For fans, there were plenty of positives to take away from this tournament. Obviously it's a relatively small sample size but here is who I was most impressed with in this tournament.
- Shane Prince- Other forwards may have received more attention over the course of the tournament but I was really impressed by the skill level of Prince. He hit the post a few times in the second game and was a key piece on a line with Zibanejad and Petersson. Prince is likely headed back to the 67's for another season but he is definitely a player to keep an eye on this year.
- Jared Cowen- A dominating physical presence, Cowen looked like a man against boys in this tournament. What really impressed me about Cowen was the noticeable improvement in his puck handling skills. Looks like a more poised player this season and seems like a near-lock to start the season with the big club.
- David Rundblad- So much of what I knew about Rundblad was based on a single Youtube video so it was nice to finally see him in action, and on North American ice. Rundblad has tremendous skill (Incredible spin move in the final game!) and actually showed a physical side to his game against the Leafs. Will be really interesting to see how he does in preseason.
- Stephane Da Costa- Four goals in three games and a constant threat on offense. Always looked really calm when handling the puck and surprised me with an NHL-calibre shot. He really looks like he is going to give Regin a run for his money in the main camp.
- Mika Zibanejad- Coming into the tournament he was the guy I was most looking forward to watching and he did not disappoint. Zibanejad is an explosive skater with great balance and a wicked shot. I knew Zibanejad was going to be a good one but I was blown away by his intelligence on the ice. Should be really interesting to see how he matches up against NHL players in the regular camp.
HONOURABLE MENTION- Mark Borowiecki, Andre Petersson
With the rookie camp in the books, the focus now shifts to the start of training camp later this week. From there, things start moving fairly quickly as the Sens will play their first preseason game against the Leafs on Monday night.
Hockey is back!
Prince is quietly impressing, he really stood out, and while I called him a dark horse to make the team (after watching dev camp) I will retract that statement, but look out next year if he can put on a few pounds. Best draft pick (for value) this year.
Zibby looks amazing, he is really going to make it hard for the Sens to cut him. I have no doubt that he would have a solid year in Ottawa, and is good enough to make the team, however I think IF Ottawa can be sure he'll gain top minutes in Sweden he should go back, as it is just logical with the numbers we have.
DaCosta looks great. I actually think Zibby is a better player at this point, but DaCosta has less to lose from coming to the NHL. I think if we are looking at this year, it makes more sense to have Zibby in the lineup, but looking at 3 years down the road, it makes more sense to give this spot to DaCosta.
Rundblad I was extremely impressed with his skills, he seems to be improving each and every game. Do I think right this second he should be on the NHL squad? No. But that's an unfair statement to make at this point, as he really hasn't played many north american iced games. He gets more comfortable each night, and I will hold my judgement until main camp, but I also wouldn't be saddened if he goes to Bingo (for the sake of the future, much like Zibby)
Petersson I thought was great, I know he's had back issues in the past, but man is he ever fast. I'm sure he hasn't been able to bulk up due to injuries, so a full year in bingo as a star will be great. Look out next year.
Injuries happen, players have great/terrible years. Let's see what the future holds for these players. If one of them impresses and gives us an additional second round pick, as long as it doesn't HURT the development of our prospects, what is another year of not having them on the big club?
Absolutely...Gr ant looked good last night and Cowick/Noesen as well. There was a lot of promise shown in these 3 games and I think there will be at least 2 guys who make the team out of camp. Murray is going to have a tough decision to make on Zibby. DaCosta is giving him something to think about as well.
If they are paying attention, I think Winchester, Regin and Foligno were just put on notice.....and this could be the final season for some of these guys in a Sens Uni....Might even see one of them packaged with Kuba by the 20 game mark.
I think there is so much defensive depth that Carkner is and will be the odd man out. Z Smith and Konopka can handle the enforcing just fine.
Absolutely, don't get me wrong, I don't want Kuba/Carkner on this team any further than this year.
I also think Cowen would be hurt in development if he played in the AHL.
I agree since I want Cowen in, the odd man out is Carkner. However, I feel lots of people (including myself often) just want Kuba out now, without giving him a chance to earn some sort of trade value, and when really maybe Rundblad or another one of our prospects aren't quite ready, or at the very least it isn't for the best in the long run.
