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I waited until the last second this year to do a Sens’ preview - not only because I’m lazy, but because anything can happen up until the final moment of pre-season.
But here we are now, two days away from the Sens’ first game and a night way from the beginning of NHL hockey.
This is what I like and don’t like about the current incarnation of the Sens:
What I dislike:
Might as well go negative first, get it out of the way. I don’t like Pascal Leclaire. I realize now that I don’t like him because I can’t trust him as a netminder - and when I can’t trust a netminder, I get awful nervous each game. His style is to flop and rely on his athleticism - which is fine if your name is Dom Hasek, but not optimum if your name is Pascal Leclaire. Now, I could be totally wrong and Leclaire could come out and set the league on fire - that’s not completely out of the question, he played incredibly well for the Blue Jackets in his first full season, but I would advise that people don’t run out and bet on that.
Luckily for the Sens, they have a very technical, young, competitive goalie in Brian Elliott, who was almost single-handedly responsible for the Sens making the playoffs last year. His final numbers were pretty average (29 wins, 2.57 GAA, .909 save%), but he showed at the end of the season that he was ready to step into the top position in the Ottawa net once and for all (21 wins in the final 38 games played, .921 save%).
I’m also not sure the Sens have the sniper needed to finish teams off. Sure, they boast Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, Alex Kovalev and some young talents like Peter Regin and Nick Foligno, but are any of these capable of hitting 40 goals? I don’t think so unfortunately and that leaves the Sens with a ‘scoring by committee’ mantra that can be either detrimental or galvanizing - depending on the results. The have the depth though, but that’s not for the negatives...
Not sure about the defense to be perfectly honest. I see some things that make me very excited - namely Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson, but I don’t really see the 2nd pairing of this club being overly physical. And if they’re not overly physical, is it fair to call Phillips and Karlsson physical? Maybe Phillips, not Karlsson though. So that leaves one player who’s a true crease-clearer in Matt Carkner - but he’s playing on the bottom pairing and logging 12-15 minutes. Not exactly the answer in stopping opponent’s in their tracks, although Carkner’s played his role to a T.
What I like:
There’s a lot to like frankly. For the first time in a long, long time the Senators have depth. They can roll out nine forwards who can play the game at an excellent level. The aforementioned top six, plus Chris Kelly, Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil round out an excellent, deep and physical top 9 players. The 4th line is comprised of Foligno/Regin, Jesse Winchester and promising bang and crasher Zack Smith.
Again, this squad is missing that sniper capable of putting a team away, the game breaker up front, but it’s something that they might be able to overcome scoring as a committee.
I like the makeup of the defense as well. As much as I would like to complain about the lack of thumping D-men back there, the Sens had both Anton Volchenkov and Andy Sutton for extended periods of time last year - this is an NHL where it’s primarily about puck-moving. Last year’s D wasn’t flashy, but it was very solid. Still...it wasn’t good enough to do any significant damage, being beaten by - amongst others - Sergei Gonchar and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, Gonchar is in Ottawa to flank the uber-promising young rookie Erik Karlsson. Add Filip Kuba to the mix to go with veteran rearguard Chris Phillip and all of a sudden the Senators have changed the look of their D from one that will block shots and shut down opponents, to one that will attack aggressively offensively. A most dangerous combination of mobility and talent means the Sens will be transitioning the puck quickly, quietly and quite often. Chris Campoli played last season with a sports hernia, opting for surgery this off-season. He led the Sens in pre-season points with 8 - a testament to how good he can be when healthy. He’ll never be mistaken for a crease-clearing stay at home D-man, but he knows how to read a play - well. For example, when teams key in on Gonchar, Campoli is the one who slips back door and makes offensive plays. It’s been a duo that’s worked very well so far - and should continue until Kuba returns from a broken leg suffered in practice.
I like the depth on this team quite a lot. In other years there was no choice on who to call up when injuries hit. Cody Bass, Zack Smith or Ilya Zubov, take your pick. Now there reigning leading scorer in the NCAA, Bobby Butler, QMJHL MVP Mike Hoffman, one of the premiere AHL players of the last decade, Corey Locke, Ryan Keller, yes, Cody Bass, Jim O’Brien, Kaspars Daugavins, Colin Greening. There’s a list now - a real list.
