GDT: Sens @ Habs | Pre-season finale | Sat. Sept. 28th 7PM

[AchtzehnBaby]

I can pretty confidently say that Suzuki is better than those two guys you mentioned. By a pretty fair margin.

Oops. I forgot to add a sarcasm emoji....

For sure... point is that we haven’t seen the full returns of the trades made last season yet.

 

[Masked]

Sens are absolutely terrible at drafting now. They've found some late round gems, sure, but they consistently strike out in the 1st round. It's unacceptable. They never go for pure skill. That's why we are stuck with the average prospect pool that we have. And don't even get me started on our pro scouting.

Yeah! I hate how Dorion drafts grinders like Chabot, Logan Brown and Thomson!

 

[Micklebot]

Kind of a weird camp for Brannstrom, actually. If you didn't know who he was and the pre-season were the only time you had seen him play, do you think you'd have identified him as a player that people have pegged as a future point producer at the NHL level? I'm not so sure. That sort of skill set wasn't really on display - he didn't join the rush much, he didn't get a lot of shots through, he didn't look super creative. He defended a little better than I expected. I have some concerns about his ability to avoid contact from forecheckers. We'll see what happens when the games matter.

Ultimately I think it's the promise of offense that will keep Brannstrom around to start the year. If you send him down, can you really run Zaitsev, Hainsey, DeMelo, Borowiecki, Jaros and Goloubef as your two-through-seven defensemen? That is spectacularly unskilled, even on a team that any rational person expects to be the worst in the NHL.

So I think Jaros goes to Belleville. With Zaitsev, Borowiecki, Hainsey and to a lesser extent DeMelo, we have a lot of players on the roster who duplicate what Jaros does.

If the Sens are starting with 13 forwards then that means one of Chlapik, Abramov and Brown will start in the spot that Balcers seemed to have locked up. Brown is not a fit in a bottom-six wing spot and Abramov needs to go down and hopefully produce some points as a pro. Chlapik doesn't have a ton of upside so you needn't worry about squandering his potential by using him for 7 or 8 minutes a night.

A few thoughts on Pageau - obviously a difficult camp for the guy, capped off by a pretty ugly sequence on the OT winner tonight. It'll be interesting to see where his minutes end up this season. He started camp by getting a chance to center Duclair and Batherson in a scoring role which didn't work out at all, and he even appears to be losing PK minutes to Tierney and Anisimov. An achilles injury can be really tough for a guy whose effectiveness was driven primarily by being hard on the puck rather than by skill or smarts.

I felt like Brannstrom was playing to dispell existing perceptions about his game away from the puck and not playing to show off his strengths.

 

[Larionov]

First things first - yes, ugly play by Pageau in OT, but that happens sometimes towards the end of three on three when everyone is tired and the play gets even more scrambly than usual. Sometimes you'll be on the right end of a play like that, sometimes you'll be on the wrong end.

Put that aside, though, and there were lots of things to like last night. I thought Batherson played really well, skating well and generating offense all night. He's just snakebitten right now, but September is a good time for that. The offense will come for him, and when it does it will come in bunches.

Yes, Brannstrom had one bad play, but surrounding that was a very strong night for him. He comes as advertised - he moves the puck really well, and will be an advanced stat dream. He's not quite the offensive force that EK can be, but for a team that desperately needed to improve its overall skill and puck moving ability on the back end, he's a gem. He'll also keep getting better as the season wears on, at which time the offense will start to come.

And Duclair? Like everyone else, I keep waiting for the clock to strike midnight and for him to turn into a pumpkin, but for now it looks like a bunch of NHL teams might have given up on a bone fide top six forward. He wouldn't be the first guy who needed to get a few years into his twenties to finally figure it out.

Finally, how about Bobby Freaking Ryan? Put a letter on that guy for crying out loud. He's feisty, competing hard, and using his great hockey sense to generate a ton of offense. For those who were worried that he was going to completely fall off a cliff, fear not - he looks great so far.

Given the lineup we dressed vs. the lineup the Habs dressed, you have to be happy with the road game we played. Love our compete level - this is going to be an easy team to like. Can't wait for Wednesday night!

 

[Benttheknee]

Batherson is more than ready. He needs to find more consistency than he has shown in the preseason but that I feel that's something he needs to learn at the NHL level.

