Nothing says off-season quite like the annual Prospect Development Camp.
Held every summer, the week-long event includes a number of on and off-ice sessions that allow the organization to get a better look at some prospects and in some cases, see them on the ice for the first time as Ottawa Senators.
Among the 30 players invited to this year’s camp are all five picks from this year’s Draft, led of course by first round selection Logan Brown. Four goalies, twelve defenceman and fourteen forwards were invited this year and 18 of the 30 players took part in last year’s camp.
The list of returnees includes top prospects like Thomas Chabot and Colin White, although White is not expected to take part in all on-ice sessions due to a lingering injury. For Chabot, this will be a good chance to make a strong first impression with the Coaching staff. He is expected to push for a spot with the big club this fall.
There are also a handful of undrafted prospects that will be hoping to leave their mark this week. Perhaps the most interesting of that group is 18 year old Vito Bavaro who was ranked 165th by central scouting this year. And in a rather amusing move, the Senators have also invited Michael Babcock, son of Leafs’ Head Coach Mike Babcock, to participate in this year’s Camp.
The first on-ice session is scheduled for 2:00 PM this afternoon at the Bell Sensplex. All on-ice sessions are open to the public too. Hope some of you have a chance to make it out and can share your thoughts on this year’s Camp.
More details are available here.
-And while the prospects take centre stage this week, General Manager Pierre Dorion continues to focus on free agency. They’ve been working hard on contracts for Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman and by all accounts, things are going well on both front. They’ve also been quietly kicking tires on some UFAs with the focus on finding a guy who can play a third line role and perhaps another defenceman to shore up the team’s third pairing. No specifics yet but still not expecting the Senators to make a huge splash in free agency obviously. Well other than Steven Stamkos, obviously.
