PTO: [OTT] G Dustin Tokarski, D Calen Addison, and F Nikolay Kulemin sign PTOs with the Senators; Keean Washkurak and Michael Simpson invited to camp

[GoldenKnight]

Addison looks to be a good gamble. Kulemin was a solid middle sixer at his peak, hopefully he can bring some veteran presence to this Sens team and make a push in camp.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

wtf....... guy is like 40 now and hasnt played in 5 or 6 years in the NHL atleast lol

Russian ruble declining so he probably wants to be paid in USD again.

I know there's like zero percent chance he gets an NHL offer.

But if there's a type of player that can make themselves useful way after their prime, Kulemin is that type of player. Low maintenance, and has their game based on calm smarts. Skill and speed players can't make a comeback years after the fact. Their tools degrade. But Kulemin had a simple game and knew where to stand on the ice. If I had to put a 38 year old on my team that hasn't played for 6 years? Kulemin is the guy.

Agree with your post but Kulemin has been playing in the KHL this whole time, he isn’t coming from an actual layoff.

 

[All Mod Cons]

Holy f*** do the Sens ever love an ex-Leaf.

God I'm old...

Not much older than Kulemin, in fact.

Let's bring back Grabovski.

Grabbo Mac and Kuli were one of the best lines to watch back in the day.

 

[Crazy Cizikas]

I think you're thinking of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Is he related to Old Ben Kenobi?

 

[Silky Johnson]

We replaced Brannstrom with Brannstrom.

Well if we replaced Brannstrom @ 2M (his Sens qualifying offer) with league minimum Brannstrom, that is all good.

 

[rynryn]

by some Wild fans. Thats about it AFAIK. against all evidence some still do.

Wasn't Addison actually considered pretty good a couple years ago?

 

[57special]

Addison looked assured with the puck in the O zone, especially on the PP, and consistently made good decisions. That's not nothing. Since he was young, it was thought that he could improve his defensive game somewhat, and become a PP/3rd RHD(which are always in demand). As things progressed in MN, there were mutterings that Addison wasn't improving, or taking coaching well. I mean, he had Jared Spurgeon, a tiny but superb two way RHD on the same team to learn from, but his game didn't seem to change.

If he could improve on his puck retrievals at ES then he could be good on breakouts. The guy knows how to pass. He just seems weirdly passive in the D zone. He's not like a Klingberg, who can do all sorts of stuff athletically, but makes all sorts of weird decisions leading to mistakes. Addison just sort of disappears. I wonder if it's partly a confidence issue at this point.

People on here are reveling on shitting on him(because it's easy), w/o acknowledging that he does some things significantly better than most Dmen in the league. That's got to be worth giving him another chance, though why the hell it would be OTT is beyond me. I guess he and Kleven could be a Yin/Yang pair together at some time in the future?

 

[Al Lagoon]

Perhaps the least physically capable defenseman in the NHL last season

He'd probably kick your ass in a brawl though, right?

 

[KevinRedkey]

Hamonic, JBD, and Addison will battle it out for the 3-RD positon I guess. One will end up being a 7D (my guess is Hamonic), and the other likely let go on sent to the AHL (my guess is Addison).

It very much looks like Kleven is going to slot in to the 3-LD position, but there's basically no LD after him. If When Chabot gets injured, it's really thin on that side. I would have preferred to give a PTO to a lefty for that reason.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Kulemin is still playing? I apparently missed this bit of news and now the joke about Kulemin on the Pens board makes sense.

It's wild he scores 30 in his 3rd NHL year and never hits 20 again.

Was such an amazing defensive stud. Shame the scoring didn't keep up.

I remember when the Islanders signed Kulemin and Grabovski same year.

I remember most of us wanted him to sign with the Penguins becaue he and Geno were from the same hometown and were good mates as well, but that contract he signed with the Isles was just too much, but it would have been cool, I think Kulemin would have had some very good numbers on Geno's wing.

 

[Kcoyote3]

He'd probably kick your ass in a brawl though, right?

Yeah he would

 

[bert]

Addison looked assured with the puck in the O zone, especially on the PP, and consistently made good decisions. That's not nothing. Since he was young, it was thought that he could improve his defensive game somewhat, and become a PP/3rd RHD(which are always in demand). As things progressed in MN, there were mutterings that Addison wasn't improving, or taking coaching well. I mean, he had Jared Spurgeon, a tiny but superb two way RHD on the same team to learn from, but his game didn't seem to change.

If he could improve on his puck retrievals at ES then he could be good on breakouts. The guy knows how to pass. He just seems weirdly passive in the D zone. He's not like a Klingberg, who can do all sorts of stuff athletically, but makes all sorts of weird decisions leading to mistakes. Addison just sort of disappears. I wonder if it's partly a confidence issue at this point.

People on here are reveling on shitting on him(because it's easy), w/o acknowledging that he does some things significantly better than most Dmen in the league. That's got to be worth giving him another chance, though why the hell it would be OTT is beyond me. I guess he and Kleven could be a Yin/Yang pair together at some time in the future?

Good post. The bolded is so strange, most sens fans have never watched him either but they all have strong opinions. Its an interesting phenomenon. He is only 24 and has some raw ability and its a PTO so there is no risk. He has a connection to Ben Sexton and Ottawa is pretty light on the right side its a place that makes sense for him to give it a shot.

 

[StuckOutHere]

Russian ruble declining so he probably wants to be paid in USD again.


Agree with your post but Kulemin has been playing in the KHL this whole time, he isn’t coming from an actual layoff.

Apparently his kid is playing hockey in Ontario.

 

[Dog]

I remember him being drafted did he play in Russia few years? Looked it up 6 seasons in KHL!

 

[MMC]

Ottawa Senators announce 56-player 2024-25 training camp roster | Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators announce 56-player 2024-25 training camp roster

www.nhl.com

 

[MMC]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1836763747374784987

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1836763747374784987

Replacing Leevi Merilainen, who tweaked his groin.

 

[MMC]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838727337594282048

 

[MMC]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1840837485103902970

 

[uncleben]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1840837485103902970

Not surprised, but man that's a shame
Would have been so cool to see him in the NHL again

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Not gonna lie, Kulemin was really growing on me.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Wonder if Kulemin signs an AHL deal with Toronto or Ottawa if the entire thing is for his kids hockey development.

 

[Senscore]

Goodbye cool lemon

 

[BonMorrison]

Wonder if Kulemin signs an AHL deal with Toronto or Ottawa if the entire thing is for his kids hockey development.

I hope so!

 

[Leafshater67]

Kulemin looked a lot better than I expected. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he found his way into the bottom 6. The marlies should pick him up.