An Extended Training Camp, Prospects Overseas & Stützle’s Contract Eligibility

After about a week of seemingly endless news for the Ottawa Senators, it’s been a relatively quiet few days. The draft has come and gone, free agency has slowed to an almost halt and now it feels like we’re getting into the lull ahead of training camp... whenever that may be.

There are, however, a few pieces of news from around that league that should interest Senators fans - including a brand new contract for Connor Brown.

• On Tuesday, a report surfaced that the NHL and NHLPA have tentatively agreed to allow the seven teams who did not participate in the play-ins or playoffs to begin training camp earlier than the those who spent any bit of time in the bubble. This request first surfaced back in August and it appears that we’re getting closer to understanding what exactly this will look like. For the Senators, it feels like a prime opportunity to have a bit of a development camp prior to training camp opening up. With the number of young players expected to join the lineup, this will be crucial for them to get ready to fight for the roster spots that Pierre Dorion has, for now, left available to them.
• A few Sens prospects found the scoresheet in Europe in the past few days. Eric Engstrand, a fifth round pick from a few weeks ago, scored his first career SHL goal on a great deflection from Detroit’s Joe Veleno. Roby Järventie, the 33rd overall selection in 2020, found the back of the net again yesterday as well, bringing his Liiga totals to two goals and four assists through seven games. If you’re not already, give SensProspects a follow on Twitter to keep up with the players currently participating in hockey games overseas.
• On Tuesday, Wayne Scanlan virtually penned a great piece about the Senators beginning to shed their basement dwelling status and working towards being a competitive hockey club again. Citing moves like acquiring and ponying up the money for Matt Murray, bringing in proven, veteran goal-scorer Evgenii Dadonov and the incredibly strong group of players expected to graduate from Belleville, Scanlan likes what the Sens have done so far - and we should, too.
• Yesterday, The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian, posted a fantastic piece (paywall) asking a question on the minds of many Sens fans - can Tim Stützle play in the NHL next year? Salvian isn’t necessarily asking the question as it relates to his ability - although it’s far from certain that Stützle will be able to compete at the NHL level next year - but it’s more related to his contract. The current rule is that a player under contract in Europe can’t be signed to an NHL contract after August 15th. This means, technically, Stützle has an obligation to spend the year in Mannheim of the DEL. This does not mean this contract cannot be terminated, it just means there are hurdles that need to be cleared for Stützle to be eligible for the Sens roster./