SENATORS' TOP PROSPECTS SET SIGHTS ON MAIN CAMP
Defenceman Yakemchuk, centre Halliday will try to make the case for future call-ups
The Ottawa Senators' rookies will get a day to rest, relax and prepare for the next challenge after their six-hour bus ride home from Buffalo on Monday night.
The Senators wrapped up the six-team Prospects' Challenge with a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday afternoon at the LECOM Harborcenter and closed out the tourney with a winless 0-3 record, but now some of this group will get ready for the opening of main camp.
Only a small portion of the 27 players that took part in the three-game tourney will be invited to take part in Senators training camp, which gets underway with medicals Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre. The first on-ice session goes Thursday.
After a 9-1 loss in their tourney opener Friday against the New Jersey Devils, the Senators prospects bounced back with a much better effort in a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The results don't mean much because this is all about these young players gaining more experience.
“This is huge (for these players),” Ottawa assistant GM Ryan Bowness said Monday from Buffalo. “It's a long summer, you're thrown right back in and you get to play three games, get your touches, confidence and timing back so that you're ready to come to main camp.
“These kids that are here come main camp have to take that as a positive, and they have to carry it over into next week.”
One player that will be under a microscope is defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, the Senators' first-round pick in last June's draft. He'll get the chance to skate with National Hockey League players for the first time in his still-young career and it's a chance for him to see how he measures up.
Yakemchuk had 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games with the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen last season.
“His instinctual play is very noticeable,” Bowness said. “For an event like this, the first game everybody wasn't comfortable with the systems and stuff like that, but with him you could see the instincts he has.
“He has poise with the puck, the little plays he makes with the puck, he got better as the first game went on and he carried that over into the second game. We're anxious to see improvement. The biggest thing that stands out for me is the way he sees the ice and the plays he has the ability to make.”
One player who wasn't able to suit up in the rookie tourney was Belleville goaltender Leevi Merilainen. He suffered a lower body injury before the Senators prospects left Ottawa and it was decided that a lengthy bus ride may not be the best idea for him.
Bowness said he doesn't anticipate that Merilainen will be out long.
HALLIDAY MAKES AN IMPRESSION
One player we're going to have to keep an eye on is centre Stephen Halliday.
He left Ohio State University last spring, signed with the Senators and made his presence felt while suiting up for the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.
A fourth-round pick, he had two goals and seven points in seven playoff games with Belleville. He earned the trust of coach David Bell and that's pretty impressive for a 22-year-old with no AHL experience.
Halliday scored a goal in the Senators' loss to the Penguins.
“Bell did a really good job with him because he didn't hand him everything right away,” Bowness said. “He started him on the fourth line, gave him some secondary power-play (time) and let him get comfortable a bit. That was big for him because he really quickly learned the pro game.
“Come playoff time, he was one of our best forwards. That series against Cleveland (in Round 2), he was outstanding. The offensive instincts are there, and he was great on the power play. The difference from when he got to Belleville to when he left, it was almost like two different players.”
Making that transition can be difficult, but Halliday surely has an opportunity at this camp to put himself on the radar screen of two important people — Steve Staios, the Senators' president of hockey operations and general manager, along with senior VP Dave Poulin — as a possible callup during the regular season.
Halliday is going to need more time in the AHL, but you can make a name for yourself with a strong camp.
“He sees the game so well,” Bowness said. “His offensive instincts, the way he handles the puck, the poise and the way he protects the puck with his body, he just has good hockey sense. He doesn't get fazed by anything out there. He plays his game and plays with confidence.
“He just goes out there and performs. He was at the point last year where our veteran guys (in Belleville) were asking Bell if they could play with him because they saw the impact he has on the game.”