Before I introduce you to the site, I just want to send my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Brian Fraser. He was an incredible and passionate voice not only in the Senators’ community, but the greater Ottawa community as well. After his cancer diagnosis, Brian’s courage was inspirational and we could all stand to learn and take something from the way he carried and conducted himself. Brian’s kindness and appreciation for life will be sorely missed, but I hope he’s at peace somewhere now enjoying the ‘Sens Sickos’ movement as much as the rest of us.
The Site
Welcome everyone to ‘Rome in a Day’.
This is going to be the new hub where you can read and listen to my content regularly.
Growing up, my parents were season ticket holders and I’ve been consumed by Senators news from such a young age. I remember waiting in line with my dad at the Senators’ old offices on Moodie Drive, so he could pick out our family’s season ticket holder seats at the Civic Centre. I vividly remember opening night, Bob Kudelski recording the first hat-trick in the team’s modern history and how irrationally excited I was for the organization to make modest upgrades to try and improve a really bad hockey team.
One of the things that I inherited from my dad was his love of sports analysis. From writing prospective line combinations and depth charts to calling his brother to vent about Jacques Martin’s unrelenting yearning to sit on leads, my dad lived and breathed Senators hockey.
When I first started The 6th Sens on Blogspot more than a decade ago, I had no real idea what I was doing. I just remember reading mainstream analysis and coverage at the time and thinking, “Surely, not everyone feels this way.”
So, I wrote, and wrote, and wrote some more.
My formative work was terrible. Instead of finding my own voice, I spent too much time trying to gain traction by tearing down the opinions of others trying to be edgy. It was dumb and immature, but as I grew older, I believe my content matured. I certainly grew more confident in my analysis and what I had to say. Eventually, my hobby helped open some really cool doors in the hockey world. I had the opportunity to travel and not only meet, but work with some exceptional people in the hockey community.
Thanks to the pandemic, freelance budgets around the sports media world have been slashed and I want to write, so here we are. The name of this site is borrowed from the Ottawa Citizen’s headline following the Senators’ first modern day victory. I believe Substack will provide an opportunity to do some really cool things while simultaneously offering a reader-friendly experience.
Lastly, I’d like to take the time to recognize a few people. The exceptional Jacob Barrette (@Le_Collectif) who brought Ottawa the heritage ‘O’ jerseys created the logo designs. I’d also like to thank Ian Mendes, James Gordon and Chris Stevenson for their invaluable help. From podcast appearances to offering support and advice, Ian was a central figure in helping me land some incredible broadcast opportunities with Sportsnet and eventually CBC’s ‘Hockey Night in Canada’.
As the former Ottawa Citizen editor James Gordon helped get my written work seen on a larger platform. Whether it was allowing me to contribute as a panelist on the paper’s Senators Extra hub or doing freelance pieces for the physical newspaper, Gordon gave me my first byline. A few years later, he helped open the door to freelance opportunities when The Athletic opened its Ottawa hub.
Working with CJ at The Athletic, he was a sounding board who has watched this team from day one. Like Mendes, CJ is a genuinely great guy and an invaluable resource of history, knowledge and analysis who selflessly does everything he can to help his colleagues.
Finally, just want to thank those of you who have stuck with my writing and podcasting. That people read my stuff, love it (or hate it), it has been and continues to be surreal. So, thank you.
High Event Hockey
High event hockey is back in the nation’s capital.
If there was a defining characteristic that earmarked competitive Senators in recent years, it was the team’s willingness to play high-tempo hockey. Going as far back as the 2006-07 Stanley Cup Final team, since that time, there has been this struggle to cultivate a roster that excels at both ends of the ice. A significant chunk of the blame can be attributed to the erosion of talent on the blue line. Collectively losing Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden and Anton Volchenkov over a short span of time certainly hurt, but losing them without returning any assets helped preserve a thin farm system.
In the years that followed, the Senators drafted and added some young defencemen with upside like Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, Cody Ceci, David Rundblad and Patrick Wiercioch. Unearthing an offensive prodigy like Karlsson was a coup, but the draft often provided more misses than hits. Eventually the Senators would add Thomas Chabot to the mix, but the first few productive years of his career never overlapped with the last few years of Karlsson’s time here. And like Karlsson then, there has been a challenge to identify and surround Chabot with talent.
There is hope for the future, however. Artyom Zub looks like a promising modern defensive defenceman while prospects like Jake Sanderson, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Tyler Kleven are hopefully not too far away.
Without a strong blue line that can nullify chances and transition the puck back to offence efficiently, the Senators have had to rely on their skilled offensive players to carry the load.
