Special K is here to stay!

Erik Karlsson is likely staying with the Ottawa Senators for the rest of the season, after playing his 10th NHL game last night in a 4-3 SO loss to the Boston Bruins, and kicking off the first year of his entry-level contract.

It's a rather surprising move. Many believed that Karlsson would spend the year in the AHL improving his game, and keeping his pay off the Sens' books. I believe a combination of factors led the team to make this decision and start the clock ticking on the talented Swede's second contract.

Why now?

Karlsson has been doing well in Binhamton, I see from his stats. Eleven assists in 12 games puts him among the team leaders (though most of the Baby Sens have played 20+ games). It looks like his level of talent deserves to be in the big leagues. (Looking down the rest of the B-Sens roster, I see a lot of long-ago Ottawa draft picks... most will turn out to be AHL lifers. Ouch.)

Recent wins may have emboldened Sens management to 'go for it' this year and bring Karlsson along for the ride... and by 'it', I mean 'making the playoffs'. Playoff prospects are looking good at the moment... let the good times roll.

Giving K-Mart (more nicknames?! Yes!) the opportunity to learn from the organizations' best defencemen may prove a valuable learning experience. If he's the best offensive defenceman in Bingo, he's not developing that aspect of his game.

What about our former golden boy?

And Brian Lee? Well, he has fallen down the depth chart for sure, but he's still on a two-way contract and could still prove to be valuable for the Senators down the road. Don't count him out yet. Many have said that he's likely to be traded in coming weeks, but the Sens don't have a ton of cap room ($1.9-million according to nhlscap.com) to accept new contracts.

WTF Jersey

PS: Did anyone see the Baby Sens' Thanksgiving jerseys? I think we have a new winner for Worst. Jersey. Ever. The bad-ass Senator guy is wearing a pilgrim hat! WTF!

Karlsson put in car seat for long drive to Bingo

Erik Karlsson as been assigned to the Binghamton Senators until he grows up. I mean, uhh... until his testicles descend. I mean... DAMMIT, JUST BE BIGGER!

GM Bryan Murray made his decision today: Karlsson needs to be a better defender before he plays defence for the Ottawa Senators (kind of makes sense, eh?). Apparently, the kid took it kind of hard, but he's not Russian or anything so we'll probably see him again next year.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Karlsson will have in Bingo. One thing's for sure: they're set for defencemen for the next couple of years. The Baby Sens already have Brian Lee, will soon have Karlsson leading their powerplay, and can expect Jared Cowen next season. That's a lot of potential on the blueline that the Ottawa club will one day benefit from.

Just be patient, Sens fans, he'll grow up one day.

PS: Here's what a small group of Sens fans said in a hastily assembled poll.

The Verdict on Karlsson

This blog has been admittedly divided over Ottawa Senators rookie defenceman Erik Karlsson. On one hand, he's supremely talented and has put his skills on full display during the Senators' preseason and recent games. On the other, he's been sloppy defensively and has a hard time keeping up with bigger NHL forwards.

With the magic 10-game mark fast approaching, Sens GM Bryan Murray has to decide whether to keep the kid or lend him to the AHL Senators or, perhaps, to a Swedish League team.

With Filip Kuba returning to the Sens' lineup soon (hopefully), the pressure is definitely on to make a decision soon.

Here's what I've said in recent posts, starting with the earliest:

September 19:

Over 21 minutes played and a +3 night for Erik Karlsson.

September 21 (Entitled "Send Karlsson to Bingo"):

I know that Erik Karlsson is The Great Blond Hope, and probably the Ottawa Senators best prospect since Jason Spezza, but from what I've seen of his defensive skill, he's just not ready to take on the towering, powerful forwards of the NHL.

September 30:

I'm rather surprised that Erik Karlsson has, so far, beaten out Brian Lee for a roster spot (as you know, Lee was returned to Bingo a couple days ago). Cory Clouston and the other coaches must really like what they see from Special K.

