PLAYERS SENT DOWN TO AHL TO DEVELOP
Senators begin tough job of making cuts, with even tougher calls still to come
The Ottawa Senators made difficult decisions Saturday night.
Yet the tougher ones still lie ahead for general manager Pierre Dorion, coach D.J. Smith and the rest of the staff after 11 players were sent to Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville after the club’s 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre. Camp is into its final week, with three exhibition games remaining.
Nineteen forwards, nine defencemen (including the injured Christian Wolanin) and three goalies remain, with the Senators spending Sunday travelling to Vancouver where they face the Canucks on Monday night in nearby Abbotsford, B.C. and Wednesday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
There are some interesting roster calls left to make, with young players still in the mix.
Dorion is pleased with the way this camp has proceeded under the newly hired Smith and his coaching staff.
“It’s been a really competitive camp, and we didn’t like (Saturday’s) result, but through this long-term process there’s going to be some stumbling blocks and tougher nights,” Dorion said Sunday in a phone interview.
“(Saturday) night we had a lot of young players and first-year pros. It’s a learning experience for them and at the same time it’s a growing experience for us.”
The Senators sent down goalies Joey Daccord and Filip Gustavsson, defencemen Andreas Englund, Max Lajoie and Jordan Murray, along with forwards Jonathan Davidsson, Alex Formenton, Morgan Klimchuk, Joe LaBate, Josh Norris and Max Veronneau,
It’s not a long shot that the likes of Daccord, Gustavsson, Lajoie, Formenton, Davidsson, Veronneau and Norris will play games with the Senators down the road. But, as Dorion noted, all the players sent to Belleville’s camp need time to develop and that will be the same scenario when the final cuts are made later in the week.
“(Saturday) we had some tough decisions,” Dorion said. “We just felt it was best for some of those younger players to start their pro careers in Belleville and to get established there as quickly as possible, rather than keeping them until the end where they just jump from the NHL to the American League.
“But, we do have some difficult decisions ahead of us with six lines, eight defencemen and three goalies because this next week D.J. is really going to prepare this team for the start of the season Oct. 2 against Toronto and our home opener Oct. 5.”
Dorion is aware some observers may have been surprised Formenton and Lajoie were among those sent down, but he noted time in the AHL isn’t going to hurt anybody trying to make the club’s roster on a full-time basis.
“For our organization and our fans to see our players at their best they have to realize there’s nothing wrong with overdeveloping them in Belleville,” Dorion said. “The American League is a very tough league, the passes aren’t always on the tape, and that’s how you learn to be the best player they can be.
“Several of the guys we cut (Saturday) are all going to be NHL players and our fans are going to get to see them when they can contribute and help us win games.”
The Senators have to determine where forwards Logan Brown, Rudolfs Balcers, Nick Paul, Drake Batherson and Parker Kelly fit into the mix, while on defence Christian Jaros, Erik Brannstrom and Cody Goloubef are all battling for jobs. Jaros has the inside track, while Brannstrom won’t be kept as a seventh defenceman.
The Sens aren’t going to hand out jobs just because they want to build around a young core.
“All the players that are still with us have to earn it,” Dorion said. “We want to be a competitive team this year, we want to be in the pack, but at the same time we know it’s a long-term process and nothing is going to be given, everything is going to be earned.”
There’s no shortage of eyes on Brown, either. He was the club’s best player down the stretch in Belleville last year and has a chance to make Ottawa. However, these games in Vancouver could prove pivotal. He had a couple of bad giveaways against the Leafs Wednesday and played only 13 minutes so a strong effort in Vancouver is paramount.
“The last year in Belleville the line of Paul, Brown and Batherson carried us and they were a big part of us having a strong record in the second half,” Dorion said. “Those players have to know that every game is like their last game in the NHL, they have to play their hearts out, and that goes for Brannstrom also.”
So, what will separate people, with the final roster due Oct. 1.
“The biggest thing for D.J. and the Ottawa Senators is compete level,” Dorion said. “Our fans want to see us compete night in and night out. Whomever competes the hardest will have the chance to stick with us for opening night.”