Prospect Info: 2020-2021 Senators Prospect Watch

[God Says No]

Anyone know if these moves cost the Sens $$$ ? Do they pay to place the player ? Do these clubs need a few extra bodies around ? My guess is the Sens cover the salary cost but I wonder what the motivation is ?

I'm assuming the motivation is the player gets to play, since it's been a while.

 

[Sweatred]

I'm assuming the motivation is the player gets to play, since it's been a while.

Well certainly the team wasn’t a the player playing ... I’m curious about the financials.

I think it may be a little more complicated - these are young hockey prospects that generally don’t dominate these leagues.

 

[otown]

Craig Button did an analysis of Canadian team prospects and says that Ottawa has cornered the market on 3rd and 4th line prospects!
That's about to change in 8 days!!

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Craig Button did an analysis of Canadian team prospects and says that Ottawa has cornered the market on 3rd and 4th line prospects!
That's about to change in 8 days!!

Comes from drafting "safe" players with no star power

 

[Korpse]

Craig Button did an analysis of Canadian team prospects and says that Ottawa has cornered the market on 3rd and 4th line prospects!
That's about to change in 8 days!!

Comes from drafting "safe" players with no star power

Not exactly what he said. He was projecting the Senators depth chart before the off season and was not projecting the upside of prospects.

 

[aragorn]

Can a small market team with a small scouting staff, unpredictable owner & small budget afford not to pick the safe pick? Or can they afford to swing for the fences with a prospect that if it goes wrong could cost them for yrs? IMO you can still build a pretty good team even with safe picks, you might not get a high skilled player, but some of them can have their own problems & liabilities.

And sometimes you end up with some pretty good players from deeper in the draft from guys you may not have expected to become stars like Stone & Hoffman. The draft is a bit of a crap shoot, I don't think there is anything wrong with picking players who are considered to be safe players, they could still turn into stars for the team. A safe pick is still better than striking out completely given how much time, effort & money goes into drafting & developing players especially those picked in the early rds.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Can a small market team with a small scouting staff, unpredictable owner & small budget afford not to pick the safe pick? Or can they afford to swing for the fences with a prospect that if it goes wrong could cost them for yrs? IMO you can still build a pretty good team even with safe picks, you might not get a high skilled player, but some of them can have their own problems & liabilities.

And sometimes you end up with some pretty good players from deeper in the draft from guys you may not have expected to become stars like Stone & Hoffman. The draft is a bit of a crap shoot, I don't think there is anything wrong with picking players who are considered to be safe players, they could still turn into stars for the team. A safe pick is still better than striking out completely given how much time, effort & money goes into drafting & developing players especially those picked in the early rds.

Stone and Hoffman were not "safe" players. At all.

 

[aragorn]

Stone and Hoffman were not "safe" players. At all.

I never said they were.

 

[Xspyrit]

Not exactly what he said. He was projecting the Senators depth chart before the off season and was not projecting the upside of prospects.

I was going to say...

Button thinks all of Batherson, Brown, Norris, Formenton, Balcers, Abramov, Pinto are 3rd/4th line prospects?

But yeah very different from what the poster said...

 

[sajmae]

Chlapik signed a month long contract with Czech Extraliga club Sparta Prague and will make a debut today according to hokej.cz

 

[mianjo]

Chlapik signed a month long contract with Czech Extraliga club Sparta Prague and will make a debut today according to hokej.cz

His team lost 3-2 only stat was a 2 min pen for cross checking

 

[WolfOfBroadStreet14]

Hello everyone, Flyers fan coming in peace. I hear a lot about the senators upcoming prospects but don’t know much about their styles of play. Would you be able to give me some comparables on guys like Norris, Batherson, L. Brown, Formenton, etc. just wondering what these guys could turn in to.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Hello everyone, Flyers fan coming in peace. I hear a lot about the senators upcoming prospects but don’t know much about their styles of play. Would you be able to give me some comparables on guys like Norris, Batherson, L. Brown, Formenton, etc. just wondering what these guys could turn in to.

Hey bud.

Just to give you some perspective, Ottawa has a plethora of prospects that not only are very promising, but most are almost NHL ready and a chunk of players contributed heavily to an AHL team that was 1st for a good part of the season with youngest contributors to their success that hasnt been matched in a while. Thats why Sens fans will share quite a bit of optimism in relation to some of these guys; most are already pro proven and just need to prove it in the NHL. Think TB AHL production few seasons back with Palat, T. Johnson, Point, Gourde etc...