I'm all for having an exciting young team this year, I just as much as anyone else want to see Rundblad on the ice, because just like Karlsson, they make spectacular plays. However, I'm just as happy watching a little less hyped hockey, and get beat more often then not, if it means Rundblad or any other prospect for that matter will become a 10 rather than a 9 let's say.
it's a good problem to have but it's going to be difficult figuring out the timing on when to bring some of these guys into the lineup.
by next year dacosta, silf and Zibby should all be full time nhl players. that's alot of rookies to add into the mix at one time which is likely why the brass was pushing for silf to play here this year.
grand scheme of things; da costa plays most of the year in the nhl, cowen starts in the nhl and rundblad starts in bingo but finishes in the bigs.
Michalek/Zibby/Alfie
Greening/Da Costa/Condra
Smith/Konopka/Neil
Not sure where Regin or Winchester figure into the lineup (probably slotted in for Da Costa if they can't be moved), but that is how I see our opening day forwards.
Michalek?
You forgot michalek so maybe this?
filatov/spezza/butler
mihcalek/zibby/alfie
foligno/da costa/regin/greening/condra
smith/konopka/neil
But there is one problem, there is no Michalek in there. That is where this all becomes so difficult.
I agree with your top line fully, I agree with your 4th line fully.
I agree with Greening and Condra being full time 3rd liners.
And I agree with Foligno being higher on the depth chart than Regin and Winny.
BUT the question is, do you move out Foligno so that both Dacosta and Zibby can play this year? Because certainly Michalek is higher on the depth than Foligno
FORWARDS
Nikita Filatov/ Jason Spezza / Bobby Butler
Milan Michalek / Stephane Da Costa / Daniel Alfredsson
Colin Greening / Nick Foligno / Erik Condra
Zack Smith / Zenon Konopka / Chris Neil
Jesse Winchester / Peter Regin
DEFENSEMEN
Sergei Gonchar ($5.500m) / Brian Lee ($0.875m)
Jared Cowen ($1.265m) / Erik Karlsson ($1.300m)
Filip Kuba ($3.700m) / Chris Phillips ($3.083m)
Matt Carkner ($0.700m)
GOALTENDERS
Craig Anderson ($3.187m) / Alex Auld ($1.000m)
Insert Zibby if he outplays Dacosta THAT much.
The problem that creates is I would much prefer Alfie on the 2nd line because I think we need to lessen his minutes, at least at the beginning of the season, and we've not seen much chemistry between Spezza and Michalek at any point, so who moves up.
Whilst i don't think we will return to the Clouston line shifting madness of last season I really doubt that any lines will be set in stone and players are going to be moved around often.
I'm not convinced that any of Foligno, Regin or Greening are worthy of a spot on the top line but that doiesn't mean they won't get a look at some point during the season.
lol damn, oops michalek has completely left my mind. this is what i get for 'working' while trying to play armchair gm.
I'm starting to think the same thing, and in a year Boro might be ready to come up and take on that role with a bit more skill. If not Gryba.
Lehner- our future No.1 without a doubt he is solid
Petersson- silky hands and great speed kinda reminds me of St.Louis
Zibanejad- dynamic forward and is living up to expectations i had of him
Grant- good size and skill starting to come out this year
Noesen- Fiesty down low in the corners, never gives up
Rundblad- Excellent PMD with some grit that i didn't expect
Cowen- what more can be said he is a rock in our end
SOOOOOO PUMPED FOR THE SEASON!!!!
I would love to see Foligno gone - he is just not a good player, and I've given up on Michalek living up to expecations although I hold out a glimmer of hope for him.
By the way - I'm new to contributing, enjoyed reading your comments last year and looking forward to following what is guaranteed to be an exciting Sens season with you all!
Very interesting, sounds like outside of Spezza and Alfredsson, no forward's job is safe. Should be an all out war in camp.
Think he's more likely some depth for Bingo. I guess Tim Murray was on the radio this morning and seemed to be saying there is really only one spot available.
Why in heaven's name, would Tim Murray say on the radio, that there is only 1 spot available ????????????
To me, the crop of Rookies, just might take over as many as 4-5 spots on this team !
Rockin Robert
Because of the contracts and people already in place. There is only room for 1 rookie forward. A big trade would have to happen to make room for more. Also don't mistakenly translate junior and rookie tournament success into NHL readiness.
