Daily Shots: In-Hale With a Chance, Waiver Wire News, Cuts Coming Wednesday and More…

It’s been a plethora of news today in the Ottawa Senators world. Cuts are soon to be made, and there’s some discussion on who will be on the big squad come October 8th. Defense will be sorted out, and some players including two youngsters will be battling for the last position up front. This is the time of year when fans are excited, we’re closer and closer to the new hockey season. Bring it on!

First, a bit of breaking news. Cory Clouston went on the Team 1200 just an hour ago and announced that major roster cuts will be made on Wednesday, a day after the Kraft Hockeyville game in Dundas, Ontario. This means we’ll likely see the roster be cut down to 27-28 players, with about 22-23 to be on the spot on opening night. Triple C also made out some news that Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch will both start the season in Binghamton, atfer games where neither one really seemed NHL-ready. It’s a bit disappointing that Gryba couldn’t make it, but at least he along with Wiercioch will be starting tomorrow on the back six. This opens up room for Brian Lee (oh the horror!) and David Hale.

Speaking of Hale, he’s played solid the two games he’s been in, one in Toronot and on Saturday in the 6-2 victory over Montreal. He has NHL experience with the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning, and his tenacity showed against Toronto where he fought regular Colton Orr. Hale is the perfect guy for the third pairing: calm, cool, and a force to be reckoned with physically. He could be a mentor for Jared Cowen, which is a swell ides. However, that would mean Chris Campoli would be bumped off the lineup, which isn’t ready to happen under Bryan Murray’s watch. I still believe Cowen will start agains the Sabres on Opening Night, but it’s still open, and never say never.

Some preliminary cuts were made today, seeing both Mike Brodeur and Andre Benoit placed on waivers today, set to go to Binghamton. A bit of sour news for Brodeur, who got ill early in Training Camp and never saw some pre-season action. He should start a large number of games for Binghamton, although he’ll know Robin Lehner is breathing down his back. Benoit, however will apparently play tomorrow in Dundas, a surprising move. I never get this stuff.

Speaking of the Dundas game, catch it tomorrow on TSN and the NHL Network at 7:00 PM ET. Should be a blast, and remind us all why we love the game of hockey on the frozen pond lot. Speaking of the Kraft Hockeyville game, the roster for it was announced today, and really it is ab it underwhelming. Most of the regulars did practice today at the local arena though, a special treate for the residents of Dundas. Anyways, here is the lineup for tomorrow night:

Regin – Smith – Butler
Ruutu – Kelly – Neil
Locke – Wick – Winchester
Hoffman – Bass – Keller

Carkner – Hale
Gryba – Wiercioch
Benoit – Lee

Elliott (First Half)
Lehner (Second Half)

Can’t wait for tomorrow! Get it on…