Senators sign prospect defenceman Mark Borowiecki

The Ottawa Senators announced today that they've signed prospect defenceman Mark Borowiecki to a two- year entry-level contract. Borowiecki, a Kanata native, was drafted in the fifth round (139 overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (the one held at Scotiabank Place, about 15 minutes away from his home). He's played the last three years for Clarkson University of the ECAC, putting up 12G and 20A in 99GP.

With his first pro contract, Borowiecki will be leaving college next season to play in Ottawa's training camp. Given the massive depth the Senators have on defence, though, it will be tough for Borowiecki to crack the Binghamton Senators lineup, let alone the Ottawa squad: Ahead of him on the depth chart are Sergei Gonchar, Filip Kuba, Chris Phillips, Erik Karlsson, Matt Carkner, Brian Lee, David Rundblad, Jared Cowen, Patrick Wiercioch, Eric Gryba, and Craig Schira. And that list (11 in all) doesn't include pending RFAs Derek Smith and Geoff Kinrade or pending UFAs David Hale and Andre Benoit. Suffice to say, he's got some ground to make up.

A little less than a year ago, Brian Sullivan offered a scouting report on Borowiecki. In it, George Roll, head coch at Clarkson, said Borowiecki might end up as a stay-at-home defenceman eventually, but gave him lots of credit for taking huge steps in his development from freshman to sophomore.

"His biggest asset is his competitiveness. As a coach, I know what I'm going to get game-in and game-out. He's going to take penalties because of the way he plays, and that's something you obviously want to limit. But his aggressiveness, to me, is what makes him an effective player. His skill set is good, his confidence grows ... as I saw this year in his ability to rush the puck, and jump into the rush and quarterback our power play, and do all the things we needed him to do as a sophomore, which was a lot to ask.