Despite low expectations that even Daniel Alfredsson acknowledged during the team’s 20th Anniversary Launch, what will help make a losing season more palatable for the fans is the play and development of Ottawa’s young players. Ask any fan who endured the first few years of the Senators modern existence. It simply wasn't a lot of fun watching the likes of Dave McIlwain and Phil Bourque play. Perhaps if they had some free flowing mulleted locks like a Darcy Loewen, Mike Peluso or a Sly Turgeon, it could have helped. Nonetheless, it's exponentially more fun to watch young players tease us with the odd flash of brilliance than it is to watch veteran players languish in mediocrity.
Unlike some of his fellow prospects, the one who will be under the most scrutiny is Filatov. Sure, many eyes will cast in the direction of Ottawa’s hyped prospects like Mika Zibanejad, Jared Cowen and David Rundblad but none of these players have arrived in Ottawa having played in the NHL for the past three seasons – that is if you feel inclined to call them seasons – and in desperate need of a clean slate.
Filatov’s inconsistent production (or lack thereof) in a 44 NHL game sample size has prevented him from meeting the lofty expectations that accompanies a player with his offensive skill set. To put this in perspective, he’s played in 6 more NHL games than Bobby Butler. no comments
After the first 'real' images of the Ottawa Senators heritage sweater were leaked/photocopied by Icethetics from a Reebok catalogue a few weeks ago, Senators fans hoping for the actual release of the jerseys have had to be patient.
Despite the much ballyhooed 20th Anniversary Launch, it was made quite clear from the outset that the official reveal wouldn't be forthcoming until early early October. Or more specifically, prior to Thursday, October 13th when the Senators are scheduled to wear the new jerseys for the first time in competition against the Colorado Avalanche. As fans, we had a bit of a sneak peak when photos of a hotstove panel with season ticket holders was posted on the web.
While we still have to wait to see the entire thing, last night Icethetics posted Ottawa's alternate sweater and indicated that this is the actual colour scheme for the jersey. Note the use of the vintage white colour instead of the basic white.
The colour of the shoulder patches notwithstanding, they definitely correspond with the ones shown in this rendition. According to Icethetics...
The shoulder patches have been the source of much of the speculation surrounding this jersey since the team itself offered up a sneak peek back in March. I can report that there are two of them, both in the shape of a shield. One reads Ottawa Senators, the other is in French: Sénateurs d'Ottawa.
My Take:
Simple is in. While some have critiqued the jersey for being too bland, it's a departure from the crappy 3-D logos and the busy 'SENS' alternate that I never cared for. Personally, I think they're clean and sharp looking. I can't wait to see what they'll look like live.
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From an article published on ESPN Insider:
Using the VUKOTA projection system of Hockey Prospectus, Insider takes the temperature of key players on every NHL team, continuing Aug. 19 with the Senators. For a detailed explanation of Prospectus' proprietary GVT value metric, read more here.
Trending Down: C Ryan Shannon
Last Season: 5.1 GVT | VUKOTA Projection: 3.9 GVT
It's hard to picture any player on the Senators having a worse season than 2010-11. However, Shannon had a career-high 27 points last season while playing some of the easiest minutes on the team against weak competition. Not only did he get matched against the opposition's weakest players, but he was deployed in the offensive zone far more often than any Senators forward not named Marek Svatos. The likelihood that Shannon ends up in the top-five for GVT on this team in 2011-12 is pretty low.
Trending down?
No shit. For a guy who's supposed to spend the duration of the 2011-12 season playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, I'd expect a drop off in his production for the Ottawa Senators.
Please note: The date that the piece was originally published was August 19th, 2011 with a web page headline of 'NHL - Ottawa Senators projections for 2011-12 season - ESPN'. This isn't some instance when an older article is republished at a latter date. The article itself makes reference to the acquisition of Craig Anderson at the trade deadline; believes that Daniel Alfredsson is due for a bounce back following an injury marred campaign; and discusses the optimism surrounding David Rundblad's debut.
