KARLSSON’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE IMPACTS YOUTH
Stalwart’s presence or absence affects prospects’ placement on Sens depth chart
The uncertain future of captain Erik Karlsson looms everywhere and anywhere inside the Ottawa Senators organization.
Take, for instance, the Christian uprising on defence. How can prospects Christian Wolanin and Christian Jaros — paired together Thursday as rookie camp opened — not think about how Karlsson’s presence or absence will alter their positions on the depth chart?
If or when Karlsson is traded, there will be a new landscape on defence.
The tried and tired rookie response to questions about potential openings is a standard “I can only do what I can do, and I don’t worry about things outside of my control.”
It’s a safe answer, but it’s natural for up and comer to wonder about where they fit.
In that regard, Wolanin deserves credit for his honesty. He acknowledges it would be foolish to pretend that had been no noise out of Ottawa during the off-season.
“It’s tough,” said Wolanin, who offered a breath of fresh air in the final stretch of the sorry 2017-18 Senators season, scoring one goal and two assists in 10 games after leaving the University of North Dakota. “You read so much, you see so much. You don’t really know what the truth is.”
For better or worse, Wolanin, 23, has grown up in an iPhone/ Instagram world, only a click or tweet away from (mis)information.
“It’s part of our generation, the social media, the rumours, all that stuff,” he said.
When screens were tucked away, Wolanin did his best to focus on areas of improvement, hoping his limited NHL experience would give him an edge in battles for roster spots.
He received an early vote of confidence from Troy Mann, the incoming coach of the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators and on-ice boss for rookie camp.
“The Wolanin kid, I think, is excellent,” Mann said when asked about which prospects caught his eye. “I don’t foresee seeing much of him in Belleville. I thought he looked great.”
While Wolanin’s offensive gifts give him a legitimate chance of being a regular on the power play come October — with or without Karlsson around — it was intriguing to see him lined up with the more defensive-minded, physically-oriented Jaros.
Jaros, 22, endured a somewhat bumpy opening season in North America in 2017-18. Hampered by a concussion and inconsistency, he had three goals and 13 assists in 44 games with Belleville, and he skated in two NHL games with the Senators as well.
“I think I had a good season, just the injuries stopped me a little bit,” Jaros said. “I went to the world championships (with Slovakia) and I think that was a great experience for me for the end of season, playing against top guys.” How close is he?
At this point, Senators defencemen with guaranteed NHL contracts include Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman and Ben Harpur. Barring a training camp collapse, Thomas Chabot should lock up a top-four spot, and then there’s Wolanin.
Jaros would appear to be among a group of hopefuls knocking on the dressing room door, including veterans Patrick Sieloff, Julius Bergman and Andreas Englund.
Again, though, the depth chart will change greatly if Karlsson is dealt.
Whatever happens on that front, Jaros says he needs to establish a steady presence.
“That’s very important,” he said. “If I can play every game, the same game … not play one game the best and the next one bad, you know?”
Jaros knows what’s at stake. So, too, do Wolanin and every other prospect trying desperately to
All the young guys understand. They look at the depth charts and see where they fit in and what they have to do.
make impressions.
“All the young guys understand,” Senators player development coach Shean Donovan said. “They look at the depth charts and see where they fit in and what they have to do to try and find a spot. There’s always a spot. (Teams) want to take the best players.”
With the Senators these days, of course, the best player’s status remains in limbo.