October 3:

Erik Karlsson is the great blond hope. When was the last time a rookie defender made the Senators opening night squad? Wade Redden? That was 13 years ago! Even if he doesn't stick with the big club this season, Karlsson has already shown us he's got the talent to play in the NHL one day.

October 5:

Erik Karlsson? The kid has poise and moves on the powerplay, but his flaws were on full display as well. Maybe a few more games in the NHL will progress his defensive game, but I'm not sure he'll stick around that long.

October 15:

After a win tonight, and a game on Saturday night against the Habs, you won't find bored hockey writers speculating about the future of Erik Karlsson. I think Bryan Murray will do what he thinks is best, and with modern free agency rules, he's probably going to the minors (or back to Sweden) no matter how well/poorly he plays. Probably.

What's your verdict?

Sens make me look like an ass, beat Bolts

During tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, TSN took a sick pleasure in pointing out to Ottawa Senators fans that while our new crop of forwards were struggling to score, Dany Heatley was tearing up the Western Conference. (Where's the love Duthie? You're an Ottawa boy!)

Dave Hodge's mailbag question was "Should the Senators have handled the Dany Heatley situation differently?"

Going into the game, all signs pointed to the Sens being a sinking ship, in need of a shake-up. Well, I guess it's time to find a new angle. The Sens won the game 7-1, and made me look like a total ass for all the internet to behold.

Milan Michalek scored a trio of pretty goals, thanks in no small part to a few long-time Senators. Jason Spezza maintained (yes, I've been praising him despite his lack of points for some time now) his strong play, and set up Milan a few times, Daniel Alfredsson collected three assists (all in a day's work for Alfie), and Chris Kelly's hard work in the PK not only kept up the Sens' excellent penalty-killing stats, but set up two short-handed goals.

So what's the score now TSN?

Dany Heatley 5G, 5A (No points in two games, btw)

Milan Michalek 4G 0A
Jonathan Cheechoo 0G 2A

Not looking so bad now (would be looking even better if Cheechoo were anything more than a salary dump. Ouch... too soon?). Next time, I'm picking the game winner using some sort of hockey tarot cards.

Karlsson? Oh yeah, that guy...

After a win tonight, and a game on Saturday night against the Habs, you won't find bored hockey writers speculating about the future of Erik Karlsson. I think Bryan Murray will do what he thinks is best, and with modern free agency rules, he's probably going to the minors (or back to Sweden) no matter how well/poorly he plays. Probably.

Pascal Leclaire can kill two stones with one bird

Let's not get too down on ourselves, Ottawa Senators fans.

Though the New York Rangers ran away with a 5-2 victory on Saturday night to kick off the Sens season, I'm not ready to trade everybody for Craig Conroy just yet.

After period 1, Pascal Leclaire was looking heroic. During the simultaneous (and absolutely ridiculous) live blog of this game, commentors were flipping out. His play warranted comparisons to not just the greatest goalies of all time, but the greatest person of all time: Chuck Norris.


At 7:45 p.m., BT made a comment that may stick with Leclaire all season.

"LECLAIRE = chuck norris"

...and from there, it got a little crazy.

"If you google pascal leclaire, your computer gets deflected safely to a corner to be cleared away."

"PASCAL SEZ: "CHILL THE FUCK OUT. I GOT THIS."

"Pascal Leclaire can shoot a puck so hard even he cannot save it. AND THEN HE SAVES IT ANYWAY!"

"Leclaire does not sleep. He waits."

"Pascal Leclaire can kill two stones with one bird."

"New Sens chant? SNOO-PY! SNOO-PY! SNOO-PY!"

"There is no 'ctrl' button on PL's computer. PL is always in control."

...so I would say that the initial reviews are good. You can see all the live blog craziness in the post from Saturday. Although I wouldn't recommend it. Things got weird.

But it was sort of downhill after Leclaire's performance. The Senators defence looked weak. Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov (Philchenkov? Yeah, that would be their celebrity couple name) did nothing to restore our confidence in them after a poor 2008-09 season, and the rest of the so-called 'puck-moving' defencemen looked out-classed by quicker Rangers forwards.