On defense you have things to look forward to that would make most NHL teams jealous. Patrick Wiercioch just finished a successful pre-season and will now head to the AHL to begin getting the requisite pro-experience, but let me say that seeing him first hand is enough for me to say, we’ll be seeing this guy in the NHL - soon! At 6'5", he’s huge, but is still skinny and lanky, he’ll need to bulk up, but has a chance to be an impact puck-mover as early as next year.
Eric Gryba is another D-man in the pro circuit who is learning the game in the AHL. His demolishing hits and gritty style lead to comparisons to ex-Sen Andy Sutton. He could also see time in the NHL if injuries hit.
Jared Cowen is probably the most documented of all Sens’ D prospects. At 6'5", 230 pounds, Cowen showed in pre-season that he’ll have a dominant future in the NHL. All that’s needed now is time to develop his skills. Unfortunately, Cowen doesn’t qualify for the AHL, so he’ll be back with Spokane of the WHL. Next year could go either way for him, he could impress again and stay with the Sens, or he could start the season in the AHL and be called upon when injuries hit. Either way, Jared Cowen has a major future with the Sens.
However, the jewel in the Sens’ crown is 19 year old Robin Lehner. After crossing the pond last summer and playing for the OHL’s Greyhounds, he’s ready to turn pro. After guiding the Greyhounds to a playoff spot last season - along with a sparkling .918 save% - he’ll try to prove his pedigree in the AHL. Trained by his father, Michael, Robin shares a lot of traits of one of his father’s famous students - King Henrik Lundqvist. He’s already shown management that he’s close to ready, easily outplaying Elliott and Leclaire in pre-season (1-1, .963, 1.00 GAA). He is Ottawa’s future in nets - and the future could be as soon as December or January of this year, depending on how things go.
In conclusion, this Sens squad is very similar to last year’s, in fact it’s as close to the same as any other team in the NHL. The big change? Out with Volchenkov, in with Gonchar - which is refreshing even though I loved Volchenkov. You have a dedicated coach in Cory Clouston, who gets the game. He made mistakes last year in line-matching and too many men on the ice penalties, but he’s a quick learner and having him at the helm, combined with other variables mentioned mean the Sens will likely be fighting for a playoff spot. Anywhere from 3rd (Northeast division winners) to a dogfight for 8th is possible, but my money is on the middle-ground.
A repeat of 5th place seems somewhat plausible, depending on goaltending of course.
But here we are now, two days away from the Sens’ first game and a night way from the beginning of NHL hockey.
This is what I like and don’t like about the current incarnation of the Sens:
What I dislike:
Might as well go negative first, get it out of the way. I don’t like Pascal Leclaire. I realize now that I don’t like him because I can’t trust him as a netminder - and when I can’t trust a netminder, I get awful nervous each game. His style is to flop and rely on his athleticism - which is fine if your name is Dom Hasek, but not optimum if your name is Pascal Leclaire. Now, I could be totally wrong and Leclaire could come out and set the league on fire - that’s not completely out of the question, he played incredibly well for the Blue Jackets in his first full season, but I would advise that people don’t run out and bet on that.
Luckily for the Sens, they have a very technical, young, competitive goalie in Brian Elliott, who was almost single-handedly responsible for the Sens making the playoffs last year. His final numbers were pretty average (29 wins, 2.57 GAA, .909 save%), but he showed at the end of the season that he was ready to step into the top position in the Ottawa net once and for all (21 wins in the final 38 games played, .921 save%).
I’m also not sure the Sens have the sniper needed to finish teams off. Sure, they boast Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, Alex Kovalev and some young talents like Peter Regin and Nick Foligno, but are any of these capable of hitting 40 goals? I don’t think so unfortunately and that leaves the Sens with a ‘scoring by committee’ mantra that can be either detrimental or galvanizing - depending on the results. The have the depth though, but that’s not for the negatives...
Not sure about the defense to be perfectly honest. I see some things that make me very excited - namely Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson, but I don’t really see the 2nd pairing of this club being overly physical. And if they’re not overly physical, is it fair to call Phillips and Karlsson physical? Maybe Phillips, not Karlsson though. So that leaves one player who’s a true crease-clearer in Matt Carkner - but he’s playing on the bottom pairing and logging 12-15 minutes. Not exactly the answer in stopping opponent’s in their tracks, although Carkner’s played his role to a T.
What I like:
There’s a lot to like frankly. For the first time in a long, long time the Senators have depth. They can roll out nine forwards who can play the game at an excellent level. The aforementioned top six, plus Chris Kelly, Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil round out an excellent, deep and physical top 9 players. The 4th line is comprised of Foligno/Regin, Jesse Winchester and promising bang and crasher Zack Smith.
