With lower than two weeks earlier than coaching camp, the Ottawa Senators have almost all the pieces in place. The staff’s goaltending is vastly improved, their high three strains are all however confirmed because of Josh Norris’ restoration progress, and even the defence appears to be like far more stable than it has in earlier seasons. The latest addition of Nick Cousins added much more expertise and grit to the staff’s backside six, making them almost appear like a playoff staff.
However basic supervisor (GM) Steve Staios isn’t fairly performed tinkering, and on Sept. 5, the staff invited Nikolay Kulemin and Calen Addison to coaching camp on skilled tryout contracts (PTOs.) Whereas a lot of the consideration has been given to the 38-year-old Kulemin, the transfer is little greater than a publicity stunt; he hasn’t performed within the NHL since 2017-18 and hasn’t scored greater than 16 objectives in any league since 2010-11. His return is harking back to Theoren Fleury’s 2009 tryout with the Calgary Flames, which gave the getting older star a becoming exit from the league.
The addition of Addison, nonetheless, is far more intriguing. The undersized defender was surprisingly not certified by the San Jose Sharks, permitting him to develop into a free agent for the primary time in his profession. His 2023-24 season wasn’t nice, however he’s solely two seasons faraway from a 29-point marketing campaign. If he can stand out on the Senators’ coaching camp, he has the potential to offer the Senators a major increase on the blue line.
Addison Is a Dynamic Offensive Defender
When Addison was drafted in 2018, he was seen as a possible power-play quarterback because of his elite intelligence and mobility. Dobber Prospects’ author Peter Harling wrote, “The precise shot defenceman oozes hockey sense, is a precision passer and has an honest shot, however excels at creating transition offence and distributing the puck. Skating is an asset as he strikes shortly, has good mobility and agility and robust edges.” His device equipment made him a projected fringe first-round choose regardless of standing simply 5-foot-10. In the long run, he fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins within the second spherical, 53rd general, making him a possible steal of the draft.
By his junior profession, Addison remained one of many Western Hockey League’s (WHL) premier puck-moving defencemen. From 2015-20, he scored 215 factors in 252 video games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, together with back-to-back 65-point seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. On the 2020 World Junior Championship, he was Canada’s finest defenceman with 9 factors in seven video games and led all defencemen with eight assists en path to a gold medal. He made his professional debut the next season and continued to attain at almost a point-per-game tempo within the American Hockey League (AHL), placing up 22 factors in 33 video games and incomes a spot on the AHL’s All-Rookie Group whereas additionally showing in three NHL video games with the Minnesota Wild.
After tearing up the AHL once more in 2021-22, Addison earned an everyday spot on the Wild’s blue line for 2022-23, the place he continued to place up factors. In his first 4 video games that season, he scored six factors, and though his tempo slowed down considerably over the course of the season, he nonetheless completed with 29 factors in 62 video games and earned a few votes for the 2022-23 All-Rookie Group.
There are issues about his defensive recreation, and Addison’s stint with the Sharks amplified some already-present points. He put up a minus-35 score in 60 video games whereas including a objective and 11 factors and sitting at a really sub-par 43.7 Corsi For Proportion (CF%). Nevertheless, that seems to be extra of a blip in his profession than a brand new development. In every of his earlier three seasons with the Wild, his even-strength CF% sat over 51%, and his on-ice objectives for per 60 minutes (oiGF/60) sat between three and 5 whereas his on-ice objectives in opposition to per 60 minutes (oiGA/60) sat decrease in all however 2021-22. On condition that he’s 24 years previous and San Jose was abysmal final season, there shouldn’t be trigger for concern for his skill to develop right into a high-end offensive defender.
The Senators Misplaced Two Good Puck Movers
Final season, the Senators had 12 gamers play greater than 10 video games and cross 50 CF%, two of whom have been Jakob Chychrun and Erik Brannstrom. Like Addison, each had their respective points; Chychrun could possibly be an issue in his personal finish as proven by his 73 giveaways and a team-low minus-30 score, whereas Brannstrom by no means developed into the high-end puck mover he was marketed to be when he arrived in 2018-19. However they could possibly be trusted to realize possession of the puck and transfer it into the offensive finish.
