Over the quiet summer months, I thought it might be interesting to take a little closer look at some of the prospects in the organization. While the Senators certainly don’t have the deepest prospect pool in the league, they have done a nice job restocking the cupboards in the last few Drafts. In a series called “One to Watch”, we’ll discuss the Ottawa Senators of the future. Up first- goaltender Marcus Hogberg.
The Senators Annual Development Camp came and went earlier this month and like always, there were a handful of players that stood out.
Returning guys like Nick Paul and Gabriel Gagne made a good impression and are clearly on a positive trajectory in their development. Recent draft picks like Logan Brown and Jonathan Dahlen put on a show as newcomers and showed exactly why the scouting staff was so happy with their haul at the 2016 Draft.
But in a week where a number of skaters stood out, it was the performance of one of the team’s goaltending prospects that may have been the biggest surprise of all.
21 year old goaltender Marcus Hogberg, appearing in his 4th development camp, was a standout in net and seems like a prospect to keep an eye on in the next couple years.
Selected in the 3rd round (78th overall) in the 2013 Draft, Hogberg is a 6’5, 220 lb native of Orebro, Sweden. While the organization has maintained a sort of quiet confidence about his development and his long-term potential, it’s been pretty hard to get a read on him with almost zero North American exposure.
Watching him in the Development Camp, it was easy to see why the organization is excited. He’s huge in the net and moves quick for a guy his size. Hilariously small sample size (two viewings) but he seemed to have solid rebound control and did a great job reading the play. The scouting report on Hogberg suggests something similar:
Hogberg is a big, competitive goaltender who excels at analyzing the play and positioning himself strategically based on the situation. He deploys a butterfly style, and at 6-foot-5, is an intimidating blocker with great lateral movement and the reflexes to excel both deep within and at the top of his crease. He has the potential to be a starting goaltender in the NHL, if he ever makes it across the pond.
While the Senators have quality prospects in the system, their goaltending pool remains full of question marks.
Matt O’Connor was highly touted out of the NCAA but struggled a bit in his first professional season. Chris Driedger started slow last year but finished the year strong. The Senators took a flyer on Joey Daccord in the 7th round of last year’s draft but he’s considered a bit of a project. That the team didn’t take a goalie this Draft says a lot about how they feel about the guys in the system right now.
Goaltending can be pretty strange. It’s the most important position on a hockey team and of all the players that suit up on any given night, the goalie will always have the biggest impact on the result. But as we’ve learned from ridiculous run of Andrew Hammond or the sudden rise of guys like Matt Murray, Martin Jones and Andrei Vasilevski good goaltending can be a little bit unpredictable.
While the Senators may not have any top flight goaltending prospects in the system but they obviously feel pretty good about some their options.
By the end of this coming season, Marcus Hogberg may find himself at the top of that list.
There were a lot of things that motivated the trade of Robin Lehner. It was partly because the team had some concerns internally about his development. Secondly, the run Andrew Hammond went on made it pretty tough for them to walk away. And while it never really got much attention, I heard that their quiet confidence in Marcus Hogberg was a factor in the decision.
Hogberg is going to play one more year in Sweden and the hope is that after this coming season, he’ll be ready to come over to North America. He signed a two year contract with Linkoping in December 2015 and has yet to sign his first pro contract with the organization.
Based on everything Randy Lee said during Development Camp, it certainly sounds like Marcus Hogberg is an important part of the team’s future between the pipes.
