Quoting: Kaifin
I'd love to see Bath on Anisimov's wing with Duclair. He was electrifying to watch!
Something I thought about after the Nilsson signing and reminded of when you brought up Hogberg is: How long do you see Nilsson staying (past his new 2-year deal) and who do you see taking the reigns if we don't acquire another goalie through trades or FA? I'd say it's Hogberg's 'job to lose' at this point, but I liked what I saw out of Daccord and I think he'll be ready in another season or two. I'm worried about Gus and hoping he can recover from last season and get through the growing pains of the transition to NA and return to his WJ and SHL form.
There's lots of talent in the pipeline right now and it's going to be exciting watching them develop!
I think Duclair and Batherson could be magic together. They both can shoot, but more importantly they're both really strong skating and really good at cycling the puck down low. If you park Anisimov in the slot and try and get him the puck, he can rip it as well as anyone.
I think Nilsson's future depends on a few things.
First is obviously His play, because if he stinks he definitely won't be brought back.
Second would be how the Development of Gustavsson progresses. Ideally I think Gustavsson should be ready to step into the starter spot, or at very least a 1a 1b scenario with Hogberg, who I see as more of a backup.
Third, and maybe most importantly, is what happens with the Seattle Expansion Draft. The Sens would have to leave two of Nilsson, Hogberg or Gustavsson exposed, so it's pretty likely that Seattle would try to scoop one of those three. I think if you protect Gus and lose Hogberg, you probably bring Nilsson back to help prop up Gus for a season as he settles in as a starter. Hopefully Sogaard is ready to push for an NHL job by then.
Honestly though, Ottawa has such a deep crop of young goalies, there are so many options for what our goaltending situation could look like in the future. Hogberg
will be a regular NHL goalie, even though I think he tops out as a back up, and he's probably going to start this season if Ottawa can move Craig Anderson at the deadline. I think Sogaard and Gustavsson both have pretty high upside as NHL starters. I personally think Sogaard is our most skilled goalie prospect, but he's still a good 4-5 years out. I
reaaally love Joey Daccord, and would love to see him succeed in Ottawa, I don't really have a great sense of where he's at. I think we'll have a better sense after this season, but I think his upside could be as a backup.
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