Not saying all these guys are going to be be great, but they're guys i really like, and I think they aren't really talked about much by Sens fans, compared to some others.
Ridly Greig: I know he's brand new to the organization, but for a 1st round pick I've seen basically no excitement for him from the fans. I love his game, and think his gritty, abrasive style combines with his two way game is a perfect fit for the Sens identity. He gives me real Pageau vibes, and that can only be a good thing for Ottawa.
Shane Pinto: I think of all these prospects, he's definitely the one who gets hyped the most, but I still think that compared to guys like Stuetzle, Batherson L.Brown, Formenton and Norris, I think he's kind of forgotten about to an extent. I don't know if he ends up as a C or RW, but I think his combination of Size and Skill along with his defensive game will make him a very important piece for Ottawa. I think a 3rd line of Formenton-Greig-Pinto would be a nightmare matchup line, as all three are very skilled, defensively responsible and very unpleasant to play against.
Maxence Guennette: Max Guennette is an extremely underrated prospect in Ottawa. He's a 7th round pick so it's hard to expect too much, but I think he plays a really simple game that could translate well to the pro level. He's tall, he skates really well, can move the puck up ice and is an incredibly reliable defender. He had a great start last season, even getting into a handful of pre season games for Ottawa last year including one where he played with Chabot. He's off to an incredible to his season this year with 15 points in 14 games as a 19 year old in the Q. If he continues on his upward trajectory and Lassi Thomson continues to struggle (which I don't think he will), I don't think it's out of the question that Guennette could pass Thomson on the depth chart.
Vitaly Abramov: I don't know what Abramov's future in Ottawa looks like due to Ottawa being stacked up on the wings, but I still think he has a buttload of NHL upside. I think he's already been written off by a lot of people, but if I were to rank Ottawa's wing prospects in terms of offensive upside, I'd have him higher than guys like Balcers or even Formenton. I think there's definitely a world where he becomes a really good top six offensive winger, even though it's unlikely to happen in Ottawa. He might be a guy who takes the Dadonov/Radulov path of leaving back to Russia for a few years and comes back in his mid to late 20s and kills it.
Mark Kastelic: Definitely the player on this list with the least upside, Kastelic is a guy I just really want to succeed. I think he's got the ability to be a real old school classic 4th liner, who still has the capacity to succeed in a modern NHL role. He's big, mean can win faceoffs and kill Penalties, and bring that bottom line grit/grind intensity while not being completely inept offensively. I think he's got a long way to go, but I think he can be the Zack Smith of the future for Ottawa.
Thanks for doing this man, I love it when you do these prospect spotlight things, keep it up, I wish more people did them for other teams lol. When you did your WJC potential candidates one was the first time I heard about Guennette and I thought I had a pretty decent handle on Sens prospects, so there’s definitely learning to be done for everyone!
Relating specifically to what was discussed here, I think a bottom six of Formenton-Greig-White and Paul-Kastelic-Pinto would be absolutely BRUTAL to match up against (this is assuming White falls off a bit and can’t grab a top 6 C job, don’t see him falling below 3rd line C/RW due to his defensive game and he’s also locked up for a while). I normally envision Formenton as the 2LW but it’s possible Stutzle stays in that role if he can’t switch to centre (or L. Brown and Norris just do so well), and it’s also possible that Jarventie or Abramov just pass him (I do think he’ll be better than Balcers though) and having that speed on the third line in a shutdown role that’s still able to chip in offensively would be hugely beneficial.
Thanks for doing this man, I love it when you do these prospect spotlight things, keep it up, I wish more people did them for other teams lol. When you did your WJC potential candidates one was the first time I heard about Guennette and I thought I had a pretty decent handle on Sens prospects, so there’s definitely learning to be done for everyone!
Relating specifically to what was discussed here, I think a bottom six of Formenton-Greig-White and Paul-Kastelic-Pinto would be absolutely BRUTAL to match up against (this is assuming White falls off a bit and can’t grab a top 6 C job, don’t see him falling below 3rd line C/RW due to his defensive game and he’s also locked up for a while). I normally envision Formenton as the 2LW but it’s possible Stutzle stays in that role if he can’t switch to centre (or L. Brown and Norris just do so well), and it’s also possible that Jarventie or Abramov just pass him (I do think he’ll be better than Balcers though) and having that speed on the third line in a shutdown role that’s still able to chip in offensively would be hugely beneficial.