So Batherson is a unique prospect as the last few years his curve has been exponential and he is a real late riser. Had a great year in the Q and great playoffs, was big factor for team Canada in u20s and then blew by the AHL and was the best player last year in the A at 21ish. He has top line potential for sure. His hands, IQ, playmaking and vision are all top quality. The only fall back he has is his acceleration which was quite bad and its still at below average. Many are split on his ceiling due to that skating component and he could be anywhere from 45-75 point scorer with 70+ if he definitely improves his first steps. His comparable is a slower Blake Wheeler/Schiefele.

Brown also has remarkable skill and top line playmaking, vision and hands, but his skating and determination have drawn question marks if he can elevate his game to the next level. Brown's production and impact in the AHL has been fantastic and seems to be meshing with just about anyone thrown on his line. Many of us believe he's either top 6 C or bust. Some still have hopes he can this team's future number 1 C as he was always viewed as a long term project from the moment he was drafted. Comparable is Ryan Getzlaf without the grit.

Norris is probably our biggest and most pleasant surprise but that probably is associated with his connection to the Karlsson trade. He had a monster scoring year in the year we acquired him and looked like he was well on his way to having an excellent season until it was cut short of injuries. A lot of us were bummed out and thought maybe lightning in a bottle type of scoring explosion but then he blew away with his performance in the AHL this year where he scored 30 and 60 points as a 20 year old rookie and winning ROY and making first team allstars. Senators projected him as a 3rd line C from when we acquired him but his demonstration last few seasons has Sens thinking he's the firm second line C of the future (50-65 points) with 2 way game and high intense motor. See him as Brayden Schenn with more conservative outlook of Coyle.

Formenton is kind of the wild card around here. He has blazing speed(mcdavid level) and was getting like couple breakaways a game when he had short stints up here and looked to not have the hands/IQ to keep up with his elite speed to be a top line/top 6 threat. But last year in the AHL he was in competition for rookie of the year as well even though a good chunk of goals came as empty netters. Formenton plays with an edge and is persistent. Some believe he has capabilities of become our own version of Kreider while some others are, more conservatively, presuming he'll be averaging 35-40 points instead of around 50. A few think he could be our 2nd line LW. Comparable: Kreider.

There's also Pinto who I actually think just as highly of than Norris with an excellent freshman year in the NCAA and among USA's best in u20s. Plays hardnosed, high motor 2 way hockey. My comparable is Logan Couture/Monahan. We see him as a 3rd line C but I think he challenges whoever as the 2nd line C of the future.

Brannstrom is also on prospect list and few have drawn comparables to Ryan Ellis or Jared Spurgeon(Vegas fan told us this outright from when we acquired him) Brannstrom had a spectacular 19 year old AHL season and was close to PPG last year in the AHL as a 20 year old D man. Struggled in the early parts of last season containing players around the net so we send him down for more seasoning. Should be up with Ottawa majority of the season next year.

There are also players like Balcers/Abramov the former scoring over a PPG in the AHL and looked like he had top 6 upside until he was injured and wasnt really showing much in the NHL this year or Abramov who just turned 22 and some believe he has outside shot at being a top 6 forward or top 9 for sure.

We also have Wolanin who was on pace for a 35 point rookie NHL season and was supposed to be a fixture on our defense/top 4 last year but suffered a season ending injury in training camp. He had a monster year in final year of NCAA and was without a question our best defender in his rookie season in AHL couple years ago.

 

[WolfOfBroadStreet14]

Hey bud.

Just to give you some perspective, Ottawa has a plethora of prospects that not only are very promising, but most are almost NHL ready and a chunk of players contributed heavily to an AHL team that was 1st for a good part of the season with youngest contributors to their success that hasnt been matched in a while. Thats why Sens fans will share quite a bit of optimism in relation to some of these guys; most are already pro proven and just need to prove it in the NHL. Think TB AHL production few seasons back with Palat, T. Johnson, Point, Gourde etc...

So Batherson is a unique prospect as the last few years his curve has been exponential and he is a real late riser. Had a great year in the Q and great playoffs, was big factor for team Canada in u20s and then blew by the AHL and was the best player last year in the A at 21ish. He has top line potential for sure. His hands, IQ, playmaking and vision are all top quality. The only fall back he has is his acceleration which was quite bad and its still at below average. Many are split on his ceiling due to that skating component and he could be anywhere from 45-75 point scorer with 70+ if he definitely improves his first steps. His comparable is a slower Blake Wheeler/Schiefele.