Batherson has demonstrated a huge consistency issue to me. Last year, in both leagues, he was either elite or mediocre. He went through big scoring draughts in both leagues which tells me it is a confidence issue. This really concerns me because I can see a possibility for him to not be an effective NHLer, which, given how good he really is, frightening from a Sens perspective.

 

[Daffy]

Yeah! I hate how Dorion drafts grinders like Chabot, Logan Brown and Thomson!

One guys that's a star in Chabot. Well done Dorion..

Obviously too early to tell on the other two.

 

[Masked]

One guys that's a star in Chabot. Well done Dorion..

Obviously too early to tell on the other two.

If they don't become stars, they aren't pure skill players? Is that what you're trying to say here?

 

[BonkTastic]

Prospects often look far better when there is an established team in front of them who can insulate rookie mistakes and the whole learning process of playing NHL hockey.

I don't know what else to say here... I've been preaching "remember to keep some good veterans around during a rebuild" for what seems like over a decade at this point.

I know that Pierre Dorion needs to act as Director of Public Relations on this team because we apparently, quite frankly, can't be bothered to advertise this team in literally any other way except by Pierre Dorion being hyperbolically positive about prospects during interviews, but this organization has no business telling fans that we're aiming for a playoff birth in the near future. It's a lie so bold that it deserves it's own flavour of BBQ sauce.

This team is just not close to being there. These are kids who are being asked to learn how to play NHL hockey with:
- a rookie head coach,
- a complete and utter lack of skilled veterans to lean on during games,
- maybe the worst goaltending duo in the league,
- playing in front of a decidedly bad blueline (sans Chabot) that will offer the kids as few opportunities to bail them out as they can muster.

Now don't get me wrong - these kids might get there, I like a lot of these kids individually for sure... but to imagine that we can accelerate the timetable on this rebuild seems like hubris of the highest level. This rebuild is going to be slow, and painful. It ain't gonna be pretty. We might get there for sure, but we'll have the scars to prove how we did it.

 

[Tuna99]

Team played hard and looked good.

Brannstrom isn’t as fast as advertised but I liked his game, stronger then I thought, was expediting a fast Chris wideman

Sabourin is an Ottawa Senator in my eyes. He’s the best pest we’ve had since Jarko Ruutu

Bobby Ryan likes to fight in the preseason.

Duclair might end up being the biggest part of the Duchene trade. Expectations for him are low so good job on management and coaches to give him space to grow his game without any pressure

 

[Daffy]

If they don't become stars, they aren't pure skill players? Is that what you're trying to say here?

My point is we've had a lot of misses in the first round dating back 7 or 8 years or so. We've picked a lot of safe players in the first round, where yes, they will probably be in the NHL, but the ceiling is limited.

 

[coladin]

I am not concerned about Batherson and Brannstrom. I am encouraged by Logan. I think the microscopes are squared on a little too tight right now on every prospect. This isn’t supposed to be the year that they all fight for the Calder. They have all had their moments , which at this stage is fine by me. They have all shown the flashes . If Bran scores at the end there, it would be a different tune this morning.

What questions were answered last night? Jaros has played himself off the team, which is a disappointment. I was waiting for him to break out this season.

Not just the OT play, but Pageau might be in trouble. Tierney looks better right now, and will be interesting to see what happens there this season.

Sabourin played well.

Chabot was meh, as was Hainsey and Demelo, but overall whether it is down to system or new coach, there seems to be less space out there as well in the neutral zone.

3-2-1 preseason...I am encouraged and not worried about the Killer Bs. My dream season right now would be 27th place finish and in the lottery. Just enough progress but not too much

 

[bert]

Having watched several AHL and a few NHL preseason games I'm yet to see anything special in Brannstrom...

Me too, he has been the most dissapointing player for me. I just do not see it, if you're that small playing on the back end there has got to be more....

 

[Sensinitis]

Ryan looks a little bit faster. Would be cool if he can hit 50 pts this year.

 

[CupInSIX]

Stone >>> Pacioretty
vs
Brannstrom <<< Suzuki
Lindberg <<< Tatar

Can someone explain me how this trade happen?

except at the time of the trade, Brannstrom>Suzuki and he still is IMO.
I don't know why he's playing so cautiously, but he seems afraid to take chances in camp. Give him some more time to get his confidence up and you'll see what this kid is capable of.

 

[coladin]

@BonkTastic , Pierre Dorion’s bold BBQ sauce, that is a good Sunday morning coffee accident!

