(UPDATE 8:19 AM)- Francis Perron and Thomas Chabot made short work of the Montreal Canadiens in the tournament opener as the Senators cruised to an 8-2 win. Highlights from the game can be found here. The Sens play their second game today at 4:00 PM and it sounds like we might actually be able to watch this one. Keep an eye on the comment section for a link and I’ll add it to the post above as well.
At long last. An actual Ottawa Senators hockey game.
Okay, that may be a stretch but after more than three months without Sens hockey, this will do.
The rookies from the Ottawa Senators kick off their annual tournament tonight in Toronto, as they go head to head with the rookies from the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Ricoh Colisseum.
After tonight’s game against Montreal, the Senators will close out the tournament with a 4:00 PM start against the Maple Leafs. Ron Hainsey will not be in the line up for that one.
Ottawa’s roster is headlined by Thomas Chabot, Colin White and Logan Brown but there are a bunch of players looking to make a strong impression on Management this weekend.
Francis Perron, for example, is coming off a fairly quiet first pro season but he’s come to this Camp a little bit bigger/stronger and has the potential to stand out in a tournament like this. On the blueline, it will be our first look at Christian Jaros, who arrived in North America this summer after two seasons in Sweden.
The team will be on the ice for a morning skate at 10:15 AM this morning so we may be able to figure out some line combinations. One comment from the first day of practice suggested they were lined up like this to start.
Formenton-White-Gagne
Perron-Brown-Rodewald
Batherson-Chlapik-Gennaro
Topping-Suter-Dow
Kelly
Chabot-Jaros
Englund-Donaghey
Murray-Erkamps
Lajoie-Beaudoin
Hogberg
Bailie
The roster along with full player bios can be found here.
Following an afternoon practice, Thomas Chabot speaks with the media about the upcoming #SensRooks Tournament in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/bKf3SlJ6NL
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 7, 2017
And from earlier this week, a few things to keep an eye during the weekend games.
-Heading into this weekend, everyone is talking about him and with good reason. Thomas Chabot will be looking to make a good first impression as he sets his sights on a spot with the big team this year. Chabot dominated the QMJHL in his 52 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs and he’ll be expected to do the same this weekend. Senators Management has been raving about Chabot’s progress over the last calendar year and this will be our first real chance to see where he’s at this season. With yesterday’s news that Erik Karlsson may not be able to suit up until later in October, there’s a desperate need for another puck mover on Ottawa’s blueline. Chabot can be that guy and it starts with a strong showing this weekend.
-And same goes for Colin White. Derick Brassard is still recovering from his off-season surgery and while he hinted that he may be a little bit ahead of schedule, he still hasn’t met with team doctors or been officially cleared for contact. If he’s on the shelf to start the season, there may be an opening for Colin White at the centre position. White got a taste of pro hockey in the AHL last year and the organization saw enough from him there to give him a few NHL games including a few shifts in the playoffs. In a tournament like this, you expect certain prospects to clearly stand out above the rest and both White and Chabot fit in that category.
-There are only two games this weekend but it will give Management an opportunity to get a closer look at a handful of guys on professional or amateur tryouts. Kevin Baile, Bobby Dow, Matteo Gennaro, Parker Kelly and Jordan Topping are all on ATOs while Charles-David Beaudoin, Jordan Murray, Jack Rodewald and Pius Suter all come to camp on PTOs. Of that group, Pius Suter might be the most intriguing name. He played well during his draft year but was overlooked in 2015. He’s been pretty impressive in Switzerland the last two years and has a chance to earn a pro contract.
-Safe to say Logan Brown is probably Ottawa’s 3rd best prospect at this point (behind Chabot and White) but there’s no sugar-coating it- last year was a disappointing year from the 11th overall pick in the 2016 Draft. Injuries were a big part of that obviously and he’ll be looking to get his season off to a better start this weekend. A 6’6 centre with high-end offensive awareness and the hands to go along with it doesn’t come along very often so there’s reason to be excited about Brown’s potential. He’s one of the prospects expected to get an extended look this Training Camp and pre-season.
-Marcus Hogberg rose quickly up the team’s prospect ranking last year and comes into this season as a candidate for one of the jobs in Belleville this season. KHL veteran Danny Taylor is expected to get one spot while Hogberg and Chris Driedger battle it out for the other. Also Andrew Hammond is still a thing. Hogberg was spectacular in Sweden last year but his three games in the American Hockey League were less than impressive. Granted that Binghamton team was a complete disaster (sorry Tim!). Hogberg’s emergence as a legitimate prospect was a pleasant surprise last year and now the organization is banking on him taking another step forward.