Erik Karlsson? The kid has poise and moves on the powerplay, but his flaws were on full display as well. Maybe a few more games in the NHL will progress his defensive game, but I'm not sure he'll stick around that long.

And as for that new offensive depth... disturbingly absent. Jonanthan Cheechoo didn't make a ripple in the game and was largely unnoticable, and Alex Kovalev didn't bring too much of that offensive magic we've heard so much about.

Milan Michalek was the sole impressive newcomer (other than Chuck Leclaire), he showcased the speed and a some of the offensive talent that made him the centrepiece of the Heatley trade. Here's hoping it results in a goal against the Leafs.

And nothing would lift the spirits of the Sens Army like continuing the Leaf's regular-season misery.

OMG what a blog:

I'm very happy to announce that the game's live blog was a complete success. More than 275 people watched the madness, over 3+ hours. There were more than 1300 comments from the Ottawa Senators online community, and we demonstrated that coveritlive was not, as it clearly states on its website, intended for that many contributors. Fuck it. We almost killed the internet, and the lag was pretty bad at times, but it was wicked.

I'm looking forward to doing it again sometime. Maybe for the next Saturday night game. I'll let you know (email and blog-wise).

Reasons to be excited about tonight's game

The season opener--the single greatest opportunity for a writer to condone or condemn a team, and then say they were right all along (I intend to do both somehow).

But there are five reasons to be excited for tonights game:

1) Pascal Leclaire - Finally, a real goaltender in Ottawa. He's here to destroy the ghosts of Martin Gerber and Ray Emery (uhhh... yeah, about that...). He wears #33. He's quiet and quirky. He speaks French... 'nuff said.

2) The rookie - Erik Karlsson is the great blond hope. When was the last time a rookie defender made the Senators opening night squad? Wade Redden? That was 13 years ago! Even if he doesn't stick with the big club this season, Karlsson has already shown us he's got the talent to play in the NHL one day.

3) The offence - The Ottawa Senators finally did something proactive for the offensive part of their game when they signed Alex Kovalev in the off-season. They sent Dany Heatley to San Jose for two goal-scorers. Add that to Alfredsson and Spezza, and baby you got a stew goin'! A goal-scoring stew.

4) They haven't lost a game yet (unlike the Leafs!) - So just kick back and enjoy the game. It's a whole new team.

5) You told me the Senators are better off without Heatley - You wouldn't lie to me, would you?

We ain't done! Lee and Zubov might be...

Although Pletch won't be posting anymore (and thank you for your service, P) the blog continues onward toward the opening night. Did I mention we're kind of making a big deal of it? (see obvious banner above). You can sign up for a reminder on the left-hand sidebar.

In Ottawa Senators news: I'm rather surprised that Erik Karlsson has, so far, beaten out Brian Lee for a roster spot (as you know, Lee was returned to Bingo a couple days ago). Cory Clouston and the other coaches must really like what they see from Special K.

Word on the street is (well, I heard it in a van) that if Alex Picard were on a two-way deal, it would be him riding the bus back to the state of New York. I'm not sure if that's a compliment to Lee or an insult to Picard... I guess we'll see when the season starts up on Saturday night (!!!!).

Word on the twitter feed is that constant-prospect Ilya Zubov expects that he will be traded soon. Some people have interpreted this as a trade request... although I think that would require a statement of preference, as in: 'I would prefer to be traded'. What he actually stated, however was:

'I'm not very happy about [being sent to Binghamton]. It's not what I want. Both me and the Ottawa team (talked) and I might get traded soon."

So... he suspects he'll be traded? I could see how this could be misinterpreted as 'demand'. Let's not just jump to conclusions based on one quote. This will probably be sorted out tomorrow by a simple question.

Hard to blame the guy though, he's been toiling in the minor leagues for years. A special set of circumstances must exist for a player to make it to the NHL, and if he can't find those circumstances in Bingo/Ottawa, I wish him the best of luck with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Send Karlsson to Bingo (and the D lineup)

First, the disclaimers so I don't get slammed in the comments: I didn't take into account who plays left or right (they don't even do that in the Sens program anymore), and it's a bit of wishful thinking, and what I've heard in the newspaper.

