Scrimmage offers chance to shine
Scrimmage gives Sens players on bubble last chance to show they belong in NHL
It's getting down to crunch time at the Ottawa Senators training camp.
And now is the time for the boys on the bubble to step up and be counted.
The Senators will hold one of their final scrimmages of training camp on Friday at the Canadian Tire Centre with the expectation that, by Monday at noon, decisions will have to be made because all players on opening night rosters have to clear waivers by noon Tuesday.
That means general manager Pierre Dorion, assistant GM Peter MacTavish, head coach
D.J. Smith and the rest of the hockey operations staff have some difficult decisions ahead of them, especially with 2020 top pick Tim Stuetzle, centre Derek Stepan and defenceman Erik Brannstrom set to join the group on Sunday.
Judging by Thursday's two groups, the club has about 32 players in the mix for spots on the 23-man roster plus the six-person taxi squad. By all accounts, Josh Norris, Logan Brown, Fillip Chlapik, Parker Kelly, Rudolfs Balcers, Artem Zub and Christian Wolanin are among those pushing for spots.
It would be surprising if Drake Batherson didn't have a spot locked up because he's accomplished all he can at the American Hockey League level and it's time for him to make the next step. He's looked comfortable on the right side after spending a couple of months skating with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby in Nova Scotia.
The decisions have been made more difficult by the fact centres Colin White and Artem Anisimov had both been outstanding so far. They've made the battle for jobs more interesting because they have shown up here determined to be contributors during this season's 56-game season.
“We're starting to trend in that direction (of an Ottawa group) but we still have some guys who haven't skated with us yet,”
Smith said Thursday during a Zoom call from the rink.
“There are guys fighting for spots right now. We have a scrimmage (on Friday) that will help or hurt some guys and that will help us get to where we need to be.”
Brown, 22, who had seven goals and 28 points in 25 games with the Belleville Senators last season, spent the off-season trying to get healthy and he knows he's in a battle here.
“Coming into camp every year I'm trying to make the NHL, this year especially,” Brown said.
“I've had a lot of time over the last nine months to get ready and be prepared to take a job here. That's my plan and that's my goal.”
He was dedicated to coming back stronger.
“I worked on a whole bunch of stuff because nine months is a lot of time to be off,” Brown added. “I got healthy and worked on everything in my game, the things I was lacking to play in the NHL. I feel confident that I've excelled in those areas and I've grown as a player.
“You live and you learn, and you learn from your mistakes. This is my fourth camp with the Senators, and my fifth year. I've been growing as a person and I will continue to grow as a person and a player. It was the most dedicated summer I've had. My mindset has changed a lot.”
The decisions are made more difficult because the players don't have the benefit of exhibition games to show what they can do. When the Senators drop the puck at Canadian Tire Centre on Jan. 15 to start a back-to-back series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's going to get real very quickly.
“It's (difficult) for sure. It helps to know the player, or know of the player, but it's tough, especially for young guys, to not play in exhibition games and have those NHL players at full throttle,” Smith said. “We're trying to mimic that in practice, but it's impossible to do that to the fullest extent.
“That's where the past, and things you've done there or wherever you've been, we've got to lean on that.”
Coming into training camp, there were some who were upset after the Senators acquired Cedric Paquette and Braydon Coburn from the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with Stepan from Arizona. But the team insisted that jobs weren't just going to be handed out, and Smith is getting the kind of competition he wanted.
Generally, veterans use exhibition games to get themselves tuned up for the season while players on the bubble try to prove they deserve to be there when the lights go on for real.
The Senators can buy time because of the six-man taxi squad. Dorion has already stated he expects to carry 29 players — including three goalies — when the season gets underway, because the Senators embark on a lengthy road trip on Jan. 23 and the AHL won't drop the puck until Feb. 5.
Meanwhile, Smith is trying to get his team ready to play while working with Dorion to make roster decisions, so the arrival of Stepan and Stuetzle, who are both expected to suit up against the Leafs, will help.
“We're getting there and we're getting better. We probably had our best day of camp (on Thursday), work wise,” Smith said.
There are guys fighting for spots right now. We have a scrimmage (on Friday) that will help or hurt some guys and that will help us get to where we need to be.