SENShobo
Next entry: Ellis’ Tweets Offered Glimpse Into CBA Battle
Previous entry: To be or not to, Alfie, and ASG pitfalls
Rookie Tournament To Showcase Roster Battles
by SENShobo on 09/09/10 at 08:26 AM ET
Comments (2)
From the Ottawa Senators, on what is expected to be a competitive battle to crack the Ottawa and Binghamton rosters at this weekend’s rookie tournament against Leafs, Pens, and Hawks prospects,
“I don’t know if anybody out of that camp (can push for a roster spot), but there usually is,” said Senators general manager Bryan Murray. “We have a number of (top) young guys that are going to be there. (Defenceman) Patrick Wiercioch, I think, will really benefit from a rookie camp situation. Certainly, Robin Lehner will benefit from it, just going through the experience of playing against pro players.”
[...]
A year ago, defenceman Erik Karlsson and centre Peter Regin both took part in the rookie tournament and eventually ended up earning regular spots in the Senators lineup. Defenceman Jared Cowen, the Senators’ top pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, would appear to be the best bet to take that route in 2010, with forward Bobby Butler figuring to get a long look as well. Lehner, Wiercioch and high-scoring forward Mike Hoffman are top prospects from recent drafts that also have a chance to make an impression.“We’ve had an open mind since we’ve been here,” Senators assistant general manager Tim Murray said in a radio interview with the Team 1200. “It will take something special (to crack the lineup). As open minded as we want to be and say we’re going to be, salary cap and contracts do have a big say in it. In saying that, one guy may light it up. Who knows?”
Once again, for the fourth season in a row, I will have my say from the stands.
If I have learned anything from my time at the 2009, two thousand eight, and 2007 rookie tournaments I have attended in Kitchener, it’s that you have to stay focused.
Looking over the game notes, you see where that focus went wrong. Cowick, trying to earn a spot with the Penguins back in 2008, did not help his finesse acumen by getting in a pointless fight with Kudelka of the Senators. Nor did Regin, for as much as experience weighs in on the equation, draw as much attention playing a hard-nosed game in 2008 as he did playing to his skill-ed set in a more finesse role in 2009, letting the game come to him.
Hard work definitely benefited those who would show the Murrays what they wanted to see. Regin and Karlsson both earned their way into the NHL by playing to their strengths, even as their expected weaknesses (see: Karlsson, Erik, attempting to clear opponents away from Lehner) showed up. In 2008, the now-lost Karlsson, Mattias, showed a great deal of poise and skill in every situation, but the door of opportunity not being ajar enough led to him returning to Europe. The clearest case of playing to a skill set happened in 2007, which as with Regin last season fed into an NHL debut for then-rookie Nick Foligno.
Unlike previous seasons, this tournament will be held in London, ON, and with each passing year the media coverage grows, from nearly none in 2007, to the point where you can catch all the games on either Rogers or Team 1200 radio, with coverage to follow in the papers, leaving me wondering where I’ll find my place in all the coverage.
From the Ottawa Senators, the rookie tournament roster,
Goaltenders:
Brandon Foote (Guelph - OHL)
Robin Lehner (Sault Ste. Marie - OHL, Binghamton - AHL)Defencemen:
Jared Cowen (Spokane - WHL, Ottawa - NHL)
Eric Gryba (Boston University - Hockey East, Binghamton - AHL)
Matthew Hobbs (Prince Edward Island - QMJHL)
Craig Schira (Binghamton - AHL)
Adam Sedlak (Peterborough - OHL)
Patrick Wiercioch (Denver - WCHA)Forwards:
Jason Bailey (Binghamton - AHL)
Bobby Butler (New Hampshire - Hockey East, Ottawa - NHL)
Erik Condra (Binghamton - AHL)
Corey Cowick (Ottawa - OHL)
Jakub Culek (Rimouski - QMJHL)
Kaspars Daugavins (Binghamton - AHL, Ottawa - NHL)
David Dziurzynski (Alberni Valley - BCHL)
Colin Greening (Cornell - ECAC)
Mike Hoffman (Saint John - QMJHL)
Jim O’Brien (Binghamton - AHL)
Tim Spencer (Elmira - ECHL, Binghamton - AHL)
Mark Stone (Brandon - WHL)
Shawn Szydlowski (Erie - OHL)
Adam Wallace (Windsor - OHL)
*Roster subject to change.
Filed in: NHL News, NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
Comments
I would not say that there is the same opportunity as last season to crack the lineup. The top six of Spezza, Alfredsson, Fisher, Michalek, Kovalev, and Regin is as locked up as it’s been in years, the third line of Ruutu, Kelly, and Neil would be near-impossible to crack, and barring a player who can grind and battle AND turn it into endless scoring chances, the door is hardly ajar.
On defence, Gonchar, Kuba, Phillips, Karlsson, and Carkner are all inked in, but between Campoli and Lee, the 6th and 7th defence slots are only penciled in, just as Clouston has to decide what pattern he wants his back end to take after losing Volchenkov for Gonchar.
In goal, both Elliott and Leclaire will be given plenty of starts to prove whether or not they should be retained, and for how much dollar and term, hoping for few fluke injuries this time around.
What that means for the prospects is that they have a chance to establish the pecking order. Given an injury in the forward corps or in net, someone at this camp has a good chance to get called up, and to step into more than a 4th line role. For defence, after Clouston has established his game plan, there is opportunity for guys not only to fill in for injuries, but to usurp Lee and/or Campoli should they fail to offer up at either end of the ice.
It’s about making opportunities, even with none squarely on offer.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 09/10/10 at 07:55 AM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Can Ottawa Build Key Organization & Roster Element This Week?
As Fisher’s Character Departs, Ottawa’s is Revealed
Hockey Blogging Leading to Hockey Engineering
Heatley’s “Homecoming” Must Be About The Message As Much As The Man
In Case You Wondered About My Absence
Ottawa Strolls Into Contender’s Clutches
Senators Run Out Of Gas Against Canucks
Canucks Offer Ottawa’s First Stern Test
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.
I think a lot of expectations are being placed on this group’s shoulders. People look at Karlsson and Regin cracking the lineup last year and expect more of the same.
Most of us - myself, certainly - were saying that Karlsson would get a 9 game look at best before going back down to the minors for the season. Many felt he would benefit more from playing in the WJC against the best players his own age than hovering as the extra D-man on the Sens. It turned out he was able to find a place on the team and looked like he belonged. It may cost a year of his ELC, but most would agree (in hindsight at least) it was best for his development.
Regin, many thought, would be in that special kind of limbo where many promising Sens prospects have found themselves - unable to crack the top 6, not really right for the bottom 6. Regin was not only able to play a role in the lower lines, but stepped up and shone when he got his chance on the top lines.
So now, the tables have turned on guys like Cowen, Wick, and Butler. Sens fans don’t just hope they’ll be able to step up - they seem to expect it.
They should be given the opportunity to do so, but I don’t think we should be putting too much pressure on the organization to rush them, either. In the case of Butler and Wick, they need to get used to a different type of game. Cowen needs time to mature and get some experience to match his natural talents (it would do wonders if he could dominate against kids his own age this year - especially at the WJC, where his performance was poor last time around - and prove to himself and others that he’s put himself back on track after injuries and health problems).
It’s nice to be able to look down the rookie camp list and see names that you know you can expect to see on the Sens roster in coming years. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For every Regin or Karlsson there’s a Zubov or…gulp…a Daigle.
Posted by Da lil Guy from Ottawa on 09/10/10 at 07:36 AM ET