Basically, I can't imagine this any other way. I know that Erik Karlsson is The Great Blond Hope, and probably the Ottawa Senators best prospect since Jason Spezza, but from what I've seen of his defensive skill, he's just not ready to take on the towering, powerful forwards of the NHL.

To be completely fair, I do think he's capable of getting 30 points in the NHL this season, but the cons outweigh the pros for now. Even compared to the not-terribly-large Brian Lee, Karlsson is small. Lee also has parts of two NHL seasons under his belt, and weighs 25 pound more than Alfie's babysitter. He's the better choice for this year's squad.

I've had sweet, sweet (non-sexual!) dreams of General Lee and King Karlsson throwing the puck along the blueline on the Sens power-play. Dancing between slower defenders, and setting up one-timers for Dany Heatley Jonathan Cheechoo. But I don't think this is the season to make it happen.

Karlsson is a better puck-handler than Lee (though Lee is no slouch), but the defensive aspects of his game need work. Perhaps when he was paired with towering defender Victor Hedman, he was able to get away with certain defensive lapses against smaller competition, but that won't be the case this season. Karlsson need the AHL experience to gain some grit, put on pounds, and delay his rookie season.

Alex Picard, for example, was not born in 1990, is 6' 2" and 225 pounds, and will pick up 25 points this season. It's a crowded blueline roster, and there's no harm in giving the NHL contracts a chance to prove themselves before making room for the rookies.

I think the rest of the lineup is a gimme. Except for Christoph Schubert, who has been on the trading block for all of last season.

Miscellaneous observations from Saturday night:

Thanks to SBP for making free wireless internet available during games, it's great for twitter during the games (and I took full advantage in case you didn't notice).

Are the NHL refs now wearing strange NFL-style stripes? It sure looked like it to me.

And man! Is Ryan Shannon ever small! I didn't really notice until Saturday's game. He looks like a leftover from the intermission Timbits game.

Nice

Sure it's only the preseason, and the record's still 1-3-0, but tonight's pasting of Montreal at SBP was sweet.

1. Hat-trick and a 4-pt night for Mike Fisher
2. 4-pt night from Nick Foligno who is trying to make his case as the #2 cente
3. 3-pt night for Kovalev
4. 3-pt night for Regin
5. Over 21 minutes played and a +3 night for Erik Karlsson
6. Solid performance from Pascal Leclaire, stopping 22 of 23 shots.

The 0-3 start was not a great way to start the preseason, but after the saga of the departed whining player who shall remain nameless, it's understandable.

Tonight the team showed some spark. And can that Carkner kid fight or what? Here's hoping this trend continues into the games that count.

Yablonski gets pwned; prep for the rematch

I'm going to my first Senators game in a long time tonight. I usually catch a few games during the regular season, and one or two in the playoffs if I'm lucky... of course that wasn't the case this past season.

Watching most of the Sens game last night, I was very happy with what I saw (then I went to see The Informant! Yaaaaaawwwwn, chuckle, yawn). Pascal Leclaire made some great saves, including a left-pad breakaway stop on Gionta. The young defence appeared to be doing exactly what they were designed to do: move the puck quickly on the power-play and get the puck out of the Sens' zone quickly when defending.

Also got to see Jeremy Yablonski throw down against the Habs' Eric Neilson. Unfortunately, Yablonski got pwned, he was thrown to the ice and ended up with a cut above his right eye.

Tonight, I'll be looking for the same stuff: How's the puck moving between the defenders? Is Leclaire looking solid? And I'll be keeping an eye out for Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen. As of the time of this posting, the lineups and scratches for tonight are not yet available, so I'm just guessing. I hope Alex Kovalev opts into this game so I can see some of that much-heralded talent.

Hopefully, the wifi at SBP will be available and I can post some observations on Twitter (conveniently located on the left side of your screen as well as on its own page).

It's also fan fest all day today, so head down to SBP early for some family-friendly fun.