For the worldwide sports leader that employs some fantastic baseball analysts who actually make it worthwhile investing in an Insider account, the lack of research involved in this piece is telling. I expect much better from their hockey department. no comments
Earlier this morning on the Team 1200's TGOR, Cory Clouston spoke candidly about his departure from the Senators organization. Albeit, most of what was said was rehashed information from this week's interview with the Ottawa Citizen's Lisa Wallace but below is a transcript of some of the more intriguing tidbits from the interview. (Note: you can listen to the audio on the Team 1200's Facebook page here.)
Would you do anything different?
"Hindsight it always 20-20. I don't know if there is anything that could have been done entirely different. We had a lot of things go against us this year. One of them was the health of us an organization and as a team. I say as an organization because the previous year when we were had goaltending problems, we were able to bring up Mike Brodeur. He went 3 and 0 for us and had a great shutout in New York that kind of turned things around for us and this year, he wasn't healthy at all. We ended up pulling him out of the East Coast Hockey League to back up for us a few times. And Robin Lehner, who had an excellent playoffs in Binghamton, suffered some injuries as well when we needed some relief. That left Brian Elliott with all of the pressure and it was a tough situation for him. He didn't have any support as far as if things went wrong. He couldn't step back for a game or two. He basically had to keep playing.
Four or five of our top six forwards weren't healthy for a big part of the season. Kovalev and Michalek were coming off ACL surgeries and probably shouldn't even have been playing at the start of the year. Alfredsson again had to shut it down for the last 24 to 25 games and he needed surgery at the end of the season. Spezz he missed I believe about 20 games with a shoulder injury. Mike Fisher played with a sore collarbone/clavicle area that he ended up having surgery on at the end of the year as well. We were just not a very healthy group and all of these guys were a very key and a big part of our team. Filip Kuba broke his leg in the first five of minutes of camp. A lot of things just didn't go right for us." no comments
I have to admit, the
Is this the year that MacIver's record point total for a Senators defenceman falls?
In the 1992-93 season, MacIver played in 80 games and registered 17 goals and 46 assists. While it certainly doesn't match Kevin Hatcher's output (34 goals and 45 assists) from that same season, it's a lofty bar nonetheless.
So who stands a chance of breaking the mark?
Sergei Gonchar posted more than 60 points in consecutive seasons in recent memory but his past three seasons have been marred by injuries. At 37 years of age and without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to defer to on the power play, the likelihood that Gonchar will approach the 63 point record is small.
As highly anticipated as David Rundblad's rookie season may be, the learning curve for a young defenceman in the NHL is typically described as slow and steep. Recent scuttlebutt suggests that Ottawa's blueline depth may not be resolved before training camp, so it remains to be seen where exactly Rundblad will slot in. If he struggles out of the gate, there are a number of competent veteran defenceman who can take his ice-time away and that two-way contract is something to keep an eye on. With such low expectations for the Senators, Rundblad's AHL eligibility (or Jared Cowen's for that matter) could afford the organization the flexibility to wait patiently for trade markets to be created for its veterans.
In light of these circumstances, even the most optimistic of Senators fans should admit that it's a little unreasonable to project MacIver'esque numbers for the 2011 Borje Salming Trophy winner. Perhaps a line that falls between Erik Karlsson's rookie season (5 goals, 21 assists) and Cam Fowler's (10 goals, 30 assists) would be more apt.
Speaking of Karlsson, in his first full season on the Senators blueline, the sophomore overcame a sluggish start to tally 8 more goals and improve his point totals by 19. Having posted 13 goals and 32 assists last season, Karlsson would have to experience another 19 point improvement to break MacIver's mark.
Can he do it?
I think he'll do it at some point in his Senators career, but if he's to do it this season, he'll need some help.
His supporting cast leaves something to be desired, so he'll need Alfredsson and Spezza to remain healthy and productive. Paul MacLean could always curb any even strength scoring problems by frontloading the first power play unit. Nonetheless, for that strategy to work, the power play will have to better last season's pedestrian 17.5% success rate.
Silfverberg Update
Despite management's best attempts to entice him to play in Ottawa next season, Pierre Dorion's announced on TGOR this morning that Jakob Silfverberg is definitely returning to Sweden. Interestingly, Dorion attributed his decision to a mentality over in Sweden that Swedish coaches emphasize a team mentality and roll four lines. In consequence, some prospects don't realize how good they are and fall into a line of thought in which they feel as though they are further away or have to dominate in the SEL before deeming themselves 'NHL ready'.
