All signs point to young gun staying put

Sens send Pageau to life skills camp

Here’s another sign that Ottawa Senators forward J.G. Pageau is here to stay. As if we needed one. This week, Pageau, along with fellow Ottawa young guns Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar, attended the jointly sponsored NHL/NHLPA rookie orientation program in Washington, D.C.

The program is held each year, in the off-season, to help educate young players on the challenges they may face and equip them with the life skills they will need at the NHL level. Each club selects up to three entry level-contract players “who are expected to be playing in the NHL for a significant period of time in the upcoming season.”

Without doubt, Pageau, Stone and Lazar fall into that category. Stone and Lazar both spent the 2014-15 season with the Senators while Pageau started in AHL Binghamton but was recalled in mid-December and never looked back.

In June, the 22-year-old Pageau was rewarded with his first one-way contract, a two-year deal worth $1.8 million.

Lazar, 20, played 67 games for the Senators in his rookie season, after being drafted 17th overall in 2013.

Stone was nothing short of a revelation, emerging as one of the NHL’s top forwards in the second half of the season and finishing second to Florida Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad in the 2015 Calder Trophy voting for the league’s top rookie.

Lazar told the Citizen he was returning home from Washington Friday evening to continue preparations for the upcoming Senators training camp.

File it under the category of summertime, day-dreaming, hockey tweets.

The University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team recently posted on Twitter their all-time team, under the heading: ‘Wonder if this team could win the Stanley Cup?’

Two prominent Ottawa Senators names – centre Kyle Turris and ex-Senators winger Dany Heatley — made the squad. Two other former Senators were extras on the team — goalie Brian Elliott and defenceman Sean Hill.

Here’s the roster the Badgers site proposed: FORWARDS: Along with Turris and Heatley, the all-time Badgers include San Jose Sharks centre Joe Pavelski, retired NHLer Tony Granato, Craig Smith (Nashville Predators), Derek Stepan (Rangers), Scott Mellanby (five NHL teams), Patrick Flatley (New York Islanders, Rangers), Mark Johnson (five NHL teams), Brian Mullen (four NHL teams), Rene Bourque (five NHL teams) and Paul Ranheim (five NHL teams).

Mark Osiecki, on the Senators expansion roster of 1992-93 (34 games, 0 goals, four assists) was not part of the all-time team but is another former Ottawa player who suited up in Wisconsin and was among the nearly 100 former Badgers who went on to play in the NHL. Osiecki was a 43-point player for the Badgers in 1989-90.

Jason Zent, a prominent forward for Wisconsin in the early 1990s, played parts of two seasons with the Senators, in 1996-97 and ‘97-98. DEFENCE: The Badgers all-time blueline offers an embarrassment of riches: Chris Chelios, Brian Rafalski, Gary Suter, Ryan Suter, Ryan McDonagh and Brian Engblom. Yes, the team could win a Cup with this lineup on defence. GOALTENDING: Very solid, with Mike Richter, the former New York Rangers Stanley Cup winner, and Curtis Joseph, the former Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers (among his six NHL clubs) tender who was a protagonist in some early Battle of Ontario playoff series between Toronto and Ottawa.

Of course, ‘Badger Bob’ Johnson (“it’s a great day for hockey”) is the head coach of the all-time Wisconsin team, ably assisted by Granato, Mike Eaves and Chelios. Wayne Thomas and Dave McNab are the GMs.

Turris, who was with the Badgers for just one season (2007-08) before Wayne Gretzky summoned him to the Phoenix Coyotes, produced 35 points in 36 games with Wisconsin. He was just the fourth player in school history to lead the Badgers in scoring as a freshman.

Turris was named to the AllWCHA rookie team and was a third-team all-star. That same season he led Canada to gold at the 2008 world junior hockey championship, with a team-high four goals and eight points.

Heatley was a prolific scorer for the Badgers, registering 113 points in 77 games, over two seasons (1999-2001). In 2000-01, Heatley led Wisconsin in goals (24) and assists (33) and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

The Atlanta Thrashers made Heatley a second overall pick in 2000 and he joined the Senators in 2005 as part of a deal that sent Marian Hossa to Atlanta.