See you at the game!

Update: Of course, the Citizen posts their Sens stories minutes after I begin this blog. Here are some lineup notes.

Workload good for Leclaire

...and a positive review of Michalek's game.

"The former San Jose Shark made his Senators debut here on Friday night wearing the No. 9 his good buddy Martin Havlat used to wear in Ottawa, but you'd never mistake one for the other.

Havlat was and still is a magical player, capable of sublime moments, but he'd never excite you by killing penalties or backchecking. One of the worker bees would have to do that.

That's what Michalek looks like, but with what they call in baseball "all the tools."

The Rumour Mill: So many defencemen...

Although secondary scoring has long been seen as a priority for the Senators, it was generally agreed that a more pressing need going into this season was for a puck-moving defenceman. Although the Senators have a few possible elite puck-movers, they're not there yet, so that need still hasn't been addressed. As it stands now, the Senators are moving into next year with the following corps of defencemen, any of whom has a decent chance to make the Sens' roster:

1. Filip Kuba
2. Chris Phillips
3. Anton Volchenkov
4. Chris Campoli
5. Brian Lee
6. Jason Smith
7. Alex Picard
8. Brendan Bell
9. Christoph Schubert
10. Mattias Karlsson
11. Erik Karlsson
12. Patrick Wiercioch

There are some notes to make here, obviously: The acquisition of Chris Campoli seems to indicate the team will move away from Filip Kuba, hopefully by trade although he may simply walk in the off-season--it seems unlikely that Bryan Murray will re-sign him at the higher salary he will likely demand. Brendan Bell is also a free agent at the end of this season, and--although his contract has been positive for the Senators--he may look to sign somewhere else if he'd get a better shot on their NHL squad. Mattias Karlsson has had an all-star season in the AHL this year, but he may not be NHL ready yet. Finally, although the hopes are high for both Erik Karlsson and Patrick Wiercioch, it's unexpected they'll make the NHL roster next season, and will likely need a year in the AHL before making the big leagues.

That leaves three virtual locks as defensive defenceman on the Sens' blue line next season--Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov, and Jason Smith--and four lesser puck-moving defencemen battling for the other three spots--Campoli, Brian Lee, Alex Picard, and Christoph Schubert. But four good puck-movers doesn't make up for the lack of one elite puck-mover.

And even with those four, trade rumours have the Sens looking to pick up more offensively-oriented middle-road defencemen. Bruce Garrioch today said that Schubert is all but traded (about time), with Edmonton and Tampa Bay both interested, and the asking price for the Oilers set at young defenceman Ladislav Smid--yet another young, mobile defencemen not expected to be a top-pairing player. And Eklund (am I actually reporting this?) said today that Vancouver is looking at Antoine Vermette still, and the Sens are asking for--you guessed it--a defenceman in return.

I expect Ottawa to take a good run at finding an elite puck-mover in the off-season, though. They've got both Martin Gerber and Kuba coming off the books for next year, offering $6.7M (before re-signing Brian Elliott) to spend on an overdue replacement. That might not be enough for someone like Jay Bouwmeester, but he sure would look good on a first pairing with Campoli, if you ask me.

Prospect watch in the WJC: Karlsson looking good

Although he had to live with the silver medal, Sens prospect Erik Karlsson received plenty of individual accolades as the tournament came to a close. Karlsson was named the tournament's best defenceman by the Directorate, was named among his team's top three players by the Swedish coaches, and was names Sweden's best player in the gold-medal game. He led Sweden in scoring with nine points (2G, 7A), tied for first place in scoring among defencemen with Canada's P.K. Subban. A pretty good showing for a pick who was criticized by some, and he had a pretty impressive moustache going, too. (No word on whether or not the moustache was in solidarity with his struggling future Senators teammates.)

Andre Petersson didn't have as many accolades, but he had a pretty good tournament, too. Tied for fourth in Swedish team scoring with six points (3G, 3A), and he was given the team's best player award in their round-robin victory over Russia.

