Sens at Land’s End

This picture gives you some idea of what I was doing during what’s turned out to be quite a long blogging hiatus. I spent a lovely week on Vancouver Island, looking at whales, bears, sea lions, mountains, and other Vancouver Islandy things. Then I did nothing for a week. But now I’m back at school, so I have plenty of time to blog again.

To summarize the goings-on in Sens land over the last few weeks: Heatley wasn’t traded, despite what you might have heard the other day. No, he’s at camp now, all set to be the team’s hair shirt for the season. Hockey is getting closer and closer. The Sens’ rookies took part in the Leafs-hosted rookie tournament last week (potential goalie of the future Robin Lehner looked impressive by most accounts), and now players both gruntled and disgruntled have arrived in Ottawa to start camp. Check out Silver Seven’s handy post with the training camp roster for more details and don’t forget that the Sens’ first preseason game, against the no-longer-Jacques-Martin-affiliated Florida Panthers, takes place this Tuesday in Halifax at 6pm ET.

Now, some blog business: when last we spoke about the Fake Sens’ progress in the Cycle Like the Sedins NHL Re-Draft, I had just drafted Stephen Weiss in the sixth round to be the team’s second line centre. That was about 10 rounds ago, so here’s a quick look at the players I’ve picked up since then:

7th round, 204th overall: Ryan Whitney (D)

Whitney gets mixed reviews for his defensive game, but he’s got strong offensive skills (23 points in 48 games last season) and he should log a lot of shifts with the Ducks this season as he will likely take some of the icetime that formerly belonged to the departed Chris Pronger. He’s also got great size (6′4″, about 200 lbs.) should he decided at some point that he does want to play a physical type of game. I’d feel comfortable pairing him with a solid player like Seabrook.

8th round, 217th overall: R.J. Umberger (LW)

I’m a big fan of Umberger based mostly on his past playoff performances. He was great for Philadelphia in 2008 (15 points in 17 games) and he was one of the only Blue Jackets to perform well against Detroit in 2009, scoring three of the team’s seven postseason goals. Basically, I think he’s a competitive, gritty player who also has some scoring ability. He should do well on the Fake Sens’ second line with Stephen Weiss, who has a reputation for making his linemates better.  I have Umberger slotted in at left wing, but he can play any forward position.

9th round, 264th overall: Jakub Voracek (RW)

Oh ho, it’s another Blue Jacket! What can I say? I like their team and I think with a few missing pieces filled in (for example, a playmaker like Hemsky to play with Nash and a puckmover like Ryan Whitney) they could be really great. Anyway, Voracek is young (which means woo hoo, cheap!), competitive, and full of potential. He scored 38 points and played 80 games in 2008-2009, which was his rookie season. Read up here on what super Blue Jackets reporter Aaron Portzline has to say about the kid. For one thing, he compares him to a young Ales Hemsky.

10th round, 277th overall: Tim Gleason (D)

It seemed like a good idea to go for a shutdown type of defenseman, and that’s what Gleason is. He hits a lot, he blocks shots quite a lot, can log a lot of icetime, and plays a sound defensive game. Hurricanes fans really like this guy, and he was one of the defensemen invited to the Team USA Olympic camp this summer.

11th round, 324th overall: Luca Sbisa (D)

Though the rookie Sbisa only played 39 NHL games last season, he averaged about 17 minutes of icetime per game and the Flyers were impressed with what they saw from him. He has since been traded to the Ducks (in the Pronger deal) and Anaheim’s management has been saying some pretty positive things about him. They expect him to make the team this season, and maybe even spend some time playing with Scott Niedermayer. That can only lead to good things.

12th round, 337th overall: Nick Foligno (LW)

The first real Sen to become a fake Sen. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a Sens fan and I don’t have to explain why I like Nick Foligno so much. I still will though. He works hard and while he’ll probably never be an offensive superstar in the NHL, every once in a while all that hustle leads to a spectacular goal that makes your jaw drop. He put up 32 points last season and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him top 40 in 2009-2010.

13th round, 384th overall: Mike Fisher (C)

Another real Sen. I know I’ve broken my rule about not taking on bad contracts here, but I had the cap space and the fact is, overpaid as he is, I really like Mike Fisher and his rambunctiousness in this kind of checking line role. As someone who’s being depended on to score a lot, he wouldn’t be my choice. On the third line, I’m very happy with him.

14th round, 397th overall: Kris Russell (D)

After a brief Sens break, the push to take as many Blue Jackets as possible continues. Kris Russell is young (22) and cheap ($0.75 million). He’s also little (5′10″), but I didn’t pick him to be hitting people. I picked him because of his 22 points in 66 games last season and his potential to become a capable offensive defenseman. If you recall, he’s the guy Bryan Murray was supposed to be after when there were all those Spezza to Columbus rumours, but Columbus apparently wouldn’t give him up. Well, in Re-Draft world, Spezza is in Columbus and Russell is a Senator. Along with Rick Nash and half the Blue Jackets’ forward corps. Also, Heatley is nowhere to be seen. BMurr, you’re welcome.

Foligno-Fisher-Shannon: Reunited and it feels so good!

15th round, 444th overall: Ryan Shannon (RW)

And now you see the final piece in my plan when I drafted Foligno and Fisher: yes, it was my goal all along to re-create the fabulous FFS line that was so effective at times for the Sens last season. Teeny tiny Ryan Shannon had 20 points in 35 games with Ottawa last season and maybe I’m overly optimistic but I see those numbers going up this year.

16th round, 457th overall: Brian Boucher (G)

There was a bit of a run on backup goalies, it seemed, so I thought I should probably pick one up. Boucher has played capably for the Sharks the last two seasons and, as half of Philadelphia’s goaltending tandem this season, he’s one Ray Emery flipout away from getting a fair bit of playing time behind what should be a pretty outstanding team. (Not that I think Ray Emery will flip out.) At age 32, Boucher is our team’s elder statesman.

So, that’s where we stand. As always, you can check out the depth chart here. Needs still to be addressed include a sixth defenseman, the fourth line, and our three reserve players, with $17 million in cap space still remaining. Any thoughts?