By all accounts, the first year in Belleville was a resounding success. Okay, well maybe not by all accounts.
The newly-refurbished Yardmen Arena looked great, the team facilities were among the best in the league and the passionate hockey fans in Belleville packed the rink on a regular basis.
Now they just need to figure out the whole hockey playing part of things. Because on the ice, the Belleville Senators have a ways to go.
Despite the organization’s best efforts to stock the inaugural BSens line up with reliable veterans, it was clear from the start of the season that there were going to be some growing pains.
They finished the year with a 29-42-2-3 record. Good enough for just 63 points and a 28th overall finish in the 30 team league. They scored just 194 goals (26th), gave up 266 (29th) and struggled badly on special teams. Their power play was ranked 30th and their penalty kill sat 28th overall. Much like their parent club, there wasn’t a whole lot that went right for the BSens in 2017/2018.
And that’s why this off-season, the organization has made an effort to shake things up with their minor league affiliate. While the Senators have left the NHL team relatively untouched, they have made a handful of moves that should help turn the fortunes of their farm team.
The first and probably biggest change comes behind the bench.
Kurt Kleinendorst is out, replaced with highly-respected Troy Mann. Mann, the brother of Chief Scout Trent Mann, has spent the last nine seasons in the Washington Capitals organization, including the last four as the Head Coach of their affiliate in Hershey. He won the Calder Cup as an Assistant and then as Head Coach, led the team to three straight years of a .630 winning percentage or better before taking a step back last year. Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz specifically mentioned the important role that Mann played in their Stanley Cup win last year.
Mann is known as a tough coach that is expected to bring a more up-tempo style than Kleinendorst. At the same time, he is known for getting the best out of young players and for prioritizing the development of the organization’s best prospects. This will be music to the ears of fans in Belleville and in Ottawa.
More than just the change behind the bench, the team has also gone out and added a handful of players via free agency this summer.
Paul Carey may be the biggest name of the bunch. Two years ago he was with the Hershey Bears and racked up an impressive 55 points in 55 games. And then last year, he appeared in 60 games with the New York Rangers, adding 7 goals and 14 points. While he’ll be in tough to crack Ottawa’s roster this season, he’ll certainly provide some much needed offensive punch in Belleville.
They also signed Adam Tambellini, an offensively gifted centre that played in Hartford last year. They added Stuart Percy, a puck-moving defenceman and former first round pick along with Chase Balisly, who appeared in 8 NHL games with the Panthers last season. Julius Bergman was added in the Mike Hoffman deal. Mike McKenna was signed to stabilize the goaltending position and support Filip Gustavsson and Marcus Hogberg. Yesterday they signed physical forward Joseph LaBate from Utica.
None of these are household names obviously but they should help the AHL team get back on track.
At the same time, a handful of prospects in the mix for NHL jobs could spend time in Belleville this season. That list includes Logan Brown, Brady Tkachuk (although London is also an option), Filip Chlapik, Aaron Luchuk, Drake Batherson, Colin White, Max McCormick, Gabriel Gagne, Christian Jaros, Andreas Englund, Nick Paul and Francis Perron.
Assuming the young players are given a legitimate opportunity to play and the veterans signed this off-season can make meaningful contributions, Belleville should be a much improved team this season.
