Frosh week begins on Thursday for the Ottawa Senators. Read MoreFrosh week begins on Thursday for the Ottawa Senators. The Senators announced on Wednesday that 25 fresh faces will participate in the Prospect Showdown, hosted by the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre this weekend. The club’s newcomers will be on the ice Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata before
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Frosh week begins on Thursday for the Ottawa Senators.
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The Senators announced on Wednesday that 25 fresh faces will participate in the Prospect Showdown, hosted by the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre this weekend.
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The club’s newcomers will be on the ice Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata before boarding the Iron Lung to Montreal to prepare to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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The Senators will close out the tourney on Sunday night at the Bell Centre against the Winnipeg Jets.
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Belleville Senators coach David Bell and his staff will be behind the bench for these two games.
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Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, Dave Poulin, the club’s senior vice president of hockey operations, along with head coach Travis Green and his staff, will all be in attendance.
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Once the tourney wraps up, the Senators will make a final decision on how many of the rookies will take part in the club’s main camp at the Canadian Tire Centre.
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That gets underway with medicals on Wednesday, with the first on-ice session on Thursday. The Senators will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pre-season game on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 3 p.m.
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Just how many of these rookies will be at main camp remains to be seen, but this competition gives the club’s hockey operations department an opportunity to see players in a competitive atmosphere.
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It won’t hurt that these games are being held on one of the best stages in the league. Montreal loves hockey, and tickets are priced attractively, which means the games should be well attended.
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Several eyes will be on top prospect Carter Yakemchuk, the club’s first-round pick in the 2024 National Hockey League draft. This is his second camp, and he pushed for a spot last fall before being sent back to the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen.
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Yakemchuk was sent back to junior to help improve his defensive game, and we’ll find out fairly quickly in these rookie games if that’s the case.
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“We want him to come in with the attitude of trying to make the hockey club as a young player,” Staios said. “We’ll have to be the gauge, and he’ll dictate that for us, but you gauge these young players to where they are in their development.
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“We’re extremely encouraged by the steps he has taken, but also the ceiling of the talent of the player.”