 

[Crosside]

I am not concerned about Batherson and Brannstrom. I am encouraged by Logan. I think the microscopes are squared on a little too tight right now on every prospect. This isn’t supposed to be the year that they all fight for the Calder. They have all had their moments , which at this stage is fine by me. They have all shown the flashes . If Bran scores at the end there, it would be a different tune this morning.

What questions were answered last night? Jaros has played himself off the team, which is a disappointment. I was waiting for him to break out this season.

Not just the OT play, but Pageau might be in trouble. Tierney looks better right now, and will be interesting to see what happens there this season.

Sabourin played well.

Chabot was meh, as was Hainsey and Demelo, but overall whether it is down to system or new coach, there seems to be less space out there as well in the neutral zone.

3-2-1 preseason...I am encouraged and not worried about the Killer Bs. My dream season right now would be 27th place finish and in the lottery. Just enough progress but not too much

I m concerned to about Jaros but when you play with Boro it s tough to make good impression. Is best moment is when he play with Lajoie. Bring in this duo

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Simmer on postgame. Said Brown did enough. Batherson was a no show in preseason and it would be tough to tell Logan Brown he goes down but Batherson stays up.. I guess I wasn't the only one to think this. I think the both stay up to start but would see the injustice in sending Brown down and keeping Batherson up.

Sabourin vs Chlapik... I would keep Chlapik up and balance the lines to avoid the 6 minute shifts. This is not a huge deal for me either way. Just my preference

 

[coladin]

I m concerned to about Jaros but when you play with Boro it s tough to make good impression. Is best moment is when he play with Lajoie. Bring in this duo

Oh gee, thanks for the reminder about Boro...he was not good. And letter or not, these coaches have zero allegiance to him.

 

[Sensung]

Hockey Stat Cards

Boro dead last for Sens skaters.

He is beyond terrible.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I can pretty confidently say that Suzuki is better than those two guys you mentioned. By a pretty fair margin.

Easily...most of the fanbase called it at the time...Mtl returned more for Pacioretty then we did for 3 to 4 elite pieces all of which I consider more valuable at the time and currently....as was mentioned previously, rebuilds are nowhere near automatic especially when the same person who created every issue the team now encounters along with the owner, is spearheading it.

I liked the effort last night for sure, that's about all you can ask for because outside of Chabot and Duclair this team wont outskill anyone anytime soon, hopefully in time once the right changes are made will come close to being competitive again!

 

[benjiv1]

My point is we've had a lot of misses in the first round dating back 7 or 8 years or so. We've picked a lot of safe players in the first round, where yes, they will probably be in the NHL, but the ceiling is limited.

You can literally say the exact same thing about most teams drafting in the later half of drafts.

2011- 6th Overall: Zibanejad, 21- Noesen, 24 Puempel
2012- 15th Overall: Ceci
2013- 17th Overall: Lazar
2015- 18th Overall: Chabot, 21st Overall: White
2016- 11th Overall: Brown
2017- 28th Overall: Bowers
2018- 4th Overall: Tkachuk, 26th Overall: JBD
2019: 19th Overall: Thomson

It appears to me that most of our “questionable” picks came in the 2nd half of the round, where most players have some question marks in their game.

 

[Micklebot]

Hockey Stat Cards

Boro dead last for Sens skaters.

He is beyond terrible.

2nd best season average on the team by that same stat.

Hockey Stat Cards

You'll need to filter by team.

 

[HSF]

damn guys it’s just preseason

This season is going to be so fluid guys will be coming up and down to the nhl team depending on how they perform and develop

I wouldn’t look too much into anything. We are going to suck and most nights are gonna be hella boring. I guess we can just hope that some of these guys develop into legit top 6 forwards and look at the draft

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Team played hard and looked good.

Brannstrom isn’t as fast as advertised but I liked his game, stronger then I thought, was expediting a fast Chris wideman

Sabourin is an Ottawa Senator in my eyes. He’s the best pest we’ve had since Jarko Ruutu

Bobby Ryan likes to fight in the preseason.

Duclair might end up being the biggest part of the Duchene trade. Expectations for him are low so good job on management and coaches to give him space to grow his game without any pressure

Duclair was from the Dzingel trade

Abramov and Davidsson were from Duchene.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

The rebuild always seemed a year or two too soon because of the way it was orchestrated and last year being a total waste. This season feels like a more natural year in the progression of a rebuild with tanking and more vet shedding. I'm not surprised many of these guys didn't grab the reigns, its just too soon for most of them.