SENS LIKE WHAT THEY SEE FROM RECENT DRAFT PICKS
Hours after leaving the last day of Senators development camp on Monday, Andreas Englund and Marcus Hogberg flew back home to Sweden together with plenty to talk about and ponder.
Both prospects should be encouraged about their future with the organization.
Englund, the Senators’ top pick in the 2014 entry draft, was named the hardest-working player at the camp, an honour to be proud of that has previously gone to the likes of Mark Borowiecki, Curtis Lazar, Fredrik Claesson and Nick Paul.
“It was everything ... how he carried himself on and off the ice, how he pushed guys to be better,” said assistant GM Randy Lee. “We put them in different, challenging situations and he stepped up in a leadership role.
“He’s a tenacious guy. He’s a guy that played a long season, did all the Black Aces (during the playoffs) stuff, went back home, and had no problem coming back. I think that he’s a good role model for guys, because he has such good routines. He’s a real pro to us. He gets it.”
Hogberg, the Senators’ thirdround selection in the 2013 draft, was told on Sunday night that the team did not offer a contract to Matt O’Connor because it preferred him. Lee admitted that the 22-year-old Hogberg could still be Ottawa’s goalie of the future.
“Yeah, he’s definitely got a lot of upside,” said Lee. “He’s coming from the (Swedish Hockey League) where he was playing against men, and he really established himself as a top-ranked goaltender.
“He knows he has to get better, and he knows that goalies take longer to develop, and he knows goalies have to play.”
To that end, Hogberg said his goal next season is to share the duties with Chris Driedger in Belleville. On Saturday, the Senators signed 31-year-old Danny Taylor to add the veteran minor-league puckstopper it was missing. That leaves the Senators with five goaltenders in the system (two for the NHL, two for the AHL and one for the ECHL) and no room for Andrew Hammond.
“Chris Driedger, he had a couple of struggles, but at one point last year he was one of the better goaltenders in the American Hockey League,” said Lee. “He had some great stretches last year. He’s just got to get consistency in his game.
“Marcus has got to transition over. He’s got some adjustment to do, but he’s studying the North American game and he’s going to be ready to go.”
Hogberg’s fourth season with Linkopings HC saw him post a 19-14-4 record with an impressive 1.89 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. When the campaign ended, he joined the Binghamton Senators, where he was taken under the wing of his buddy Englund, but struggled in his three starts for what was a bad team.
“I had a great season last year in Sweden, I improved on many things,” said Hogberg.
“I grew as a person. I feel I’m ready to play here.”
Hogberg, who is known for having “great feet,” has to focus on improving other extremities.
“I talked a little bit to the goalie coach and he wants me to use my hands a little bit more, show my glove, try to catch more pucks with my hands and not be a blocker goalie,” said the 6-foot-3, 196-pounder. “We have a little stuff to do different. It’s going to be good.”
Englund, who is just 21, is coming off a solid season in Binghamton. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder benefitted from playing five games for Ottawa, where he’s eventually slated to become a shutdown defender.
“I keep working on getting better offensively but it’s not my strong side ... I don’t think that’s where there counting on me,” said Englund, who had three goals, 10 points and 82 penalty minutes in 69 games with the B-Sens. “I just have to play to my strengths. Playing hard and physical and take charge in the D -zone.”
Lee said Englund’s handful of games in the NHL last season accelerated his development.
“We thought he’d have a greater learning curve, transitioning from European ice to North American ice, and he picked it up pretty well,” said Lee. “I think he’s really comfortable in his role as a shutdown, hard-to-play-against D. He likes that, and he’s only going to get better.”
As usual, Lee offered a positive assessment of development camp, the last we’ll see of the Senators until the rookies arrive in September.
“I thought it was a great camp,” he said. “We started off the camp on a good note, we talked about that every player has to have a learning mindset. That was sort of the template for the camp, and it came across really strong. It was impactful for the players and impactful for the staff.
“We were really impressed with the way the players engaged.”