All these guys at max potential is gonna be brutal to play in the playoffs, only Stutzle and White are below 6’1”
I'm actually not sure how long term White's future in Ottawa is. I really like him, but I think he's going to be pushed from C to RW in the next couple of years, and It might make more sense to trade him and go Dadonov-Batherson-Pinto. He could also have a big year and it could stick around as the 1/2RW, but if he's looking like more of a 3rd liner, he might get pushed out by younger guys. I kind of see him being the next Nick Foligno.
As far as the LW, I wouldn't be surprised to see Jarventie as the top line LW with Stuetzle. Not that I think Jarventie will be even close to as good as Brady, but I think Brady will be a play driver on the "2nd" line like Mark Stone was for years. I really think Jarventie has the potential to be an excellent trigger man for Stuetzle. I think he has upside as a 30/60 sniper/ power forward in the right situation.
For the sake of argument, here's what I think Ottawa could look like up front, assuming things work out with guys currently in the System.
There are so many possibilities for what Ottawa could look like in a few years, and that's without even considering the fact they're still a likely bottom 5 team again this year, especially in an all Canadian division
I'm actually not sure how long term White's future in Ottawa is. I really like him, but I think he's going to be pushed from C to RW in the next couple of years, and It might make more sense to trade him and go Dadonov-Batherson-Pinto. He could also have a big year and it could stick around as the 1/2RW, but if he's looking like more of a 3rd liner, he might get pushed out by younger guys. I kind of see him being the next Nick Foligno.
As far as the LW, I wouldn't be surprised to see Jarventie as the top line LW with Stuetzle. Not that I think Jarventie will be even close to as good as Brady, but I think Brady will be a play driver on the "2nd" line like Mark Stone was for years. I really think Jarventie has the potential to be an excellent trigger man for Stuetzle. I think he has upside as a 30/60 sniper/ power forward in the right situation.
For the sake of argument, here's what I think Ottawa could look like up front, assuming things work out with guys currently in the System.
There are so many possibilities for what Ottawa could look like in a few years, and that's without even considering the fact they're still a likely bottom 5 team again this year, especially in an all Canadian division
Yeah they could add a really major piece at next year's draft and at this point I'd bet it's a forward (Guenther, McTavish, or Raty plz). In general I think they've been drafting for the right things, looking at size and goal-scoring ability, with preference given to those who can skate (Formenton and Stutzle are obviously great skaters, Jarventie and Greig are pretty good skaters, etc.). Lots of teams have small, speedy, playmakers in their prospect pools, and there is certainly room for that in today's game, but it's been made pretty clear that to succeed in the playoffs you need guys that aren't gonna get pushed around and run over when the refs pocket the whistles. Goal-scoring is also always the hardest thing to find for any team, so the fact that just about every guy they're drafting has a good shot is a definite plus in my opinion (costs a lot on the trade market/free agency to acquire, better to develop those guys in-house). Dorion's trades to stock up the prospect/pick cupboards have also been pretty damn good as well imo (I'll probably make a post looking into this sometime this week but I think we've come out of every trade with at least 1 or 2 super promising prospects). I agree on White as well, his floor is definitely 3rd line defensive specialist that puts up 40 points, but with the talent we have on the way, in a few years that's likely to not be enough (especially if we get 3 or 4 years down the line and everybody needs new contracts, his 4.75mil price tag might become too much for us to afford in the bottom 6). I do hope he succeeds though, I think he has the potential to increase his production and hold a top 6 C slot down for a while. I think he has a better chance at 1C between Tkachuk and Dadonov this year than Tierney does, so we'll have to see if Logan Brown muscles him out of it or not, and if he does then does White still beat Tierney for 2C? Should be interesting. If L. Brown does really well he might even be trade bait, would likely rake in another 1st lol
The lack of Crookshank in this thread is disturbing
Still waiting for him to break out. He's been good, and was basically the only guy who could score on an awful UNH team, but until he really breaks out, I'm unconvinced.
Claesson4Norris liked this.
Reply
Greig,
CapFriendly
CapFriendly