Nevertheless, the Senators didn’t exchange them with gamers who could possibly be trusted to do the identical. Nick Jensen, acquired for Chychrun from the Washington Capitals, has by no means had a CF% above 47.1. Whereas he’s valued extra for his defence than his talents with the puck, he leaves the Senators with simply three constructive possession defenders. Brannstrom’s spot on the underside pairing will seemingly go to Tyler Kleven, who had a 48.5 CF% final season over 9 video games, or Maxence Guenette, who had a fair worse 45.9 CF% over seven appearances. That leaves Ottawa with simply Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Artem Zub as defencemen who might be reliably get the puck and maintain onto it.
After all, possession isn’t all the pieces, and the explanation Addison was traded within the first place was as a result of the Wild have been searching for a extra dependable defensive presence on a blue line that already had a number of robust puck-movers in Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, and Brock Faber, who completed his rookie season with a 47.6 CF%. Regardless of sitting beneath the 50% mark, Faber was nonetheless a highly-impactful participant for Minnesota and earned the second-most votes for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the yr.
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However groups that may management the puck extra typically than the opposition have a greater likelihood to win, and there isn’t a greater instance than the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Of the 28 gamers who performed at the least a recreation with the Panthers in 2023-24, solely six had CF% lower than 50%, and 6 of their defencemen had scores above 53% whereas enjoying at the least 50 video games, together with shutdown defender Gustav Forsling. As soon as Florida received the puck, they didn’t let it go, which performed a major half of their first Cup in franchise historical past.
Is Addison Simply Brannstom 2.0?
There are, sadly, a number of parallels between Addison and the recently-departed Brannstrom, one other small, offensive defenceman who struggled to slot in with the Senators. There’s even an argument that Brannstrom is the higher of the 2; he had three extra factors whereas averaging much less ice time, had fewer objectives in opposition to whereas on the ice, and though neither participant is overly bodily, the Senators’ defender blocked 111 photographs final season in comparison with Addison’s 83.
Given these stats, it bears asking – is Addison only a Brannstrom substitute? The Senators already confirmed they don’t need that type of participant on their staff once they didn’t re-sign him this offseason and he moved on to the Colorado Avalanche. However there’s a major distinction between the 2, and that’s expectation. When Brannstrom arrived, he was lauded with reward from former GM Pierre Dorion, who famously mentioned it was his proudest day as a GM. The Senators then proceeded to offer him restricted minutes and defensive tasks, forcing him to develop into a dependable, bottom-pairing defender regardless of his dynamic skillset. He carried out his new job admirably, however his trajectory was ruined by Ottawa’s utilization of him.
Addison, alternatively, hasn’t been subjected to the identical immense strain and as an alternative been allowed to largely play the sport he’s good at, which is as a power-play quarterback and a dependable puck distributor on the precise aspect. Whereas it’s troublesome to see him changing both Sanderson or Chabot on the 2 energy play models, he may actually usurp Jacob Bernard-Docker, who has not had the event that many anticipated. Regardless of being marketed as a shutdown defender, he had a 3.7 oiGA/60 and a 2.4 oiGF/60 final season, whereas Addison had a median of three.3 and a couple of.5, respectively. Bernard-Docker additionally had a disappointing 44.1 CF%. Given Addison’s high-end mobility, he may have a leg up on the third pairing.
No Ensures with a Tryout
Possibly one of the best factor about bringing in Addison is that he’s simply on a PTO. Staios acknowledged that the Senators’ defence may use an enchancment or two, however he didn’t decide to the younger defender in case he proved to not be an incredible match. It’s a stark distinction to final season, the place there have been no actual probabilities for coaching camp battles as a result of the staff had no room so as to add one other wage to the books. That was dangerous information for Guenette, who earned a spot out of camp however had to return to the AHL as a result of there was no room for him. The Senators are nonetheless tight to the cap ceiling forward of 2024-25, however they’ve some wiggle room to permit for potential enhancements, and that’s a step in the precise course.
