HOW SWEDE IT IS
Scandinavian pipeline boosts Sens
From Daniel Alfredsson to Erik Karlsson to Mika Zibanejad, the Ottawa Senators have a long history of producing star Swedishborn players.
Yet with a new wave of Swedes on the horizon, there’s clearly no such thing as a one size fits all approach on where to develop.
The Senators have high hopes for prospects Tobias Lindberg, Mikael Wikstrand, Andreas Englund and Marcus Hogberg, but they’re taking different routes to get here.
Englund, a defenceman drafted 40th overall by the Senators in 2014, will again spend the 201516 season with Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League, while also hoping to represent Sweden at the world junior tournament for the second time.
“Everybody’s got their own philosophy about when they’re ready,” says Englund, whose defence-first approach makes him the polar opposite of Karlsson. “I want to get here as quickly as possible, but I want to be ready when I get here. I’m coming off my first year with the top league in Sweden. Everything is faster, the guys are stronger than in the second league. I now know what’s ahead of me.”
If Englund progresses as expected, he will have long discussions with Senators management next summer about committing to playing in either Ottawa or Binghamton of the AHL.
Hogberg, a goaltender chosen 78th in 2013, could also go down that road if he’s treated as a No.1 netminder in Sweden during the upcoming season. Considering that goaltenders Matt O’Connor, Chris Driedger and Scott Greenham will battle for playing time in Binghamton in 2015-16, there was limited opportunity for Hogberg to play in North America.
Meanwhile, Wikstrand, a 21-year-old defenceman selected 196th overall in 2012, has an option to return to Sweden, but appears ready to measure himself against North American competition. He will attend the Senators rookie camp and main training camp in September, with an eye to at least being on the radar for a call-up if he’s assigned to Binghamton.
“I’m going to go for training camp and see what happens,” said Wikstrand, who has been favourably compared to former Senators defenceman André Benoit.
Then there’s Lindberg, who has inherited the pressure of being the last remaining piece in the trade which sent goaltender Ben Bishop to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Drafted 102nd in 2013, he jumped to Oshawa of the OHL last season, rather than battling for playing time in Sweden’s top league.
Lindberg, who is now targeted for Binghamton in the fall, believes the decision has given him a better appreciation for the style of game he needs to play to make the NHL. He ended up on a Memorial Cup winner in the process.
Lindberg says he’s more physical, skates harder to the front of the net, shoots more often and, after playing more than 100 pre-season, regular season and playoff games between the start of September and the end of May, has an appreciation for a gruelling schedule.
“It’s a faster game, you’ve got to be prepared for a hit all the time,” said Lindberg, who scored 32 goals and 46 assists in 67 regular season games with Oshawa and added seven goals and 12 assists in 21 playoff games.
“I was looking for more ice time, I didn’t know how much I would play back in Sweden. When Ottawa said I might play up to 25 minutes per game (in Oshawa), that was the biggest thing for me. Because if you don’t play, you can’t develop.”
While all of the above are aiming to impress management at the club’s development camp, it was perfectly fitting that Zibanejad re-appeared at the Canadian Tire Centre Friday after going back to Sweden following the 2014-15 season.
Zibanejad’s route to the NHL was anything but routine.
The sixth overall pick in 2011 turned heads as an 18-year-old in training camp, but was sent back to Sweden after playing only nine regular season games.
In Sweden, he saw limited ice time, losing valuable development time and split the following season between Ottawa and Binghamton. The Senators sent him another loud message at the start of the 2013-14 season, sending him back to the AHL again.
After all that, he now has 200 NHL games under his belt.
“As a young player, there have been a lot of ups and downs,” he said, remembering his first development camp. “Consistency comes with more games. The more you play, the more you kind of figure it out.”
In one place or another. TOURIGNY ARRIVES: The Senators officially announced the hiring of assistant coach André Tourigny Friday. Among his chief responsibilities will be the Senators power play, which finished a disappointing 22nd in the NHL last season, converting on only 16.8 per cent of its opportunities. Tourigny, who previously worked closely with Senators head coach Dave Cameron on Canada’s world junior teams, had served as an assistant to Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy. “They’re totally different. ... I don’t think we can compare them,” Tourigny said of the two head coaches. PRUDENCE WITH PUEMPEL: The Senators are taking no chances with left winger Matt Puempel, who has a legitimate shot at starting the season in the NHL. Puempel, who suffered a high ankle sprain late last season, is skating during development camp, but will not take part in any contact drills.
“It’s still a bit sore and we don’t want a setback,” said assistant general manager Randy Lee. “He wants to do it, but it’s not worth it. It’s a risk versus reward thing.”