Brown also has remarkable skill and top line playmaking, vision and hands, but his skating and determination have drawn question marks if he can elevate his game to the next level. Brown's production and impact in the AHL has been fantastic and seems to be meshing with just about anyone thrown on his line. Many of us believe he's either top 6 C or bust. Some still have hopes he can this team's future number 1 C as he was always viewed as a long term project from the moment he was drafted. Comparable is Ryan Getzlaf without the grit.

Norris is probably our biggest and most pleasant surprise but that probably is associated with his connection to the Karlsson trade. He had a monster scoring year in the year we acquired him and looked like he was well on his way to having an excellent season until it was cut short of injuries. A lot of us were bummed out and thought maybe lightning in a bottle type of scoring explosion but then he blew away with his performance in the AHL this year where he scored 30 and 60 points as a 20 year old rookie and winning ROY and making first team allstars. Senators projected him as a 3rd line C from when we acquired him but his demonstration last few seasons has Sens thinking he's the firm second line C of the future (50-65 points) with 2 way game and high intense motor. See him as Brayden Schenn with more conservative outlook of Coyle.

Formenton is kind of the wild card around here. He has blazing speed(mcdavid level) and was getting like couple breakaways a game when he had short stints up here and looked to not have the hands/IQ to keep up with his elite speed to be a top line/top 6 threat. But last year in the AHL he was in competition for rookie of the year as well even though a good chunk of goals came as empty netters. Formenton plays with an edge and is persistent. Some believe he has capabilities of become our own version of Kreider while some others are, more conservatively, presuming he'll be averaging 35-40 points instead of around 50. A few think he could be our 2nd line LW. Comparable: Kreider.

There's also Pinto who I actually think just as highly of than Norris with an excellent freshman year in the NCAA and among USA's best in u20s. Plays hardnosed, high motor 2 way hockey. My comparable is Logan Couture/Monahan. We see him as a 3rd line C but I think he challenges whoever as the 2nd line C of the future.

Brannstrom is also on prospect list and few have drawn comparables to Ryan Ellis or Jared Spurgeon(Vegas fan told us this outright from when we acquired him) Brannstrom had a spectacular 19 year old AHL season and was close to PPG last year in the AHL as a 20 year old D man. Struggled in the early parts of last season containing players around the net so we send him down for more seasoning. Should be up with Ottawa majority of the season next year.

There are also players like Balcers/Abramov the former scoring over a PPG in the AHL and looked like he had top 6 upside until he was injured and wasnt really showing much in the NHL this year or Abramov who just turned 22 and some believe he has outside shot at being a top 6 forward or top 9 for sure.

We also have Wolanin who was on pace for a 35 point rookie NHL season and was supposed to be a fixture on our defense/top 4 last year but suffered a season ending injury in training camp. He had a monster year in final year of NCAA and was without a question our best defender in his rookie season in AHL couple years ago.

Sounds like the future is very bright! I appreciate the detailed descriptions, thank you for indulging me. I’m rooting for you guys to come back strong. Hopefully you guys will be rewarded soon with a new owner who isn’t so cheap.

 

[Xspyrit]

Sounds like the future is very bright! I appreciate the detailed descriptions, thank you for indulging me. I’m rooting for you guys to come back strong. Hopefully you guys will be rewarded soon with a new owner who isn’t so cheap.

Yeah, the Sens are very good at drafting and developing good/great NHL players... Look at this since 2008 :

Ottawa Senators Draft History at hockeydb.com


But the problem is that these players eventually become expensive and the owner is always looking to cut costs and/or save money... That doesn't work well in the NHL since a franchise is very expensive to operate and the Ottawa market doesn't bring good enough revenues to justify spending to the cap and spend more on hockey ops. With how the cap has evolved in the last decade, it has become very hard for Ottawa to follow the parade.

This franchise need an owner with a strong financial backbone who would be able to realize the downtown arena project. He'd have to be ready to lose money for a period of time with a short term loss for long term gain philosophy

An owner that isn't hell to be working for or with and who is not a PR disaster would be good too.

The sooner this happens the better but if it doesn't happen before Chabot's contract comes to an end in 2028, I suspect the same kind firesale will happen once again, maybe even sooner if the team has many expensive players and has a subpar season. As soon as this 2 elements align, it becomes convenient for Melnyk to rebuild and therefore save money.