For the USA, James O'Brien wasn't dominant on any night, but he had reliable production. He finished with four points (1G, 3A) in six games, and was +4 overall. Considering his age, and his first-round draft status, though, I think it's safe to say more was expected of O'Brien.

And I'd say it's also safe to say that John Tavares won the battle for first overall against Victor Hedman, at least for now. Hedman will certainly be a valuable member of an NHL team in the future, but Tavares was by far the better player in this tournament.

Prospect watch in the WJC: Day Eight

Huge game for prospect Andre Petersson against Russia, as he scored two goals in the 5-0 victory to earn Sweden a bye to the semi-finals. Petersson had three shots on goal and was +1 in the game, and other Sens prospect Erik Karlsson had one assist, four shots on goal, and was +1 as well. Petersson (3G, 3A) and Karlsson (2G, 4A) are tied for the team lead in points on the Swedish team with six each in the tournament so far.

In the other division, Jim O'Brien had one goal in USA's 7-3 loss to Canada on Wednesday. He's got four points (1G, 3A) in four games in the tournament so far, and will be facing off against Slovakia in the quarter-finals at 3:30 today.

And there are all sorts of Senators-related stories about the World Junior Championships, here's just a few if you're looking for something to read:

• "Heartbreaking loss for Lee", Ottawa Sun
• "World Junior Gold A Thrill For Smith", The Pembroke Daily Observer
• "McAmmond helped launch gold ", The Belleville Intelligencer
• "'The best time of my life'" (Brendan Bell), OttawaSenators.com
• "A memory worth saving for Auld" OttawaSenators.com
• "WJC memories pure gold for Hartsburg" OttawaSenators.com
• "Phillips savoured pair of junior golds" "Ottawa Senators.com
• "Donovan rolled perfect seven at WJC" OttawaSenators.com

Three points each for Sens' Swedish prospects

Each of Erik Karlsson and Andre Petersson, both draft choices of the Ottawa Senators, scored three points (a goal and two assists apiece) as Sweden routed Latvia 10-1 in WJC round-robin play. Karlsson's goal was on the powerplay, one of his assist was also with the man advantage (hello, PP quarterback... ) he assisted on the game-winning goal, had five shots, and was +2 on the night, while Petersson had four shots and was +1.

The tournament has been a coming-out party of sorts for Karlsson, who has five points in three games so far (2G, 3A), tying him with Magnus Svensson Paajarvi for the points lead on Sweden. Petersson was a relatively unheralded fourth-round pick, but has four points so far (1G, 3A) and has likely been a pleasant surprise for Sens scouts and management.

For anyone who's been watching, Victor Hedman had one assist for Sweden, four shots, and was +2. He hasn't been receiving as much powerplay time as Karlsson, though; against Slovakia on Sunday, Karlsson was the defender on a 5-on-3 while Hedman sat on the bench. A commenter suggested he may be injured, which might explain why his performance hasn't been quite as dominant as anticipated.

Anyone watching John Tavares: Two more points (1G, 1A) in the 5-1 win over Germany, good for nine points (5G, 4A) in the tournament. He's apparently three goals away from Eric Lindros' record for career goals in a World Junior Championship, and still has likely two more games this year and, technically, will be eligible for the 2010 WJC.

Prospect watch in the WJC: Day four

After an in-depth look at Erik Karlsson in Sweden's 3-1 victory over Slovakia, I'm optimistic. He was poised all night, and had a wicked shot: He scored a power-play goal on a very strong snap shot that went top corner. He also assisted on the game-winning goal, had five shots on net, and was +1 overall.
About his game: He fills the role of powerplay quarterback very well. He's got good vision in the offensive end, and was often the only Swede on the point while the other four pressured the Slovaks on the powerplay. He has good foot speed, and is agile enough to avoid hits more often than not. I would have to say that Karlsson had more poise than Victor Hedman, his defensive partner, who is expected to be in competition for the first-overall pick this year. There is a knock on Karlsson, and that's his size: 5'11", 168 lbs. There were two times that come to mind where it was an issue (neither resulted in a good scoring chance, though), but his speed usually makes up for what he lacks in size. And the other positive note is that size is something that you can--and he will--improve.

