checked there but stuff happens!
Alfie-Spezza-Butler
Filatov-Da Costa-Michalek
Foligno-Zibanejad-Greening
Condra-Smith-Neil
Konopka
Regin-Winchester trade bait
Playing Da Costa will let Hoffman get big minutes in Bingo
Hoffman and Peterssen will be the main go to guys in Bingo - they'll be first call-ups in case of injury.
Go Sens Go
yeah, I didn't get this years edition. I only ever bothered to get 08 and got 10 as a gift.
The game engine has been the same since 2008... the only differences between successive releases is the little details like goalie fights and breakable sticks as well as the soundtrack, which is definitely not worth spending over 60$ on.
Do they still have the same annoying announcers?
they do but they add at least 20 new saying each series. but its hard to say if they are new they could be old and just brought back. i do not trust that EA Executive he seems like a dirty guy.
Why do a lot of people forget Daugavins. I say he does see injury fill-in time with the O-Sens this season..
Yeah I think you are right and the rules are different for Zibby. If he was drafted out of the CHL then he could play 9 games and be sent back to a CHL league. However, he was drafted after playing in a Pro league. I remember when he was drafted...they were talking about Zibby having an 'out clause' in his swedish contract IF he made the NHL out of training camp. So I'm pretty sure, that if he makes the team out of camp, he will be staying in North America.
So as far as I understand it the options are:
A)Zibby goes through training camp and then goes back to Sweden (without playing a single regular season game).
B)i) Zibby makes the team out of camp and plays in the NHL
ii)because he no longer has a swedish contract (voided by playing 1 reg season NHL game) he is now exclusively on an Entry Level NHL deal and he is eligible to be sent to the AHL (Bingo).
I don't think it's just because to forget about him, heck he is one of my favorites! but he signed with livata :(
No he re-signed with Ottawa for the 2011-12 season.
1 year 2-way contract
$105,000 - AHL salary
$600,000 - NHL salary
I did not like the cross-check (after the whistle) on Culek... no penalty of course. Seems they like the cross-check I've seen several.
That fight with Cowick.. nice to see the Leaf player hit Cowick in the head a couple of times while the ref appeared to be holding him down..
Leafs appear to be running around a lot... time to make them pay...
If you are referring to my post... no I'm not being biased (too much).
There was a Sens fan that posted on this site or another one.. that mentioned he saw 2 Leaf games on the weekend and they ran around a lot... truculence is what they are...
I don't mind a hard hitting game... but don't like the cheap stuff.
But must say.. they have a good goalie in net. Played in Sweden last season...
Double knock out fight!! Wow!
Hey when you go to mapleleafs.com on the homepage it'll show a box like a picture or video box it'll say game underway or something click watch now
http://video.mapleleafs.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=616&id=122969
press on the little box
Yeah, they both buckled at the same time. I think Borowiecki got the worst of that... he surely did not expect that glove shot to the face before the fight though.
Must say.. Cowen is having a great game. For a big guy he is skating very well.
Culek with the goal.. now on to the PP. Time for Da Costa to slam another one in.
These guys are starting to lose their composure.
Leafs scored on the 5 on 3 (go figure) -- watch the penalties guys. You tend to get more than the opposition.
You know the Murray's just got stiffies from that...
The two Leaf goals scored on the back to back penalties..
If it wasn't for the Leaf's goalie I think the score would be a lot higher... he has played very well.
How can such a truculent team get the lesser amount of penalties?
How do some of these teams get so many good young goalies. The Sens found one... and that's about it .. for now.
[quote name="HKYcountr y"][quote name="Mitchell"]@Sandy
initially it looked like he was headed back to latvia but decided he wanted to give it one more year over here....
What is it with these Swedes and backhand goals... that's 3 is it not? One for Zibby & 2 by Petersson?
what the score now with the non delayed feed
So I think the parade should start at Bank and 5th and work around to Wellington to Elgin
hahahah i know right?
i really have no doubt he will play at the nhl level some day.
really liking what I'm seeing with Petterson, if they can round out his defensive game, he's gonna be a gem..
I can see a future second line of Petterson, Zibby and Silfverberg
and a future 1st line of spezza, filatov and forsberg
yowwowwow...tha ts some potential serious firepower.
it'll be interesting to see how he does this year, pretty sure he has another year of junior.
What happened to Butler in your prediction? Did he ask to leave Ottawa after recieving a hefty bonus?
What a game, so happy to have hockey back. Great to see Stone win it like that. As for Zibanejad ... DAMN that kid is good! Really like his D, forecheck and all around physical play as well as the offense. Great pick by the Murrays and company!
Let the real camp begin ...
Petersson reminds me of St louis very skilled
Cowen looks like he is playing against kids
Stone whaa what a goal ..cant wait too see him in Team Canada Jersey
Lots of skill on display tonight.
I was thoroughly entertained! Great game!
Btw, does anyone else feel that Rundblad sometimes seems to be trying to do too much?
He is very skilled but I think he needs to stick with the simple play sometimes.
http://video.senators.nhl.com/videoc...1196&id=122982
Really like the idea of that "Swede" line.. all talented. I also like the thought of Filip Forsberg... much safer pick... LW and he is climbing in the rankings..
notice the word future...not imminent.
While were on the topic, it's important to keep the butler expectations in check, he certainly looked good last year but he wont be flying under the radar this year and expecting to much could ultimately ruin him.
A top-line winger (not necessarily to replace Alfie but to partially fill the gaping void when he hangs them up) is one of the few holes in our farm right now. Yakupov and Forsberg are the two elites of next years draft and while Yakupov may be slightly more talented, there's tons of merit in having so many of our players have the same language and heritage.
Definitely count me in the Forsberg camp should we find ourselves with a lottery pick next summer.
Calder cup? Check.
Rookie Tourny champs? Check.
Finally, the future is bright. As for the immediate term, check the players that had HORRIBLE seasons and are still with the Sens:
Alfie
Spezza
Michalek
Kuba
Phillips
Regin
Imagine if these guys do as well as they normally do (seriously, that's half of the top 6!), AND Anderson is a legit #1 goalie (and is NOT LeClaire)? Consider some growing pains for the new guys and we are still a playoff team.
I guess the BIG question is, do you see a 7th in the east and a 1st round exit more or less important than failure and having a really high draft pick (ie: lottery team)?
Wasn't Spezza's goal against Montreal when he deked the crap out of Souray in OT? If so, that's by far my favorite Sens OT goal...
I agree with you on that amazing goal by Spezza, and it was shown in the highlights for the whole season !!
They even showed it on commercials, made for Jubilee Jewellers !
Rockin Robert
I only watched the game against the pens but I thought that about Rundblad. I love confidence in players though and I'm wondering whether he's doing stuff here because he knows he can get away with it. Maybe he would tighten up agianst better opposition?
Was really impressed by Cowen though. Everything about him seems to have got better this past year.
Agreed with Cowen. He has looked solid and seems very comfortable out there.
I'm really looking forward to the pre-season, I have a few options being presented that will allow me to make a game, so now I have to decide which one if the best to attend. Any ideas?
Stone's goal was great, but I liked Zibby's better. I agree Spezza's OT winner was amazing, especially in the deke category it's top of my list, Theodore didn't have a chance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy0pXTnx85Q
But for overall OT winner by a Senator, I'd have to say it's Alfredsson's Game 5 winner against Buffalo, you can relive it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA_XSlTIjjM
Go Sens Go!!!!