Ottawa Senators: Possible Training Camp Battles

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.