The Ottawa Senators notched their first win of the preseason last night, edging the Chicago Blackhawks by a 2-1 final.
This morning, they made two more tough decisions about their roster heading into the regular season.
Filip Chlapik and Christian Wolanin have been sent to Belleville of the American Hockey League. While both guys have strong Camps, it comes down to a numbers game more than anything. It’s safe to assume that both guys will have opportunities at the NHL level this year.
Chlapik looked great in the early part of the preseason, showing flashes of skill both on the wing and at centre ice. And with 20 games of NHL experience already under his belt, it certainly seemed like he was close to becoming an everyday NHLer. In the end though, it probably came down to a battle between Chlapik and Colin White. And in that sense, there were good arguments to be made for both players.
Up front, that means Brady Tkachuk, Alex Formenton, Colin White and Max McCormick are all sticking around. McCormick is on a one-way deal which gives him a slight edge to begin with but he also had a hell of a game last night and solidified his spot on the fourth line.
In the case of Formenton, the fact that he would have to return to Junior probably makes the decision a little bit easier. Brady Tkachuk could go to Belleville or London but he’s been a fixture in the top six throughout the preseason. Both will be around for nine games at least although it really wouldn’t be surprising if they stayed with the team all year.
The decisions on defence are a little bit more complicated.
Christian Wolanin seemed like a lock heading into Camp but in the end, he was just outplayed by the surprising Max Lajoie. It certainly helped Lajoie’s case that he was the best player on the ice last night. Both guys probably outplayed Ben Harpur but his one-way deal, combined with the fact he’s sort of an ideal fit for that 7th defenceman role means he’s sticking around.
Wolanin now has an opportunity to play big minutes in the American Hockey League. Like Chlapik, he’ll definitely get an NHL look at some point in the not too distant future.
That leaves the following left in Camp…
Dzingel-Duchene-Ryan
Tkachuk-Tierney-Stone
Formenton-Smith-Boedker
Pyatt-White-McCormick/Paajarvi
Chabot-Ceci
Lajoie-DeMelo
Borowiecki-Wideman
Harpur-Jaros