Andre Petersson was alright, but didn't really stand out. He took a roughing penalty, and had one shot on the night. His line was not the Swede's best one.

The final Sens prospect in the tournament, Jim O'Brien, played his second game of the tournament for USA, a 4-3 win. He had no points, four shots, and was even.

As for the Hedman watch, he wasn't quite what I expected. The scouting report that I'd heard was he was big like Zdeno Chara, and as poised as Nicklas Lidstrom (although maybe not quite to the same extent of either). Overall, though, he looked a lot more like Chara than Lidstrom, more of a hulking physical presence (he's 6'6" and 220 lbs) than an intimidating offensive threat. Hedman was far less impressive than Karlsson, but his size and his speed were very appealing; he may have simply been trying to do too much on the night.

Finally, John Tavares: He "only" had four points (2G, 2A) in a 15-0 win over Kazakhstan, and was +2 with nine shots. But he's only second in tournament scoring, with seven points in two games: Teammate Cody Hodgson has eight points in the tourney so far.

Prospect watch in the WJC: Day three

As mentioned in a previous post, the Senators have three prospects in the 2009 World Junior Championships, defenceman Erik Karlsson (1st round, 15th overall, 2008) and forward Andre Petersson (4th round, 109th overall, 2008), both playing for the Swedish squad, as well as centre Jim O'Brien (1st round, 29th overall, 2007), playing for the United States.

In their first game of the tournament, a 3-1 win over Finland, Petersson had an assist on the game-winning goal, and was +1 on the night. Karlsson, the much-heralded first-round pick, didn't record a point, but had three shots and was also +1 on the night.

Team USA's first game was an 8-2 victory for the Americans, and O'Brien had one assist with two shots on the night, and was +1.

As for the Victor Hedman/John Tavares sweepstakes, Tavares fared better in his tournament debut than Hedman. The two are considered the front-runners for the first-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft: Hedman had two shots and was +1, while Tavares had two goals, one assist, two shots, and was +3 overall.

I'm going to the Sweden/Slovakia game tonight, so I'll certainly keep an eye out for Karlsson (number 5 for anyone watching), Petersson (number 20), and Hedman (number 4).

Wiercioch invited to Canadian junior camp

The Senators' second-round pick in 2008, Patrick Wiercioch, has been invited to the Team Canada world junior selection camp. He is among 14 defencemen invited to the camp, along with 20 forwards and four goaltenders. Wiercoch is the second-youngest defenceman invited, and is one of two with an Ottawa connection: Tyler Cuma plays for the 67s. Here's the listing of defencemen, or click here for the full list.

1. Keith Aulie
2. Tyler Cuma
3. Ryan Ellis
4. Cody Goloubef
5. Travis Hamonic
6. * Thomas Hickey
7. Kevin Marshall
8. Tyler Myers
9. Alex Pietrangelo
10. Brendan Smith
11. Jared Spurgeon
12. * P.K. Subban
13. Colten Teubert
14. Patrick Wiercioch
    * - denotes returning player.

In other World Juniors news, 2007 draft choice Jim O'Brien is on the USA Hockey World Junior Championship roster.

ADDENDUM: As a commenter said, there are two other Sens prospects will be playing in the tournament, both for Sweden: defenceman Erik Karlsson (1st round, 15th overall, 2008) and forward Andre Petersson (4th round, 109th overall, 2008).

Prospects' places on the Sens, according to King 5

An interesting (and very random) article on the Sens' prospects, and whether they could help the team right now, was posted on King5.com--a television news network in Seattle, Washington--last weekend. It only focussed on Brian Elliott, Brian Lee, and Erik Karlsson, but it was a pretty good read nonetheless. The gist of the post is that Ottawa has a few assets to trade, but our farm system isn't nearly as deep as others in the league.

