Corey Pronman of Hockey Prospectus has published his list of the Senators' top 10 prospects and it's an interesting one to say the least. Having had Corey on one of our podcasts, I know that he places an emphasis on the puck possession aspect of the game and assuredly, it has influenced his list. Without giving away everything that the article had to say -- to read the article in its entirety, click here -- here's the list itself.
- David Rundblad, Defense
- Mika Zibanejad, Left Wing
- Nikita Filatov, Right Wing
- Stephane Da Costa, Center
- Jared Cowen, Defense
- Jakob Silfverberg, Right Wing
- Patrick Wiercioch, Defense
- Derek Grant, Left Wing
- Matt Puempel, Left Wing
- Robin Lehner, Goaltender
Obviously a few things immediately stand out: no comments
How do you like that for a title? Just be thankful I didn’t embed footage from its infamous knife fight scene that showcased Vigo Mortensen's junk flailing about. As Brian Wilson would say, you’re fucking welcome.
As it turns out, Dmitri Chesnokov is on a bit of a roll lately for imparting some badly needed Senators news to the masses during these dreadfully monotonous times. First there was his translation of a Russian interview with Alexei Kovalev that threw Cory Clouston and the local media under the bus. Now comes news that Nikita Filatov has been promised certain things by Ottawa management.
According to Puck Daddy’s Russian correspondent (@dchesnokov), “Nikita Filatov tells SovSport he was promised a 1st or a 2nd line spot as well as PP time after a talk with #Sens GM"
Those Russian papers, they always make up get the best quotes.
It was only a matter of time before the traditional media responded to yesterday's hilarious criticisms from one Alexei Kovalev. I'm disappointed that not one journalist has played off of Kovalev's infamous of scapegoat interview and asked Alexei to "stop picking their brain and just let me write."
Alas, here's a sample of what's been written in the past 24 hours.
From Wayne Scanlan...
Admit it Ottawa media. We are a beer-smuggling, non-hockey-watching lot. And still ,we work harder on game nights than Alex Kovalev. ~ @HockeyScanner
From Steve Lloyd...
In honour of Alex Kovalev I guess I'm off to Massena so I can hit duty free coming back. Gotta get primed for tomrw's show. #stayclassyAlex ~ @Steve_Lloyd
From Scott MacArthur...
Kovalev didn't address media on day of trade to Pitt or morning of his return game to Ott..#Sens
[...]
He could have kicked the crap out of his targets to their faces but chose not to. ~ @TSNScottyMac
In today's Ottawa Sun, Bruce Garrioch wrote the following...
- Selfish underachieving winger
- Kovalev has left many a GM needing a drink after watching him perform
- Nobody is sure if they ever found a pulse when Kovalev — armed with a two-year, $10-million contract he signed with the Senators in July 2009 — did his medical testing at the start of the season, but that’s a story for another day.
- The overpaid winger
- Two more years than anybody in the NHL would give him and that’s why Kovalev will likely never be seen or heard from in North America again.
- Headline: 'Kovalev serves up vintage whine'
From James Gordon...
Kovalev trashed the media on the way out, Chris Kelly thanked it for giving him a fair shake. Even beer-soaked hacks can tell who tries. ~ @SensReporter
From Ian Mendes...
I went to return my empties at The Beer Store today and saw every other member of the Ottawa media there. Really awkward. ~ @ian_mendes
no comments
It's been a number of hours since Dmitri Chesnokov's article on Alexei Kovalev was posted on Puck Daddy and I'm a bit taken aback by the number of Senators fans who give two shits for what Kovalev has to say about anything anymore. Even if it is just some japes and barbs directed towards the city's traditional sports media and former head coach Cory Clouston.
Sure, I realize that some of this can be attributed to the fact that it's the beginning of August and the nation's capital is starving for whatever kind of information that it can get. Or the fact that there are many in this city who don't think much of Ottawa's sports media community or Cory Clouston. Nonetheless, we're still talking about a player who has received the lion's share of criticism for being unable to live up to the lofty expectations created by the 2-year $10 million contract - despite the fact that no one twisted management's arm to sign him to that deal. (Or did. Depending on whether or not you believe that The Euge 'allegedly' pressured Murray into getting the deal done.)
Like it or not, Kovalev's reputation preceded his arrival into town. He was a highly skilled mercenary brought in to satiate a hockey market that was still reeling after Dany Heatley's trade request was leaked earlier in the offseason. And like every other city that Kovalev left town, fans in Ottawa felt like they would had they exited a Chinese restaurant that served its food covered in MSG. We left feeling like he should have had more out of the experience.
no comments
Like the rest of the Senators blogosphere, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this afternoon's Ottawa Senators 20th Anniversay Launch at the Bell SensPlex.
