Tough choices remain for GM Dorion, Senators
The Ottawa Senators will be promoting togetherness as they head into the final week of training camp with a four-day stay in Vancouver.
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion indicated the next step for coach D.J. Smith and the staff is to get this team ready for the start of the regular season Oct. 2 against Toronto.
“D.J. has an activity planned Tuesday which I think the guys are really going to enjoy,” Dorion said Sunday. “When you’re down at 31 players that really gives us a chance to bond together as a team. That will be important because this is a long-term process.
“We have a plan in place but people have to know there’s going to be some good nights and bad nights and we have to battle through it together. Even though they may start here, there are guys who we’ve released in the cuts that are going to play for the Ottawa Senators and that’s why it’s important that every group practised with D.J.
“It was very important that he got a feel for these players because we all know we’re not just going to use 23 players this year. Whether it’s the 31 with us or the 40-some players we had, we’re going to do things the right way.”
It will depend on injuries, but it’s unlikely the Senators will have the league-limit of a 23-man roster when the final decisions are made.
“At the end of training camp we’ll decide,” Dorion said. “We don’t want players sitting around here not playing, so we’re probably looking at a roster of 22.”
There was no sense having anybody sitting idle with Belleville’s training camp beginning Sunday at CAA Arena.
“For young players to be on our team, D.J. understands the importance that these guys can’t play seven minutes a night,” Dorion said.
“It’s a long-term process. He’s got to develop them properly. He understands the importance of winning, also, but the most important thing for our fans is for us to compete so these guys can’t play limited minutes.”
LAJOIE WILL BE BACK
The decision to send down defenceman Max Lajoie on Saturday night was a bit of a surprise.
The 21-year-old suited up for 56 games with Ottawa last year before being sent to Belleville because he was struggling. Lajoie has to re-establish himself under this coaching staff and is coming off sports hernia surgery that forced him to miss most of the second half of last season.
The issue for Lajoie is the Senators have more depth on defence and battling for playing time is more difficult.
“It’s not just about Max because we know he’s going to be a player for the Ottawa Senators for a long time,” Dorion said. “He’s just got to work on a few things in his game, he’s got to learn to box (the opponents) out a bit better and doing things quicker.
“We’re really impressed by his compete level, passing ability, but it says more about the organization and that we have quite a bit of depth, more depth on the back end now compared to where we were last year.”
WHAT’S MY LINE?
A line throughout camp has been Jean- Gabriel Pageau with wingers Anthony Duclair and rookie Drake Batherson.
Nobody is sure if they’ll start the season that way, but Pageau has certainly liked playing with the duo.
“Both players (Duclair and Batherson) are extremely skilled and they ’re responsible both ways with the puck so I enjoy playing with both of them,” Pageau said. bgarrioch@postmedia.com