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SENShobo

Ottawa Decision Time On Defence

by SENShobo on 10/15/09 at 09:12 AM ET
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Some thoughts on the A-Train, the latest defection, but first..

With the Lightning visiting Ottawa tonight, plenty of comparisons could be made. Two teams that traded for goaltending stability in Smith and Leclaire. Two teams employing no-nonsense coaching styles from coaches that have raised eyebrows in Tocchet and Clouston. Two teams rebounding from terrible seasons, both with large roster turnover and ambition to find themselves paying for fewer months at the links next spring.

The inevitable comparison to watch, however, is of the mighty mites of age and size. If it weren’t for the fact that they played together for team Sweden at the World Juniors, you would be hard pressed to speak of Hedman and Karlsson in the same light.

The comparison isn’t going to be fair. Hedman leads his team in time on ice amidst players like Ohlund and Lecavalier. He’s right in the thick of even strength and penalty kill minutes, and swallows powerplays whole with 5:45 of man advantage each game. He checks and blocks shots modestly, and looks the part of seasoned NHL regular. Karlsson can be the cornerstone of a franchise; if Lecavalier had career-ending injuries, Hedman would challenge Stamkos to be the franchise. Murray wonders what the big deal is (OS).

“I don’t know why people are caught up with Erik. He’s a young guy who’s going to be an NHL player. Is he going to be here every game? I don’t know. But the 10-game mark is not a trigger point for any outrageous decisions,” said Murray. “There’s no question he can handle it. He has that type of personality. He’ll press at times, but that’s okay.”
...
“It’s good,” [Karlsson] said of his confidence. “I’ve got no problem with it ... never had a problem with it,” added the kid, who’s been a little cocky at times.
...
“He’s no different than any player. If you think any player is going to go through 82 games without losing confidence, it just doesn’t happen whether you’re a first-year player or an 18-year player like (Alex) Kovalev or (Daniel) Alfredsson. Sometimes the confidence wavers a little bit. It’s how you react to it. He’ll rebound. He’ll be okay,” said Clouston.

After goaltenders, defencemen are thought to be the next longest position to develop; it’s no easy task figuring out how to anticipate a Heatley one timer, a Holmstrom screen, and an Ovechkin full rink press, let alone being able to switch between defensive tactics for each. Performing your primary duty when only generously listed at 5’11 is no easy task, let alone as a rookie without any experience in the North American game.

Still, if Karlsson can bring the slight cockiness of his interviews onto the ice, the Senators might find the return of swagger a useful changeup. If it’s Karlsson’s offence that’s desired, then perhaps it’s time to hope you can read into the mind of the team (SENS).

“(Volchenkov) keeps it simple,” Phillips said of his partner. “It doesn’t go unnoticed (by us) that he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s not a flashy guy. He just gets the puck and gets it out of the zone. He’s a big part of our team (just by) being solid defensively.”
...
“He’s never out of position,” said Phillips. “He’s not a big gambler, jumping up the ice a lot. He’s back and in his position. You can always rely on him, that he’ll be back there to help defend against whatever rush is coming.”

In other words, he’s the perfect counterbalance to the player that someone like Karlsson will become someday.

Interesting, maybe only to me, that it’s the Senators suggesting that counterbalance; nowhere is it mentioned by either the Sun or Citizen today, even if everyone’s thinking it. If you want to see Karlsson as Mike Green, don’t pair him with Campoli. If you want to see a puck-mover unleashed, look to Kaberle’s confidence from being paired with Komisarek. Bobby Orr said from the stands during a practice that it was Karlsson’s hands that were impressing; don’t put the pressure on him to need every ounce of focus to impress just as much with positioning.

And put a little pressure on Volchenkov. Kessel cashed in big with Toronto after a strong season, but playing with a gifted and generous center in Savard no doubt made a strong contract year a bit easier, to say nothing of the strong team. Volchenkov comes up this July, and his versatility should be tested, more of a challenge paired with someone like Karlsson than Phillips. Against New York? Just a few seconds in he laid the body on Dubinsky (granted it didn’t slow him down that night). In Toronto? He cleanly removed a promising young Stalberg from the game. Hosting the Isles? He welcomed Tavares back to Canada. With the Thrashers? He hurt the pride of and riled Bogosian. In the loss to the Pens? He helped keep Malkin and Crosby in check, but as in their only other loss his hit on Kennedy only seemed to spurn the youngster. Let him take that focus on young talent and spread it to both benches.

You have to believe discussions have begun in earnest, but the last thing you want to do is make it a cakewalk season for A-Train; he can handle the heavier load, and considering the recent paydays of other physical blueliners, Komisarek at $4.5M for 5 years, Scuderi at $3.4M for 4 years, he deserves to prove he can carry the full load. He’s kept pace with both of them in virtually every defensive statistic throughout his current deal, and one can only expect that his contract will too, but it must be deservedly so.

Word is out today that Zubov has been released for a KHL team to take over the contract of, and after working hard with little complaint he deserves the freedom. Ottawa still owns his rights just as Detroit owns Hudler’s, so any return will be the Senators’ boon. Sad that Volchenkov is the only Russian to have really stuck and made a positive impact, but there’s still a season left for Kovalev to make it two. If Kovalev can’t make Ottawa feel more like home for Volchenkov, and if Clouston won’t use Volchenkov to unleash Karlsson or anyone else ala Mike Green, then perhaps Volchenkov might go for the real deal; one can only imagine what allure a competitive squad featuring countrymen Varlamov, Semin, and Ovechkin after playing with them in these Olympics might hold, let alone with only three defencemen signed in DC for next season and just over $30M committed.

There is no ‘I’ in team, but there should be a Volchenkov. Give him a bigger role already.

And, for the heck of it, or until someone tells me it’s too creepy, I’m going to include with each post the most unique visitors, remind people that Sens fans don’t all live in Ottawa cowering between warring Leaf and Hab factions. From yesterday? A visitor from Bratislava (I’m certain that Eurotrip improperly portrayed the city), Slovakia, and another from Tokyo, Japan. Creepy yet? No, I say it’s just expanding the potential viewership base for the ads that I have no control over, and somehow connecting me to you, the loyal (or obscure) readership.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
 

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