When Will Shane Prince Get His Chance With The Ottawa Senators?

With the Ottawa Senators offense struggling mightily, and Derek Grant sitting as a healthy scratch, why not bring up Mark Stone and Shane Prince to provide some offense.  The pair of first year pros have come on of late, and while one of them would bring some soft hands (Stone), the other brings blazing speed and dogged forechecking ability (Prince). I wrote yesterday about Stone, and the fact that he is now recovered and has two games under his belt, with 2 assists. He now has 8 goals and 13 assists in 37 games.  I would also have Prince on my radar if I was Bryan Murray.

If you were around Ottawa during the 2011-12 season and watched the Ottawa 67’s play on a regular basis, you saw Prince mature into a leader and a dominant OHLer.  I don’t know if he is ready yet to be a full time NHLer, but there would be no harm in bringing him up for a game or two to see if his young legs can provide a spark in the lineup.  He skates at an NHL level, and the way he can handle the puck reminds me of Daniel Alfredsson, in that his low centre of gravity allows him to fend off checkers despite his average size. His skating abilty alone would make sure he isn’t out of place in the NHL, a factor that would affect some of the players on the AHL roster that might have more points than him.

After getting off to a slow start to his first AHL season due to a leg injury suffered in training camp, Prince has 12 goals an 21 points in 44 games, including a goal and an assist on Saturday afternoon against the Toroto Marlies.

The Senators have enough of the third and fourth line type players in their lineup these days, forced that way through by attrition.  I have seen enough of Dave Dziurzynski and Grant to know what they give, and despite the fact that Dziurzynski has as many goals as any Senator since Erik Karlsson‘s injury, neither can be counted on to produce offense on a regular basis.

Prince and Stone are offensive players that could provide a jump start to some of the Senators that are currently spinning their wheels without going anywhere (I am looking at you, Kyle Turris).