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Following yesterday’s post on David Rundblad, I had a few emails from readers asking for some kind of clarification on my stance on Gonchar and Kuba.
Below is just an example of what was in our inbox.
You friggin’ love Gonchar and Kuba. If either has a turnaround season, I will give you full credit. They both look old and finished to me though, just saying. ~ Isaac
Friggin' love? Strong words. Maybe I haven’t articulated my point clearly enough. no comments
While much of the Senators world is buzzing because Daniel Alfredsson skated for the first time since undergoing back surgery, an under-the-radar article written about David Rundblad by Jonas Falhman has slowly been making the rounds on the Interwebs.
Although the article is written in Swedish, its contents have been loosely translated for The 6th Sens readers by @steffeG. (Do yourself a favour and follow him on Twitter.) According to him, the 2011 Hockey's Future Prospect of the Year makes two 'meaty' revelations.
On the question marks surrounding his defensive aptitude:
"It seems I'm going to have to live with them (defence critiques) my whole career. I'll never be a good defensive defenceman. It will just be like that. I'm gonna try the more advanced passes and complicated solutions. I'll have to compensate by being a really good offensive player."
Uh-oh. Something tells me that is not going to fly well with the cynical more scraps & bodycheckin' crowd that reserves Jason Spezza'esque levels of scrutiny for the team's creative offensive players. I can already hear the insufferable bastards now, "Great, our best prospect sounds like he's the next Marc-Andre Bergeron!"
On the prospect of playing in the AHL:
"Not afraid, but I know a lot of the players have to take that route before they get to the NHL. It's part of the development process. Of course I'd like to be in the NHL right away, but I trust Ottawa to make the right decision for me."
To add some context to Rundblad's willingness to play in the AHL if need be, steffeG wanted to reiterate that "with so many players in recent years playing in SEL rather than the AHL, the general Swedish hockey fan doesn't understand the point of playing in the AHL over the Swedish Elite League (SEL). I'm glad to see David understands it's not all about the quality of competition but also the changes in style."
Agreed. And if Rundblad struggles in camp or the preseason, the Senators could afford him the opportunity to play more minutes and develop in the AHL to start the season. Of course the added benefit to this is that would also allow them to avoid the headache of having to create a roster spot for him and risk trading a serviceable veteran like Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba while their respective values are low.
Alfie Speaks About His First Skate
From the Senators website...
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It's that time of summer when a number of publications put out their annual regular season forecasts and prognostications.
In a feature that will appear in their 2011-12 Yearbook edition,The Hockey News is the first to publish their prediction and allow me to forewarn you, if you're the kind of fan who believes in false hopes, instant gratification and securing the coveted 8th playoff seed because 'anything can happen in the playoffs!'... you should probably stop reading.
STOP READING NOW!
For the rest of you (bless you), THN boldly suggests that the Senators will finish 15th in the Eastern Conference this season.
After finishing second-last in NHL scoring in 2010-11, it's clear the Senators have fallen long and hard from their days as a league powerhouse. The team started down the rebuild road and traded away many veterans, but still have Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson to hang their hat on. Ottawa has some tantalizing talent on its way up, namely Erik Karlsson on the blueline, but the future isn't here yet.
As hilarious as it is that so many people will inevitably lose their shit and get bent out of shape because their favorite team was slighted by a Toronto publication, it's difficult to dispute THN's rationale behind this ranking.
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The other day, I posted a blog article featuring a link to SovSport's interview with Nikita Filatov. Since the video itself was exclusively Russian, Senators fans were at the whims of Google Translate and Puck Daddy's Dmitri Chesnokov to help fill in the gaps. Fortunately, a reader named AITag who is fluently Russian left a comment in the bottom of our article transcribing what actually was said. Rather than let AITag's comment get buried out of sight, I've re-posted it as its own article to bring more attention to what was said.