Although the Senators are still giving up a disproportionate volume of shots and chances, for the first time in years, the team is generating almost as many chances as they are giving up.
Using NaturalStatTrick.com and Evolving-Hockey.com’s data, here is a look at how the rate of expected goals (xGF, xGA) and shots (CF/60, CA/60) that the team is creating and allowing.
What data shows is that through 22 games, the Senators are top-five in the league in generating shots (CF) and creating expected goals (xGF) at five-on-five. They also have the distinction of being one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to shots and goal suppression.
Using Micah Blake-McCurdy’s Hockeyviz.com’s work, we can get a visual representation of what this looks like.
If there is going to be that much red in the defensive zone, at least the Senators are making up for it on the offensive side of the puck. Watching young talent like Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson and Josh Norris emerge as good NHL players helps bring a level of excitement to the team that we haven’t really seen since Erik Karlsson left. It also helps make it easier to stomach the obvious defensive issues that continue to plague this group.
Eventually, there is going to come a time when the organization will have to address some of the defensive shortcomings, but in the meantime, it is impossible not to be excited with how well the young players have carried this group offensively.
Logan Brown on the Trade Block
During one of the intermissions on TSN’s broadcast of the Senators game versus Montreal this past Sunday, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch indicated that Logan Brown is a prospective candidate to be moved at the trade deadline.
In addition to veterans like Erik Gudbranson, Mike Reilly or if his health permits, Derek Stepan, Brown was singled out.
It may seem odd to consider moving on from a prospect who has only played 83 AHL games and 29 games at the NHL level, but Brown turned pro near the end of the 2018 season. Brown was drafted in the first round of the 2016 draft, so it feels like he has been in the system for a long time — especially since more recently acquired centres like Josh Norris, Tim Stützle, Ridley Greig and Shane Pinto have captured the attention of fans.
As a 6’6”, 227 lb centre, visually, Brown’s size and skating ability help fuel this perception that he needs to work harder. Rather than using his size to punish the opposition, Brown’s a playmaker who prefers using his size and reach to shield the opposition from the puck. Stylistically, it’s rare for a player of Brown’s size to bring this kind of playmaking style to the table.
Brown’s unique and although he has been beset by injuries, it is important to recognize that the injuries he has suffered are not recurring ones to his head, hips or leg muscles. He has simply had some really unfortunate luck with a few one-offs.
I certainly understand the frustrations that can accompany seeing a player frequently hit the shelf, but fans shared similar concerns about Daniel Alfredsson’s ability to stay healthy early in his career here. This isn’t to say that Brown is on Alfredsson’s level, but it can be a cautionary tale about how patience should be afforded to allow skilled players with untapped potential.
In Brown’s last AHL season, he performed at a point-per-game level. Although Troy Mann panned Brown’s first few games with the Belleville Senators this season, this is a micro-sample of games that followed Brown playing his first professional games in over a calendar year.
I certainly cannot speak to Brown’s character, work ethic or other intangibles, but the presence of young centres within the system certainly affords the organization the flexibility to see what the market may bear for Brown. In saying that however, trading Brown when his value is low is not prudent. Moving Brown for a draft pick that is years away does not make sense when there simply has not been a great opportunity to showcase what he can do at the NHL level.
Brown’s situation should not be compared to Curtis Lazar’s. Brown’s a highly skilled player who should be afforded every opportunity to prove he’s not part of Ottawa’s future. Lazar spent two and a half seasons in Ottawa displaying a complete lack of offensive skills and awareness. Without those traits, there was never a chance that Lazar was ever going to play in Ottawa’s top-six or even top-nine. With Brown, whether it’s at centre or on the wing, I think there is still that chance.
If the shoe was on the other foot and Brown was available in a deal, he’s exactly the kind of young prospect that I’d recommend the Senators buy low on.
Greatest Meme
Aside from Sunday’s night’s incredibly satisfying win over a reeling Montreal Canadiens squad, the game’s broadcast also provided us with footage which would go on to become what may be one of the greatest Senators memes of all time.
Why was Pierre Dorion behind the glass in the waning moment of Sunday’s game? Was he trying to provide a real-life enactment of the ‘Sens Sicko’ meme? There are just so many unanswered questions.
The momentum of the ‘Sens Sickos’ movement has been incredible. It is a testament to how integral the online Senators’ community has become. Despite everything that has happened in recent years, you could never blame apathy for setting in.
It obviously has not and I think we can all credit the strength of the online community for that. It is like one giant group therapy session and we’re fortunate to have some talented and creative people be part of it.