The jump from the rookie tournament to training camp will be significant and then the jump to regular season NHL play is even bigger.
Agree with your analysis, but still feel that some players will surprise all of us, and after 20-25 games, we will all need a program to see who is in and who is out !
After all, this is a Re-Build Year is it not ??
Rockin Robert
Aside from injuries, I'd only expect a few of them to get significant time in the NHL this year. You'll see 1 of Zibanejad or Da Costa likely, and if it's Zibanejad then Da Costa will come up at some point, but beyond those two the rest will likely be based on injuries. I expect 1 semi-surprise in addition to those two to make a push, but ultimately be stuck in Binghamton until there are injuries or a trade.
On D Cowen will be up and then Rundblad likely at some point.
Are there others you're expecting to make it? Who would want them to keep straight out of camp?
I agree that there are big differences, but I'd say that players like Zibby and Da Costa were more than just good, they were standouts. When players standout above the rest, I think there is a legitimate chance that that translates to the next level.
The argument for Sweden is he could go over there and dominate for a year. Spending a year where you're one of the best in the league allows you to try things you couldn't as a 2nd/3rd line NHL player and thus develop your game further. If he makes the NHL he'll be so busy doing the smart plays and playing strong D he won't have as many opportunities to "try" new moves and expand his offensive repertoire.
Absolutely agree, but they haven't stood out versus NHL competition yet, let's just rein in the expectations a tad until we see what they do in camp. They were both definite standouts though!
I'm not against Zibanejad staying here or going back to Sweden, both make sense for different reasons.
I agree, I really did not expect Zibby to be this close to NHL ready and I'm not sure that many other scouts thought he would be either. Our scouting in Sweden is nothing short of amazing.
Wish I could Thumbs Up that comment more than once. And only 8-10 months ago people wanted the Murrays replaced.
Coming out now to say only 1 spot available.. is probably not the way to go.
If these young prospects play their way on... then someone leaves... plain & simple.
Hockey is in the air... pick up my season tickets on Sunday... first game next Wednesday...
I love this site chirp, and plenty of great posts and info. I know you are aware of the issues, and are working on correcting them, lets hope they get resolved before the season begins.
I guess you are in training camp as well
I love this site chirp, and plenty of great posts and info. I know you are aware of the issues, and are working on correcting them, lets hope they get resolved before the season begins.
I guess you are in training camp as well
The Playing Season Waiver Period begins on the 12th day prior to the start of the regular season.
With the regular season opening on October 6th, players can be placed on waivers starting September 24th.
I love this site chirp, and plenty of great posts and info. I know you are aware of the issues, and are working on correcting them, lets hope they get resolved before the season begins.
I guess you are in training camp as well
Puck Drop will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include a number of activities, including the Senators used equipment sale, which will begin at 9 a.m. outside of Gate 1 at Scotiabank Place. The Senators street team will be on hand operating interactive games for fans. Access to the open practice and parking for the event are both free of charge. Fans are asked to support the Ottawa Food Bank and Kanata Food Cupboard by contributing a non-perishable food item or making a monetary donation.
The Senators heritage jersey will go on sale to the public for the first time immediately following the unveiling of the uniform, which will take place as part of the start of the Senators’ practice at 10:30 a.m.
Lots of options and possible solutions that could see certain players in the linup or not. But there is one key factor that continues to be lost during all this. Ottawa as of right now is one of the closest teams to the Cap floor which is set at 48.3 million i believe. We have more 1 way contracts than you can swing a stick at. Odds of more than 1 of these young guys coming up and taking a spot and waiving/moving vets like Kuba, etc will not happen because we'll need to keep a significant salary on the books to stay above. Even bringing up 3 of these guys won't equal the value of Kuba's contract.
In no way am I trying to be a salary cap guru because honestly I don't know much about it, but the math just doesn't seem to add up from everything that I've read. Moving a big D salary would mean we'd more than likely need to take back another, and that would most likely be a forward I'd expect leaving even less room for our younger guys.
Great, I've been waiting for this news.
Chirp, Oct 1st is Saturday. So would it be held on Sat or Sun?
I assume Sunday is a typo. The event is on October 1
I agree with this and could see a Lee/Winchester trade at some point even if it'sfor picks.
