Wick, Butler or Hoffman? Which has the biggest NHL impact THIS year?

Granted, Hoffman doesn't have a great chance of making the team out of training camp - and some would say that there's no chance he smells the NHL this year. However, if he gets hot in the AHL like he's capable, he might be a surprise call up - and he might actually make some noise.

Butler and Wick speak for themselves. Tier 2 prospect - not quite elite, but very strong.

The money is on one of these three to make an impact for the Sens. Who will it be?

Bobby Butler:

2006-07 U. of New Hampshire NCAA 38 9 3 12 12
2007-08 U. of New Hampshire NCAA 38 14 12 26 20
2008-09 U. of New Hampshire NCAA 38 9 21 30 36
2009-10 U. of New Hampshire NCAA 39 29 24 53 20
*goal scoring champ 09/10, HB Finalist

Roman Wick:

2004-05 Red Deer Rebels WHL 66 32 38 70 25 7 1 2 3 6
2005-06 Red Deer Rebels WHL 23 7 10 17 8 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 38 14 17 31 20 6 4 3 7 6
2006-07 Kloten Swiss-A 44 12 11 23 20
2007-08 Kloten Swiss-A 50 12 15 27 46
2008-09 Kloten Swiss-A 45 24 17 41 38
2009-10 Kloten Swiss-A 37 15 16 31
*Olympics, 5 GP, 2 G, 3A

Mike Hoffman:

2007-08 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 43 19 17 36 77 -- -- -- -- --
2008-09 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 62 52 42 94 86 19 21 13 34 26
2009-10 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 56 46 39 85
league MVP 09/10

Butler for me. Both him and Wick will see action but I bet Butler will fare the better of the two. He's used to North American ice, and is familiar with the players, coaching staff, style of play, etc.

Hope they both battle hard though! Hoffman might be a darkhorse, but if he's tearing up the AHL, there's no reason he shouldn't get called up. BTW, I don't think he's signed yet either.

i think it will be wick. just the fact that he's older, has played in a mans league, and faired pretty well in the olympics. i'm not saying he carves himself a top 6 position with the team but i think he'll stick with the team in some position. this also could be a political move from murray if he's high on him and wants him to stay in NA.

i would of loved to answer Hoffman as i pray he can turn into a top6, but ii agree he needs to play with men first in the AHL.

Flo The Action wrote:i think it will be wick. just the fact that he's older, has played in a mans league, and faired pretty well in the olympics. i'm not saying he carves himself a top 6 position with the team but i think he'll stick with the team in some position. this also could be a political move from murray if he's high on him and wants him to stay in NA.

i would of loved to answer Hoffman as i pray he can turn into a top6, but ii agree he needs to play with men first in the AHL.

That, and Butler looked small when he played in the NHL this year. Not out of place, but small, I thought. Wick, on the other hand, didn't look out of place at the Olympics.

I confess, tho', that beyond two or three games with the Sens (Butler), and one game during the Olympics (Wick), I haven't seen anything else from these guys. Either or neither could surprise.

I'd say they both get some games with the Sens this year, but neither makes much of an impact this season.

EDIT: I meant Butler and Wick, I'd be shocked if Hoffman got a callup with the other 2 available.

WIck. Not only didn't he look out of place, he was the best player on the ice during one game against good NHL-ers.

I agree with RobbyJ. I don't expect any to make an impact.

Total NHL goals in 2010-11 for all three will be single digits(though I hope i am wrong)

I'm not expecting any of these three guys to make an impact as far as making the team out of camp unless there is a serious shake-up up front.

That being said, I except them all to be the main call-ups out of camp (in that order fwiw) and to put up 20-25 goals combined throughout the year.

So when talking about one guy in particular I don't think a major impact will be seen. But when talking about the overall depth of the forwards and the ability of guys to step into the lineup it will make a huge impact.

I can't expect them to get 25 goals. Between the three of them their best hope is to get the sum-total of a third-liner's minutes. When's the last time you remember a third-liner, a rookie to boot, pot 25 goals?

I hate to say it, but I'm leaning more to the "single digits". 10-12 would be nice.

I'm fully anticipating injuries this year and i have these guys playing more than 3rd line minutes. That might be where the difference in our philosophy lies. Should be interesting to see either way though.

Poor Hoffman, I should have left him out of this, but at the same time, here's a guy who could burn it up in the AHL and get a shot.

Both could use a season of AHL hockey I suspect, but if one of them makes it out of camp, I have a feeling it's Butler.

I'm hoping one of Wick, Butler (and possibly Hoffman) makes an impressive NHL debut this year.

We'll probably have a good idea once training camp starts which (if any) is looking good for a roster spot/

Then it'll be up to Clouston.

I don't think any of them make enough of an impact to distinguish who had the biggest impact without bringing out an electron microscope to measure the difference. LOL.

I say Wick just because of the deal he signed. I think he's the front-runner for a rosrer position, and it's his to lose. Kovalev and/or Michalek may start the season on the IR so they could potentially both get top-six minutes to start things off. Still though, I think Wick stays up and Butler benefits from playing with Locke in Bingo.

Kovalfie wrote:I say Wick just because of the deal he signed. I think he's the front-runner for a rosrer position, and it's his to lose. Kovalev and/or Michalek may start the season on the IR so they could potentially both get top-six minutes to start things off. Still though, I think Wick stays up and Butler benefits from playing with Locke in Bingo.

Wick signed a 2 - way deal just as Butler did. How is that relevant?