Edit : Other quality prospects that ReginKarlssonLehner hasn't talked about : Jacob Bernard-Docker, Lassi Thomson, Joey Daccord and Mads Søgaard notably

 

[scallionjj11]

Yeah, the Sens are very good at drafting and developing good/great NHL players... Look at this since 2008 :

Ottawa Senators Draft History at hockeydb.com


But the problem is that these players eventually become expensive and the owner is always looking to cut costs and/or save money... That doesn't work well in the NHL since a franchise is very expensive to operate and the Ottawa market doesn't bring good enough revenues to justify spending to the cap and spend more on hockey ops. With how the cap has evolved in the last decade, it has become very hard for Ottawa to follow the parade.

This franchise need an owner with a strong financial backbone who would be able to realize the downtown arena project. He'd have to be ready to lose money for a period of time with a short term loss for long term gain philosophy

An owner that isn't hell to be working for or with and who is not a PR disaster would be good too.

The sooner this happens the better but if it doesn't happen before Chabot's contract comes to an end in 2028, I suspect the same kind firesale will happen once again, maybe even sooner if the team has many expensive players and has a subpar season. As soon as this 2 elements align, it becomes convenient for Melnyk to rebuild and therefore save money.

Edit : Other quality prospects that ReginKarlssonLehner hasn't talked about : Jacob Bernard-Docker, Lassi Thomson, Joey Daccord and Mads Søgaard notably

2014 was a great draft for us ....

 

[Korpse]

I don't think there is a better comparison for a player than Mark Stone and Drake Batherson, there are so many similarities.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I don't think there is a better comparison for a player than Mark Stone and Drake Batherson, there are so many similarities.

I see many similarities but Stone's hockey smarts are just so much better (really better than 99% of the NHL) while I think Drake has more of an offensive arsenal when it comes to hands and shot and offensive creativity.

I'm excited about Batherson.

 

[Korpse]

I see many similarities but Stone's hockey smarts are just so much better (really better than 99% of the NHL) while I think Drake has more of an offensive arsenal when it comes to hands and shot and offensive creativity.

I'm excited about Batherson.

I can buy that argument but I can also see Drake's hockey sense shining at the next stage. You can tell he processes at a high level already, he makes those quick one touch plays so consistently that I think he is well above average in terms of hockey sense. I don't know if he will consistently strip the opposition of the puck the way Stone did, but he's pretty crafty in that regard as well.

I don't trust anyone not excited about Batherson.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I can buy that argument but I can also see Drake's hockey sense shining at the next stage. You can tell he processes at a high level already, he makes those quick one touch plays so consistently that I think he is well above average in terms of hockey sense. I don't know if he will consistently strip the opposition of the puck the way Stone did, but he's pretty crafty in that regard as well.

I don't trust anyone not excited about Batherson.

Ohh, that wasn't a slight on Drake's hockey smarts. He's top notch, at least offensively. Mark Stone just reads the game at the next level, better than anyone but the absolute elite. I'd put Stone's hockey smarts in the top 5 in the league.

 

[foggyvisor]

I hope guys like Brown, Batherson and Brannstrom have taken the immense time off to work on their bodies. They all need muscle to add explosiveness and agility to their skating. Brains they have.

10 months off is an incredible gift to a hockey player that is underdeveloped physically. You have time to pack on a lot of muscle and then also cut down to get as lean as possible afterwards.

 

[Sting]

I hope guys like Brown, Batherson and Brannstrom have taken the immense time off to work on their bodies. They all need muscle to add explosiveness and agility to their skating. Brains they have.

10 months off is an incredible gift to a hockey player that is underdeveloped physically. You have time to pack on a lot of muscle and then also cut down to get as lean as possible afterwards.

I've all but given up on Brown because I don't see the drive and by the looks of it, his body type is similar to Spezza (no endurance, short burst of speed then gassed). The difference is Spezza had the drive and talent. I'd be floored at this point if Brown carves out a top 6 career for himself.

Brannstrom and Batherson though I anticipate will step it up. Brannstrom in particular would benefit from bulking up a fair bit.

 

[Sun God Nika]

I've all but given up on Brown because I don't see the drive and by the looks of it, his body type is similar to Spezza (no endurance, short burst of speed then gassed). The difference is Spezza had the drive and talent. I'd be floored at this point if Brown carves out a top 6 career for himself.

Brannstrom and Batherson though I anticipate will step it up. Brannstrom in particular would benefit from bulking up a fair bit.

yup I’ve been feeling bust on brown since early last season, the injuries aren’t helping . Hope the sens use him as a trade piece sooner rather than later

 

[mianjo]

Lassi Thompson and Roby Jarventie currently playing Jukerit winning 3-0

 

[Dingleberry]

Lassi Thompson and Roby Jarventie currently playing Jukerit winning 3-0

Roby got an assist on PP goal.