In the middle of an NHL season, an interview with the Head Coach isn’t the sort of thing you’d usually notice.
Once the puck drops, it’s often happening a couple times of day. I’m pretty sure Guy Boucher is still in the middle of one actually. But when it’s been more than nine months without Sens hockey, it might even count as news.
DJ Smith, the Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators as you may recall, made an appearance on TSN 1200 this morning and covered a number of topics ahead of Training Camp.
Training Camp is in nine days by the way. NINE! Like, less than two weeks! Anyway, where was I? Oh right, attempting an in-depth review of an interview with the Head Coach.
DJ kept things pretty high-level but there were a few clues about what the Senators might look like when Camp opens in less than two weeks.
-From the Coach’s perspective, things are going to have to ramp up in a hurry. While the coaching staff has been in town since September and players have been on the ice for almost a month, the actual training camp itself is going to be pretty condensed. And with no preseason games, the tough decisions are going to based on limited viewings. It was encouraging to hear that both coaches and players are already gearing up for the season and have been for some time.
-Not that there should be any doubt but after listening to both Pierre Dorion and DJ Smith, it’s clear that Tim Stuetzle is going to be an Ottawa Senator. As in, this season. It sounds like the plan is to start him on the wing and give him more responsibility as the season progresses, including some reps at centre but they really want him to be an impact player as early as this season. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Senators handle Stuetzle over the course of a shortened season. While it sounds like the plan is to ease him in a little bit as a winger, this rebuild looks a whole lot better if Tim Stuetzle ends up being a first line centre.
-Speaking of starting on the wing, that’s the plan for Alex Galchenyuk too. While he does have some experience at centre and the Senators do have a need down the middle, Smith mentioned the plan is to start him on the wing. The coach specifically referenced knee injuries that have held Galchenyuk back a little bit in the past but that he’s now back to 100% health.
-Coach had some pretty high praise for the team’s biggest free agent acquisition in Evgenii Dadonov calling him the “best bumper/middle man” guy on the power play in the National Hockey League. The team is clearly counting on Dadonov sparking what was the league’s worst power play last season. If the Senators are going to be competitive in this Canadian division, it’s going to come down to two things- high-end goaltending from Matt Murray and drastic improvement in special teams situations.
-There are some pretty big questions marks at the centre ice position heading into training camp. With the likes of Chris Tierney, Colin White, Logan Brown, Josh Norris and Artem Anisimov available down the middle, there is a ton of uncertainty. DJ Smith specifically mentioned that he’s expecting a bounce back year from Colin White. Like Pierre Dorion, he also had some pretty high praise for Logan Brown. There are going to be a lot of interesting story-lines in a condensed camp but what happens with Logan Brown may be at the top of that list.
-It was hard not to notice Ottawa’s efforts to add toughness this off-season and listening to DJ Smith, it’s clear that the coach appreciated some of those additions. You’re going to hear a lot about “compete” from the Coach this season. As he put it, “We have to play playoff hockey every night”. With rumours that the schedule will be full of instances where you play the same team two, three and even four times in a row, playing with an edge is going to take on added significance. Not entirely sure where they’ll finish but I do know that the Ottawa Senators are going to be a nightmare to play against.
-No big surprise but Erik Gudbranson is going to get the first look with Thomas Chabot on the team’s top defence pairing. While the Coach acknowledged that there’s likely to be a few guys that get a chance in that spot (including Zaitsev and Josh Brown), he sounded pretty certain that it’s going to be Gudbranson to start. On paper, it seems like it could be a good fit with Gudbranson playing more of a defensive role and allowing Chabot the freedom to attack on offence. Chabot led the league in ice time last year, playing a ridiculous 26 minutes a night.
-There are plenty of question marks heading into Camp but one area where there is no uncertainty, at least on the depth chart anyway, is in goal. DJ Smith mentioned that Matt Murray is the clear number one and that he’s feeling good about Marcus Hogberg as his back up. And when you consider the fact that Hogberg has a one-way deal this year, it’s safe to assume he starts as the back up goalie. With a schedule likely full of back to backs, the Senators are going to need another strong year from Hogberg.
