Ottawa Senators: Possible Training Camp Battles
Hockey is officially back as the Ottawa Senators are having their first on-ice session of training camp. There are holes on this team, which means there are spots open for young players to battle for. What are those spots and who are those players?
When DJ Smith spoke earlier this week at the Ottawa Senators’ annual golf tournament he told reporters that he envisioned there being one or two sports available on defence, with probably two or three available upfront. I’m assuming it’s fair to take the head coach at his word on this, but I did some checking anyways.
A simple roster analysis shows that this is in fact accurate. As things stand right now I think it would be safe to assume that Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, Connor Brown, Anthony Duclair, and Chris Tierney are locks to be playing in a top-6 role on the opening night roster. That would leave one spot open in the top-6.
Following that, reading between the lines it seems as though the coaching staff likes the idea of a third line featuring Tyler Ennis, Artem Anisimov, and Bobby Ryan. That line seems pretty much set, but if there was a player that showed up in camp and really impressed the coaching staff I think the left-wing spot on this line could be available. If I were a betting man, I would say that Ennis, Anisimov, and Ryan are the third line when the puck drops on opening night.
The last spot I see open, or possibly open, would come on the fourth line. We know Jean-Gabriel Pageau will be making the roster as he was just named one of the three alternates for this season. Rudolfs Balcers has a legitimate shot at making this roster considering the way he played down the stretch last season. With that being said, he is going to have to show up and perform well in camp to make the roster. Assuming that happens, I would pencil Balcers as the fourth-line left-wing. That leaves the right-wing spot available.
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The coach announced the other day that Mikkel Boedker was a little knicked up and would probably be missing a few days in training camp. The good news for Boedker is that there is a new coaching staff in place this season, as he struggled to find ice-time down the stretch last season. There is a very real possibility that Boedker could end up being the thirteenth forward on this team for much of the season.
So that would open up a spot on the fourth line. Two players worthwhile mentioning, in my mind, for this spot are Nick Paul and Max Veronneau. If I had to guess I would say that Nick Paul probably has the best shot at making the roster between these two players. Several factors come into play with this one, but I think the fact that Paul would have to clear waivers before going down to Belleville would mean that the organization would give Nick Paul every opportunity to make the roster out of training camp.
Which rookie could crack the top-6?
So the way I see it is that there is a spot open on the second and fourth line, with the possibility of an opening on the third line depending on how Tyler Ennis plays during training camp but also depending on how the young players perform. As I type, I’m thinking that if a player comes in and takes Ennis’ spot on the third line, that would more than likely mean that Ennis would simply slide down to the fourth line. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, I’ll put it this way: there is an opening in the top-6, one opening in the bottom-6, and then there is the thirteenth forward.
Now, who are the players that have legitimate chances of taking those spots and making the opening night roster? Well if I’m looking for someone to play second-line right-wing with Duclair and Tierney I don’t think I look much further than Drake Batherson. I think this is ultimately Batherson’s spot to lose during training camp. I believe the coaching staff and the management staff have pencilled him in that role and are fully expecting him to be there for the beginning of the season. I would go as far as saying that it would be a big disappointment if Drake Batherson was not in that spot on opening night unless of course of an injury.
I think other than Drake Batherson, you look maybe at Logan Brown and Alex Formenton. I don’t know how I feel about Logan Brown playing on the wing, I think his playing style is more suited for the middle of the ice so I don’t necessarily see it as a fit.
Then there’s Alex Formenton. Probably one of the fastest, if not the fastest, players in the organization. He has made the team out of training camp each of the past two seasons, but that was with Guy Boucher at the helm. DJ Smith stepping in now means that Formenton has to prove himself all over again. For me personally, I’d love to see Formenton play the season in Belleville because I don’t want to see him playing around 10 minutes per game playing on the fourth line. That would have to be one of the worst things for his development.
With that being said though, I could see him playing so well during training camp like he has done in the past and earn a spot. Could he be one of the players that would push Ennis off the third line? Now that I think about it, I’m actually really interested in the possibility of a Formenton-Anisimov-Ryan third line. I like the speed factor that Formenton would bring, granted I would like that speed factor on any line he would play on.
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With all of that being said, I think the more than likely scenario that will end up playing out during camp is that Logan Brown and Alex Formenton will be sent down to Belleville, Tyler Ennis will be on the third line, and Nick Paul will more than likely have a spot on the fourth line.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. I think another season in Belleville for Logan Brown would be extremely beneficial for his game and development. I think if you look at Logan Brown he really stepped up last year and I’d like to see him to that again before I put him on the NHL roster.
For Alex Formenton, a year in the AHL would probably be a good thing for a young player in his first year of professional hockey. Couple that with the fact that I am expecting Belleville to be a very good team in the AHL this season, I think they are going to be loaded with talent both at the forward and defence positions. I like to see young players develop in winning environments, and well, let’s face it, there probably will be more losses than wins for the Ottawa Senators again this season.
Looking to the defence
The recent injury to Christian Wolanin probably made the coaching staff readjust their thought process for what the defence could look like this season. I think when the coach said there were one or two spots available on defence he was already pencilling Wolanin in one of those spots. I think the defence is a little trickier than the forwards, simply based on limited spots and contract situations.
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I think the coaching staff likes the idea of Thomas Chabot paired with Nikita Zaitsev as the first pairing. Then everything else goes into the blender to see what works and what doesn’t work. Just looking at the roster you can tell who is going to be on the big club coming out of camp. You know Chabot and Zaitsev are there. You know Dylan Demelo, Ron Hainsey, and Mark Borowiecki are also going to be there. That leaves one spot needing to be filled.
Now we’re looking at guys like Max Lajoie, Christian Jaros, and Erik Brannstrom as players that could fill the missing spots. I think Max Lajoie and Christian Jaros have the inside track over Brannstrom simply because they have more experience at the professional level than Brannstrom does.
I think the organization also likes the idea of having Brannstrom playing another year in the AHL, allowing him to go down there and run the defence. Allowing him to make mistakes in the defensive zone, but without having the added pressure of playing in the NHL.
Now what the pairings could look like, here’s my best guess:
Chabot/Zaitsev
Lajoie/Demelo
Borowiecki/Hainsey
Extra: Jaros
I could definitely see that, just like I could see the coaching staff having Hainsey with Demelo and Borowiecki with Jaros and Lajoie is the extra. I think we’re going to see both combinations throughout the season. I would hazard to guess that Lajoie and Jaros are going to be the ones rotating in and out of the lineup, and then the pairings will adjust based on who is in and who isn’t.
The fun thing about training camp is that there are so many different possibilities and there will be storylines that unfold that will definitely change the makeup of the team in the next two/three weeks. Just look at the Wolanin injury as a prime example. He was a guy that the coaching staff was going to rely on to run the second powerplay unit. Now he’s out for at least four months and the staff has to readjust and find some other option. All part of being in the NHL.
The first Ottawa Senators pre-season game comes next Tuesday, September 17 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. I don’t know about you guys, but I am really excited and happy to see hockey again. Put aside all the negative aspects of this team, put aside all the expectations of them finishing at the bottom of the league again, I’m just really excited to see the young kids play. You can find the full training camp roster here. You will also find information about the upcoming FanFest taking place tomorrow, September 14 at the Canadian Tire Centre here.
What about you Sens fans? What part of training camp excites you the most? What are your thoughts on which young players have legitimate shots at cracking this roster? Let us know in the comment section below!