Ottawa Senators Training Camp Check-In: October 7th

Three more days until the 2024-25 season begins for real for the Ottawa Senators. It's always such an exciting week, especially in a season like this where hopes are high about making the playoffs. The preseason was quite nerve-wracking regarding injuries, but they've thankfully come out unscathed. Here are some final training camp updates before opening night:

• Cole Reinhardt and Donovan Sebrango were assigned to Belleville again, which is unsurprising. It was nice to see Sebrango score a few goals though, and maybe he can play his way into an NHL call-up this season.
• Two somewhat surprising cuts who have to go through waivers are Jan Jeník and Adam Gaudette. Gaudette played well in preseason, although he's more of a tweener NHL/AHL guy anyway and I'd be shocked if he gets claimed. Jeník also looked like a useful player as he had one goal and three assists in three games and brought a physical edge I thought Ottawa would like. I could see a team claiming him, but dozens of players were placed on waivers on Sunday and almost all of them will clear, so perhaps Jeník will sneak through. I hope he does because he's interesting to me as a fourth-line option.
• Matthew Highmore is still on the roster, but that is because he was injured on Saturday and can't be sent down. He'll most likely be placed on the injured reserve, and I can't imagine him getting a roster spot over others.
• The top-9 to begin the season seems to pretty clearly be something like this, with perhaps a few wingers moving around:

Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux

Perron-Norris-Batherson

Greig-Pinto-Amadio

We pretty much knew those nine players had spots secured, but the fourth line was where there were a lot of moving parts. After their cuts, they now have Nick Cousins, Zack MacEwan, Zack Ostapchuk, and Noah Gregor battling for ice time at the bottom of the lineup. I would assume they'll start with Cousins-Ostapchuk-Gregor and insert MacEwan every so often.

• I'm not sure if Ostapchuk did enough to deserve a spot on the roster over Jeník and even Gaudette, but he's always been a player worth giving a shot in the bottom-6. Cousins and Gregor can skate very well, so the fourth line will be a little different than what we're used to over the past decade.
• Carter Yakemchuk hasn't made the roster for the full season, nor has he even officially made the roster for one game. That could be announced as early as today, but it's unclear what their plans are for him. They currently have a set top-4 with Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub, Jake Sanderson, and Nick Jensen. Then Tyler Kleven was essentially given the 3rd pairing spot despite not looking his best, and Yakemchuk, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Travis Hamonic are on the roster for the final spot—so that makes eight defensemen for now. It could be a wait-and-see thing for Yakemchuk, but he deserves more time in the NHL to at least give him a taste of what it's like.
• It's quite a miracle that the Senators ended training camp with their expected roster that people were talking about a month ago—normally there are a few injuries that derail some plans. Hopefully, that's a good sign of health for the rest of the season.

What are your thoughts on the final roster for the Senators?