Ottawa Senators Prospect Update: The Plan
It has been a long time since there was this much genuine excitement over the future of the Ottawa Senators. The sentiment has been thrown around a lot, ever since our ‘bad guys’ were traded to go down south and (in no particular order) went on to either: 1. Live with their music star wife; 2. Win the Stanley Cup; 3. Give the puck to Alex Burrows in overtime; 4. Be irrelevant; 5. Help get Gabriel Landeskog. Once this group moved out, a new crowd came in, enlivened by opportunity and giving it their all every night, just to prove they belonged. They won a chunk of games and, though they hurt our chances at winning the draft lottery, the young players reinvigorated fans in the capital.
By and large, the call-ups succeeded in winning themselves a place: Bobby Butler, Colin Greening, Zack Smith, and Erik Condra are now on one-way deals. Yet, the about-face by Senators fans has had broader motivating factors than that time Bobby Butler embarrassed Hal Gill. There was the multitude of draft picks that were accumulated. There was Craig Anderson. There was a Calder Cup winning AHL playoff run that was very close to not being a run at all. In January, Sens fans were morose, saw firing on the horizon for both Coach and GM, and tuned in to see the team get outplayed and outperformed just about every time they hit the ice. It is now August, and there is a new coach, a bevy of first-round selections and unparalleled excitement for the season to come. What makes this year different from the rest is that most Sens fans do not have (realistic) eyes for Lord Stanley’s Silver. Rather, we are focused on the growth of our draft picks, and their prudent development so that, in a few year’s time, we can look up there again. That is why I am excited and privileged to be Silver Seven’s new prospect correspondent.
In my slightly-more-often-than-weekly postings, I will provide a summary of prospect activity, spanning across the Atlantic Ocean, from the OHL all the way to the SEL and anywhere in between. It will also include an in-depth recap of Binghamton’s recent games. What comes first in these posts will be the hard numbers. Secondly, I will work on condensing whatever information I can find on the web about out players. The purpose of these posts, first and foremost, is to inform and to keep you up-to-date on player development.
Beyond the weekly updates, I’ll write some opinion articles on Binghamton’s season, and a few pieces on individual prospects. As the reader, you are going to know when I am offering my opinion on player development, and when I am providing facts. I intend to spend a lot of hours reading up on these players and monitoring their play. However, I am not going to be able to watch Djurgardens’ full season and will have to rely on the accounts of others when it comes to Mika Zibanejad’s progress (should he not land in Ottawa). That, and wonderful clips of him undressing players drafted higher:
It may still be the long months of summer, but rest assured that all is not quiet in the world of prospects. Rookie camp is coming up in early September, Bingo players are touring around with the Calder Cup, and Mika Zibanejad is participating in homespun dance competitions. Thank you for the warm welcome!
