Ottawa Senators Rookie Tournament Begins Saturday, FINALLY!

Well folks, its almost here. After a long long summer, the Senators rookies hit the ice tomorrow for a practice before heading to Oshawa for the 4 team rookie tournament that takes place over the next few days.  The Sens will face the Blackhawks on Saturday at 2:00, then take on the Penguins on Sunday, also at 2 pm.  They will have Monday off before kicking off this season’s Battle of Ontario against the Maple Leafs rookies on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm.   All games will be broadcast on the TEAM1200 and shown on Rogers cable 22 in Ottawa.

You know most of the names of the Senators rookies, and if you want a refresher, you can check out Brandy’s post HERE.  The team will be led by Robin Lehner, Jared Cowen and David Rundblad from the back end, with Mika Zibanejad, Mark Stone and Stephane Da Costa supplying the offense.

Who will be playing for the other teams?  Well, here is a list of some names you might want to look and/or listen for, as they could be names you hear a lot about in the future.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Chris DiDomenico – Former Leaf draft pick and Team Canada Junior Team member at the tournament held in Ottawa

Jeremy Morin – Played 9 games with the Hawks last year, netting 2 goals and an assist

Phillip Danault – first round pick (26th overall) in this year’s draft

Mark McNeill – first round pick (18th overall) in this year’s draft

Shawn Lalonde – Orleans native who could have a shot at cracking the NHL this season

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Eric Tangradi – Former Belleville Bull has played 16 games in Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, and expects to stick this year.

Joe Morrow – first round pick (23rd overall) in this year’s draft, an offensive defenseman who will be a player in a couple of years

Simon Despres – Memorial Cup winner with the Saint John Sea Dogs this year, and a member of Team Canada at the World Juniors in Buffalo this past season.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Jerry D’Amigo – actually started the season in the AHL before going to Kitchener in the OHL after the World Juniors last year.  Could be a candidate to crack the Leafs lineup

Matt Frattin – WCHL player of the year and Hobey Baker finalist in the NCAA last season for the University of North Dakota

Jesse Blacker – Played in 2 Memorial Cups (Windsor, Erie) winning one with the Spitfires in 2009

Jake Gardiner – Blueliner was acquired along with Joffrey Lupul for Francois Beauchemin last season.  Finished a point per game season at Wisconsin and then joined the Marlies for their final  10 games.  Played for Team USA in last year’s World Juniors in Buffalo

Enjoy the first taste of Senators hockey for the season!

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