Hockey

5 Takeaways From Day 1 Of Training Camp

September 22, 2022
Jack Richardson

   The Ottawa Senators opened their 2022-2023 training camp with fitness tests for all the players and some photoshoots on Wednesday. The only people who spoke to the media were General Manager Pierre Dorion and Head Coach DJ Smith. 

Here are 5 takeaways from their dual-press conference:

No Update On Hockey Canada Scandal

   This international headline dominated the news for a good chunk of the summer. A young woman alleged that members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team sexually assaulted her back in June of 2018. 

   The Full link to the original article can be found: Here. 

   This has implications for the Senators because 2 members of their team, Forwards Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton were both on that 2018 team. While the names of the players have remained anonymous, Batherson and Formenton are some of the only players who have not said anything on the matter. 

   When asked to comment on how the team is handling it, Dorion didn’t have much to say: 

   It’s a frustrating statement for Sens fans who have been wondering what the process will be for Batherson. In Formenton’s case, he does not have a contract and I would expect that to remain the case until he is officially cleared from the investigation. 

As of right now, no answers. 

Josh Norris Is A Fitness King

   The annual fitness tests take place on the first day of camp, a day a lot of players don’t look forward to. 

   In the past, Tampa Bay Lightning forward and former Senator Nick Paul would usually win first place in this test, but in his absence, Josh Norris took the crown. Fresh off his 8-year, $63.6 million extension, it’s encouraging that he put so much work into his offseason training. 

   Mark Kastelic finished 1 point behind Norris. Kastelic is one of the few players who isn’t penciled into the opening night lineup but still has a shot to break camp with the team. 

   Rookie defenseman Jake Sanderson finished 3rd, an impressive showing for the young American at his first NHL training camp. 

Trade Deadline Aspirations

   Dorion spent the summer deflecting questions about expectations for the team this season, saying to ask him in September when camp starts. 

   Well, on the opening day of camp, the GM was very careful about setting the bar too high for this revamped team:

   For the past 5 seasons, the Senators have been sellers at the trade deadline. This goal from Dorion makes sense, considering they can add a piece or two to help them push for the playoffs instead of selling their pending UFAs as they have in years past. 

   It’s a fine line to walk, but setting that date as a goal to be in the playoff hunt is a smart thing for the Senators’ management to do. 

Players Are Excited To Be Back

   It’s been a long time since the excitement has been this high for the Ottawa Senators. With the emphasis on having a strong camp, most players were in the city nearly 2 weeks before the first day of official team activities. 

   Head Coach DJ Smith suggested that this was the most excited he’d seen the city since his arrival, as well as the excitement amongst the Sens’ core players:

   If that doesn’t get you excited for October 13th then nothing will. 

No Powerplay Units… Yet

   The biggest question after acquiring Forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux was what to do with the powerplay. 

   When healthy, the Sens’ top unit was clicking at a top-10 rate last season. But, DeBrincat and Giroux are elite offensive talents that certainly won’t hurt anyone’s powerplay. 

   For the time being, Smith suggested that they don’t have 5 specific guys they like over another group:

   That means that they’ll likely roll with 2 balanced units to start. Smith did go out of his way to point out the St. Louis Blues, who ran 2 units last season and finished with the 2nd best powerplay in the NHL. 

   Seems like a realistic blueprint for the Senators to follow this season. 

   The Senators will split into 3 different groups for Thursday’s skate: Team Alfredsson (!), Team Neil, and Team Phillips. You can find the rosters for each team below:

-Jack Richardson

Twitter: @jackrichrdson

Photo: Andrew NYR. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.