Again, this squad is missing that sniper capable of putting a team away, the game breaker up front, but it’s something that they might be able to overcome scoring as a committee.
I like the makeup of the defense as well. As much as I would like to complain about the lack of thumping D-men back there, the Sens had both Anton Volchenkov and Andy Sutton for extended periods of time last year - this is an NHL where it’s primarily about puck-moving. Last year’s D wasn’t flashy, but it was very solid. Still...it wasn’t good enough to do any significant damage, being beaten by - amongst others - Sergei Gonchar and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, Gonchar is in Ottawa to flank the uber-promising young rookie Erik Karlsson. Add Filip Kuba to the mix to go with veteran rearguard Chris Phillip and all of a sudden the Senators have changed the look of their D from one that will block shots and shut down opponents, to one that will attack aggressively offensively. A most dangerous combination of mobility and talent means the Sens will be transitioning the puck quickly, quietly and quite often. Chris Campoli played last season with a sports hernia, opting for surgery this off-season. He led the Sens in pre-season points with 8 - a testament to how good he can be when healthy. He’ll never be mistaken for a crease-clearing stay at home D-man, but he knows how to read a play - well. For example, when teams key in on Gonchar, Campoli is the one who slips back door and makes offensive plays. It’s been a duo that’s worked very well so far - and should continue until Kuba returns from a broken leg suffered in practice.
I like the depth on this team quite a lot. In other years there was no choice on who to call up when injuries hit. Cody Bass, Zack Smith or Ilya Zubov, take your pick. Now there reigning leading scorer in the NCAA, Bobby Butler, QMJHL MVP Mike Hoffman, one of the premiere AHL players of the last decade, Corey Locke, Ryan Keller, yes, Cody Bass, Jim O’Brien, Kaspars Daugavins, Colin Greening. There’s a list now - a real list.
On defense you have things to look forward to that would make most NHL teams jealous. Patrick Wiercioch just finished a successful pre-season and will now head to the AHL to begin getting the requisite pro-experience, but let me say that seeing him first hand is enough for me to say, we’ll be seeing this guy in the NHL - soon! At 6'5", he’s huge, but is still skinny and lanky, he’ll need to bulk up, but has a chance to be an impact puck-mover as early as next year.
Eric Gryba is another D-man in the pro circuit who is learning the game in the AHL. His demolishing hits and gritty style lead to comparisons to ex-Sen Andy Sutton. He could also see time in the NHL if injuries hit.
Jared Cowen is probably the most documented of all Sens’ D prospects. At 6'5", 230 pounds, Cowen showed in pre-season that he’ll have a dominant future in the NHL. All that’s needed now is time to develop his skills. Unfortunately, Cowen doesn’t qualify for the AHL, so he’ll be back with Spokane of the WHL. Next year could go either way for him, he could impress again and stay with the Sens, or he could start the season in the AHL and be called upon when injuries hit. Either way, Jared Cowen has a major future with the Sens.
However, the jewel in the Sens’ crown is 19 year old Robin Lehner. After crossing the pond last summer and playing for the OHL’s Greyhounds, he’s ready to turn pro. After guiding the Greyhounds to a playoff spot last season - along with a sparkling .918 save% - he’ll try to prove his pedigree in the AHL. Trained by his father, Michael, Robin shares a lot of traits of one of his father’s famous students - King Henrik Lundqvist. He’s already shown management that he’s close to ready, easily outplaying Elliott and Leclaire in pre-season (1-1, .963, 1.00 GAA). He is Ottawa’s future in nets - and the future could be as soon as December or January of this year, depending on how things go.
In conclusion, this Sens squad is very similar to last year’s, in fact it’s as close to the same as any other team in the NHL. The big change? Out with Volchenkov, in with Gonchar - which is refreshing even though I loved Volchenkov. You have a dedicated coach in Cory Clouston, who gets the game. He made mistakes last year in line-matching and too many men on the ice penalties, but he’s a quick learner and having him at the helm, combined with other variables mentioned mean the Sens will likely be fighting for a playoff spot. Anywhere from 3rd (Northeast division winners) to a dogfight for 8th is possible, but my money is on the middle-ground.
A repeat of 5th place seems somewhat plausible, depending on goaltending of course.
No idea now that you mention it. Fancy date...and...