Here's some of what they said about Elliott:

"You can't get much luckier than the Ottawa Senators did when they selected Brian Elliott with the second last pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft. Elliott played for the University of Wisconsin and spent his first two seasons as the team's backup goaltender. However, he made the most of the few starts he got and when he finally earned the starting job in the 2005-06 season, he did not disappoint. Elliott led his team with a 25-5-3 record and a stunning 1.55 GAA and .938 save percentage in 35 games. Elliott showed his breakout season was no fluke with a 2.10 GAA and .923 save percentage in 36 games for Wisconsin in 2006-07. Elliott struggled early on in 2007-08 as he adjusted to the AHL. However, he still bounced back and managed to finish the season with a 2.81 GAA and .915 save percentage in 44 games while splitting time with Jeff Glass. This season, Elliott has emerged as the AHL's Binghamton Senators' clear starting goaltender with a 2.81 GAA and .913 save percentage in his first 14 games."

How Swede it is: Sens 4 Indians 1

I had to include at least one 'Swede' pun, because apparently everyone else is doing it ('Home Swede Home' in the Citizen, 'Swede and Sour' in the Sun). I'm pretty sure Ottawa Sun headline-writers will be pissed because I stole their best cover-copy, but too bad!

Anyway, the Sens took their first game outside of North American by a score of 4-1 over the Frolunda Indians on Wednesday afternoon. Although I didn't get to see the game (I should have called in sick), scorers for the Senators were Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Kelly, Alex Picard, and Jason Spezza. Oscar Hedman of the Indians scored a goal off of Jason Smith to make it 2-1 in the second, but the Sens took it away in the third.

Also for the Indians, according to the Ottawa Citizen's recap of the game, Erik Karlsson laid out Antione Vermette with a big hit, which is bittersweet. Since Vermette dosn't appear to be worse for wear, maybe it's just sweet. Not sweet, though, is a possible groin injury for Mike Fisher, who left the game as a precaution although his status for Saturday's season-opener is unclear.

Better know an Enemy: The Fightin' Indians!

Here it comes, the Sens' first ever game outside of North America. It's Thursday, October 2 at 1:00 p.m. EST against the Frölunda HC of Gothenburg, commonly known as the Frölunda Indians. The storied club is celebrating their 70th anniversary season this year, after being founded in February 1938. Their home arena, the Scandinavium, has a capacity of 12,o44 spectators. So what's in store for the Senators when they face-off on Thursday, Oct. 2?

For all of those super-fans out there taking the day off to watch the game, it's not going to be on regular cable. Sorry. It's going to be on TEAM 1200 on the radio, though, and courtesy some Facebook group, it's also available streaming online at MyP2P.eu! What a world we live in...

The Indians are coached by 14-year NHL veteran Ulf Dahlen. Current Sens' prospect Erik Karlsson is on the roster, so this will be a great opportunity to see what we can expect from the 2008 first-round pick. Other notables include Joe DiPenta, who won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007; Johan Holmqvist, former Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender (who was once traded for former Senator Lawrence Nycholat, coincidentally); Niklas Anderson, the team's captain, who is old enough to have experience with the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques (okay, he's ony 37); and at least six players whose last names have a double-S somewhere, so Daniel Alfredsson will fit right in.

Speaking of Alfredsson, he holds two playoff records for the franchise, both recorded during the 2004-05 lockout season, including most goals in a playoff season (12) and most points in a playoff season (18). During that 2004-05 season, the Indians won the league with a 33-8-9 record, and went on to win the Swedish championship. They also made the Swedish finals in 2005-06, but lost, and then fell to 9th in the regular season in 2006-07 (missing the playoffs). Last year, for the 2007-08 season, the Indians finished sixth and lost in the quarter-finals.

It seems the Indians have been battling mediocrity of late, but I would venture to guess that in the Swedish Elite League, one or two good signings can turn a team right around. For the Indians, that signing might have been Holmqvist. They had a solid 7-2 record in pre-season, which led the Nordic Trophy standings. In the regular season, though, they're 1-4-2, which includes an overtime win and an overtime loss.

What I want to know the most, though, is why a Swedish team is called the Indians, after the Amerindian. They do have a pretty cool intro, though...