The Ottawa youth movement is underway.
Senators fans can expect a younger roster with many new names on opening night. Names could include 2018 4th overall pick Brady Tkachuk (cover photo), Colin White, Alex Formenton, Christian Jaros, and Maxime Lajoie.
The Senators hold a 1-4-0 record in their pre-season with one games remaining against the Montreal Canadiens this Saturday. The Senators open their season on October 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre versus the Chicago Blackhawks.
Surprising
On Tuesday, Sept. 25, Ottawa waived 10-year veteran Zack Smith. The 30-year-old winger scored five goals and added 14 assists last year and is signed through 2020-21. He carries a $3.25 million cap hit, which is the seventh-highest among Ottawa forwards.
The Senator’s also assigned Logan Brown to Belleville, Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate. Brown, a former 2016 first-round pick, had a chance to make the club’s opening night roster this year. Instead, he will battle for a position on Belleville.
Breaking Bad
This year’s training camp was a make-or-break year for Nick Paul in Ottawa, and for Paul, it’s breaking bad. A core piece in the return of the Jason Spezza trade to Dallas, Paul is scheduled to become a restricted free agent on July 1, 2019. He may be pushed out by younger prospects. Unless Paul has a breakout season in Belleville, his time in a Senators uniform may be over.
2018-19 Pre-Season Roster Update
The following is an updated roster from the Ottawa Senator’s training camp as of Tuesday, Sept. 25. Their original training camp roster can be found on the team’s website. The Senator’s most recent roster moves are found here and on the team’s Twitter account.
Forwards
| Name | 2017-18 Team (League) | Current Status | Prediction |
| Balcers, Rudolfs | San Jose (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Balisy, Chase | Springfield (AHL), Florida (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Batherson, Drake | Cape Breton (QMJHL), Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Boedker, Mikkel | San Jose (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Brown, Logan | Windsor (OHL), Kitchener (OHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Carey, Paul | N.Y. Rangers (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Chlapik, Filip | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Duchene, Matt | Colorado (NHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Dzingel, Ryan | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Formenton, Alex | London (OHL), Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Gaborik, Marian | Los Angeles (NHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Injured | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Gagne, Gabriel | Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Kelly, Parker | Prince Albert (WHL), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Prince Albert (WHL) | Prince Albert (WHL), Belleville (AHL) |
| Labate, Joe | Utica (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Leier, Boston | Acadia (AUS), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Luchuk, Aaron | Windsor (OHL), Barrie (OHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| MacLeod, Gregor | Charlottetown (QMJHL), Quebec (QMJHL) | Assigned to Quebec (QMJHL) | Quebec (QMJHL) |
| McCormick, Max | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| O’Brien, Jim | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Paajarvi, Magnus | St. Louis (NHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Pageau, Jean-Gabriel | Ottawa (NHL) | Injured | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Paul, Nick | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Perron, Francis | Belleville (AHL) | Traded | San Jose (AHL) |
| Pyatt, Tom | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Rodewald, Jack | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Ryan, Bobby | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Scarfo, Ryan | Union (ECAC), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Sexton, Ben | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Skille, Jack | Dynamo Minsk (KHL) | Released from PTO | N/A |
| Smith, Zack | Ottawa (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Returned to Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Stone, Mark | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Sturtz, Andrew | Penn State (Big 10), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Tambellini, Adam | Hartford (AHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Tierney, Chris | San Jose (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Tkachuk, Brady | Boston University (H-East) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| White, Colin | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
Defense
| Name | 2017-18 Team (League) | Current Status | Prediction |
| Aspirot, Jonathan | Moncton (QMJHL) | Assigned to Moncton (QMJHL) | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| Bergman, Julius | San Jose (AHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Borowiecki, Mark | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Burgdoerfer, Erik | Belleville (AHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Ceci, Cody | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Chabot, Thomas | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| DeMelo, Dylan | San Jose (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Englund, Andreas | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Erkamps, Macoy | Brampton (ECHL), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Harpur, Ben | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Jaros, Christian | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
| Karlsson, Erik | Ottawa (NHL) | Traded | San Jose (NHL) |
| Lajoie, Maxime | Brampton (ECHL), Belleville (AHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Belleville (AHL) |
| Percy, Stuart | Rochester (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Sieloff, Patrick | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL) |
| Wideman, Chris | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Wolanin, Christian | North Dakota (NCHC), Ottawa (NHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
Goaltenders
| Name | 2017-18 Team (League) | Current Status | Prediction |
| Anderson, Craig | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Condon, Mike | Ottawa (NHL) | Ottawa (NHL) Camp | Ottawa (NHL) |
| Gustavsson, Filip | Luleå – Swe-Jr., Luleå(SHL), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (NHL) |
| Hogberg, Marcus | Brampton (ECHL), Belleville (AHL) | Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (NHL) |
| Hollett, Jordan | Medicine Hat (WHL) | Assigned to Medicine Hat (WHL) | Medicine Hat (WHL) |
| Mandolese, Kevin | Cape Breton (QMJHL) | Assigned to Cape Breton (QMJHL) | Cape Breton (QMJHL) |
| McKenna, Mike | Texas (AHL), Dallas (NHL) | Cleared waivers. Assigned to Belleville (AHL) | Belleville (AHL), Ottawa (NHL) |
Acronyms:
AHL: American Hockey League
AUS: Atlantic University Sport
Big 10: The Big Ten Conference
ECAC: Eastern College Athletic Conference
ECHL: East Coast Hockey League
H-East: Hockey East, National Collegiate Athletic Association
KHL: Kontinental Hockey League
NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association
NHL: National Hockey League
OHL: Ontario Hockey League
PTO: Professional Try-Out
QMJHL: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
SHL: Swedish Hockey League
WHL: Western Hockey League
Billy Morrison covers the Ottawa Senators and the NHL’s Atlantic Division for Full Press Coverage. Follow Billy on Twitter @BillyMorrison01.
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