The event itself took place within Stanley's Restaurant and at the door, I was pleasantly greeted by some Senators staff and handed a social media package. Amidst its contents was a 2011-12 Promotional Calendar (that can be downloaded here) and two pieces of paper containing some key Senators facts and details for the coming season. no comments
The Return of the Daugman
According to RDS' Renaud Lavoie (@renhockey), Kaspars Daugavins has inked a one year two-way contract worth $600k. As a restricted free agent, the news that Daugavins will remain with the Senators organization is somewhat surprising. It wasn't too long ago that it was rumoured that Daugavins would only return to Ottawa for training camp to try and secure a NHL job. And had he failed in this pursuit, he would return to Latvia for Riga Dinamo.
Considering the number of forwards already on one-way contracts, he seemed like a longshot at best to crack camp with the parent club and give free moustache rides to the ladies of the nation's capital. However, armed with his new two-way contract, this no longer matters. Should injuries befall some third and fourth liners, Kaspars would be a suitable candidate to receive a cup of coffee and prove his worth at the NHL level.
The particulars of what Daugavins will earn if he plays in the AHL next season haven't been revealed yet so I'm just going to assume that it will be for less cheddar than what he would have earned had he chosen to play in Europe instead. And credit to him. There's something to be said for a player who's willing to give it another kick at the can before moving elsewhere. Between the Calder Cup run, his 6th Sens Podcast appearance and his free moustache ride t-shirt, I can already understand why he's looked upon so favorably by the fans and teammates in Binghamton. Hopefully he can make the most of his opportunity this season and realizes his NHL dream. no comments
Over the last week I had been fleshing out a post on the Senators sweater history which would segue into a hope that the new heritage jersey wouldn't dissapoint. Specifically dissapoint as the "SENS" did when it was foisted on the fanbase in '08 (can you tell I"m not a fan?). A memorable critique from the boys at CCFR: "the abominable SNES, which may go down as one of the ugliest, most gimmicky, simultaneously busy and boring hockey jerseys in the modern history of the NHL. (Draw strings! Piping! Diagonal, “dynamic” font! What’s going on in the armpits?!)" Whether they sold truckloads of these duds is irrellevent. The "Buffaslug" at one time had a prolonged reign as the #1 seller on NHL.com, it was a terrible jersey then and it's a terrible jersey now. A fact Pegula is wise to, as one of his first acts as owner was ensuring HSBC would be "slug-free". The SNES will never be worn by the team again, may it rest in hell. no comments
With yesterday’s announcement that the New Jersey Devils have waived defenceman Colin White for the purpose of salary cap relief – GM Lou Lamoriello even went so far as to say that they will buy out the remainder of his contract in the event that he goes unclaimed -- Chris Phillips is now the lone remaining player from the 1996 draft class who has spent his entire career playing for one organization.
It almost feels weird saying that since just a few months earlier, the prospect of Phillips remaining in a Senators uniform beyond the 2010-11 season seemed so uncertain. On February 27th, the day that he re-signed with Ottawa, the team had a record of 21-32-9. Good enough to be in sole possession of the Eastern Conference’s worst record and 16 points out of the eighth and final playoff position. Considering this pedestrian place in the standings and the recent departures of Chris Kelly and Mike Fisher, you could not have blamed Sens brass had they wanted to shop Phillips’ services around. As an impending UFA, the then 32-year old defenceman was doing his best Christer Olssen impersonation out on the ice and could walk away at the end of the year without returning any kind of compensation.
no comments
It appears SBP's infamous antique scoreboard will be no more as soon as next season. Credit Sens Town for the scoop right here *hat tip*. Further digging reveals a press release dated November 10th, 2010 proclaiming:
"The Ottawa Senators have become the first NHL team to engage AJP’s services as they move forward with multiple technology upgrades in ScotiaBank Place for the 2011 season. AJP will be designing LED displays for the arena bowl including a new center hung video display, as well as audio and distributed television systems"
Now we've heard nothing offically from the organization...yet, so in the spirit of cautious optimism let's just take a second to recap the Sentaors narrative on this most important of issues.
no comments
Bobby (Hopefully not Bobby Lalonde) writes...
Nikita Filatov is clearly no bottom-six player. However, what's done if he's outperformed in camp by Foligno? (Any player in hockey can be outplayed in camp by Nick Foligno, with the sole exception of maybe Brandon Bochenski) Let's say that Paul Mabcock is willing to keep up with the Clouston-esque desire to juggle every conceivable fucking position, except for slotting Foligno down the middle on the second or third line. So with Foligno sticking to his unnatural left wing position, what's done with Filatov?
It's hard to fathom putting Michalek on the third line. Does Filatov have a realistic chance of ending up in Bingo?
I'm inclined to think that he's going to end up on the top two lines, even if he spends most of training camp partying like it's 2007, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think.
Ah training camp - a fantastic time of year when even the most even tempered of fans can get pretty jacked up since it means that the hockey season is just around the corner. It's also a time unabashed optimism when even the stories of journeymen AHL veterans pull at the heartstrings. Some fans will relish in the growth of the organization's depth - pencilling what they envision the line combinations to be one, two or three years down the line. Others will savor the opportunity to watch Ottawa's new young prospects for the first time. And then there are those who get way too caught up in the performance(s) of (insert player name here) because they put up some points in a meaningless game against an opposition that features an inordinate amount of minor league talent. no comments