Pretty good team!!! with Rundblad, Zibby, and Lehrner waiting in the wings.
This is not an accurate statement:
I think it is safe to say, that IF Winni AND Regin AND Kuba were moved out, that would mean all 4 of Da Costa, Cowen, Rundblad, Zibby would make the team. If this statement I just made was true, we would be 1 million dollars over the cap floor. Not to mention we do not have to be AT the cap floor at seasons start, as we can rely on injuries/callup s to get us to the floor by the end of the year.
Even if those 3 got shipped out, and only 3 of those players mentioned made the team, we'd still make the cap floor by years end.
From what I understand (not 100% positive mind you) is that he was not getting big minutes in Sweden.
So would it hinder him more to go there and play then be on the Sens where he can develop along with other young players and get probably more minutes?
This is not accurate. The CBA states that by 5pm eastern each day, a team's roster must be in compliance with the Cap. Projections on any given day need to be such that the team will meet the floor (or be below the cap depending on the case). If a move (i.e. putting a player on waivers) takes the team out of compliance, the league can reject the transaction. It is not possible to rely on making up ground, up or down, later on in the season.
The chances are we dont trade any of those guys, cuz quite frankly who the hell wants them...
Too many Centres:
Spezza
Regin
Da Costa
Konopka
Zibanejad
One of Zibanejad or Da Costa make the big club, not both.
Zibanejad-Spezza-Butler
Filatov-Regin-Alfie
Michalek-Foligno-Condra
Smith-Konopka-Neil
Greening
waive/trade winchester
Don't have to say which is 2nd and which is 3rd line, just go with 2A and 2B. I hope we roll 4 lines anyways.
I'm not against him staying or going but if he stays i think it's at the expense of da costa which in all likelihood means you lose that asset by years end.
Winchester: There are some compelling reasons to keep him around.
*veteran on an inexperienced team
*very good defensively on a team that will likely have some liabilities
*he's a guy you can put upstairs in the press box and not worry about his future development.
*Lastly, what kind of return to you get for him? a 6th or 7th rounder?
Sens may as well hang on to him for the reasons stated above. With that said, his playing time may get chopped drastically this year.
Would you trade/waive someone else instead or just carry two forwards in the press box, along with Carkner?
I know they claimed that Neil was one of the pilars but cmon...really?
Any one of those 4 would have the potential to net you a better return than Winnie.
Agreed Winchester probably has the lowest trade value. I'm hoping it's either him or Regin though, I still like the skill/potential I see in the rest.
Yes, I've heard a lot of Turris rumors, but the contract he is wanting is pretty steep and I'm guessing they'd want players back most of us are still hoping to see grow in a Sens uniform. Depending on trade price though, could be a very nice 2nd line C behind Spezza.
Maybe BM can swing it for another 3rd round pick haha
One thing I've noticed about him is that he shys away from the camera and has an overall quiet demeanor. It might not be a bad idea for him to go back and build his confidence before losers from the Sun tear into him.
I think the eventual goal is to roll with 3 scoring lines with Z, Spezza and DaCosta as centers. Hopefully something along the lines of Krecji, Bergeron and Seguin.
Tookie, what about Zach Smith?
Anyone here how Couturier is doing in the Philly rookie tournament? or do they have one.
I think the playoffs Drummondville vs Gatineau sealed the deal for the Sens drafting Couturier. If a little guy like Pageau can effectively shut him down... maybe that's why they looked to another player?
Six goaltenders, 2010-11 team(s): Craig Anderson (Colorado – NHL, Ottawa – NHL), Alex Auld (Montreal – NHL), Robin Lehner (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL), Matej Machovsky (Guelph – OHL, Brampton – OHL), Mike McKenna (New Jersey – NHL, Albany – AHL), Brian Stewart (Adirondack – AHL, Greenville – ECHL, Bakersfield – ECHL).
I believe that even if strome was available they woulda still gone with mikachu...and now i understand y
Ziggy was the best for me. The nifty passes, power along the boards and in corners and ice awareness made him look like a veteran a lot of the time.
I also think Cowen would be hurt in development if he played in the AHL.
quote]
there has NEVER been a player that has "hurt" his development by playing ayear in the AHL - there is, however, a long list of players that were rushed into the NHL and Failed miserably...
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