From what I heard, Filatov did not say that he was 'promised' top 6, but made it clear at one point (about 34 min in the interview) that is what he expects. He was asked by B.M. "What can you do?", and answered - scoring and passing ('I thought first about giving a standard answer - will do everything what I am asked to - but decided to give a straight one'). BM said that that is what Ottawa needs now, currently lacking a clear-cut 'attacking forward' or sniper, and that he is expected to fill that gap. The interviewers suggested that implies top six and pp minutes, and Filatov agreed (saying 'of course' and 'naturally'). The interviewers aksed again - did they say you will be on power play? He answered "we did not talk about that yet". He also mentioned that he had a conversation with the new coach about possible partners, the coach had some ideas, but Filatov refused to go into details. He considers himself an attacking player whose game is to score and pass (the order depends on his partners as he said), and seems to be happy that Ottawa looks for that part of his game, rather than wanting to re-cut him into a power-type defensively-minded forward (my loose translation), as Columbus tried to. Filatov also said at one point that he believes he is now much better at defense. He was asked to gain weight at Columbus, and got too much of it in his opinion, and lost his game in part due to that too. E.g. "Started to try to protect the puck with my body rather than use my legs and mobility to get away, and that is not my game" (loose translation). Said that he is now down to 85 kilos (about 187 pounds), and he feels that is how he should stay for his game. Has been training for 8 years with a same conditioning coach who also looks after Kovalchuk, Zherdev and some other Russian NHLers. Saying he is in a good shape physically and much better morally. Looking forward to a fresh start in Ottawa.
Below is the video itself and thanks again to AITag for the translation.
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And you just know that somewhere in the nation's capital right is a Leafs fan who is completely and utterly offended at the prospect of someone not named Douggie wearing #93.
More Prospect Rankings...
Over at ESPN Insider, Grant Sonier has ranked the NHL's 30 thirty teams based on the strength of their prospect systems. According to Sonier, the Senators have the third strongest system:
With defenseman Erik Karlsson(15th overall, 2008) already shining with the Senators, Ottawa has a number of additional young D-men coming down the pipeline. David Rundblad, formerly the 17th overall pick of St. Louis, has a chance to make this season's team and will battle with highly touted defenseman Jared Cowen (ninth overall, 2009). Mika Zibanejad (sixth overall, 2011) made honorable mention on my list of top 10 prospects who are most likely to play this year, and he will push to stay in Ottawa. His size, skating and overall two-way game will make it hard for the Sens brass to send him back to Sweden.
Also on the radar: Stefan Noesen (21st overall, 2011) and Matthew Puempel (24th overall, 2011).
Total number of top prospects: 14
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Lee Sweat Retires From Hockey
According to his agency's Twitter account (@NortonSports), "Client Lee "I don't" Sweatt has notified the #Senators that he is retiring from #hockey to pursue outside biz interests."
It's fantastic timing since former Binghamton Senators defenceman Andre Benoit inked a deal to play in the KHL next season. This leaves the organization in need of a veteran defenceman at the AHL level who can be called upon in the event of an injury. (Paging Bryan McCabe.) Now before you start criticizing the Sweatt family for screwing with an Ontario-based NHL organization for the second consecutive offseason, it may be reasonable to assume that Sweatt felt that his recovery from multiple broken bones in his foot wasn't going as smoothly as he had hoped. (Note: Sweatt sustained these injuries after blocking a Shea Weber last season.)
On This "Rozy" Day In Senators History...
Thanks to Sportsnet's latest hire, Jeff Marek, we now know that on this day in 1993, the Senators signed free agent Vladimir Ruzicka. In his first NHL game with the Oilers, Ruzicka was assessed a minor penalty for leaving the bench to congratulate his netminder, Bill Ranford, on a good period of play. While allowed in Europe, this is a penalty in the NHL. Traded to Boston for Greg Hawgood, he became the first Czech player to ever suit up for the Bruins. In Ottawa, things didn't go very well as he feuded openly with assistant coach Rick Bowness. During one practice, Bowness kicked Ruzicka off the ice, screamed four-letter words at him and smashed his stick. Ruzicka was soon thereafter placed on waivers and went to play in Switzerland.
Bruce Ward Wants a New Scoreboard...
I'm sure the Senators wives and girlfriends will enjoy one paragraph from this Citizen article.
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