Petersson (4th rounder, 21) gets high marks for skating, shooting, stick work, and his defensive game has definitely improved. I believe his +/- numbers were better than his final -8 for most of the second half of the year. His game translated quite well in the AHL and he's proved he can handle bigger players. Most of his scoring occurred after the first third of the season - if I remember correctly. Does his skill set make up for his ideal lack of size?

Hoffman (5th rounder, 22) gets high marks for skating, an excellent shooter and his defensive game is still a work in progress (?) His +/- numbers suggest it might not be there yet and he's still quite light for an NHL forward. Is he strong enough to play a top nine role if he gets bumped from the top six?

Da Costa (undrafted, 23) needs to play top six minutes and he did not exactly tear up the AHL. His defensive game still needs work. His -12 was a bit better finish than he kept most of his time with the B-Sens. IMO he isn't strong enough or fast enough for the NHL despite his great on-ice vision. And, many of the new prospects coming in will likely have passed him on the depth chart. I don't see much of a future for him in Ottawa except as trade bait from the B Sens. Any thoughts?

Butler (undrafted, 25) Lots of skill, I thought - so what went wrong? He can skate, shot, score in the top six but he's working on his bottom six defensive game and for some reason isn't used much by the coach. Will he be able to convince the boss that he deserves more ice time?

Are any of them going to be long-term Senators? How does the coach give them a fair audition for a roster spot or for trade bait when it appears that it's already going to be crowded with talent challenging for one or maybe two forward spots?

Even at the AHL level there's enough contracts to suggest some developing talent will have to start on Elmira's roster. Last season Hamilton, Caporusso and Cowick spent some time in ECHL.

I'm interested in getting opinions on how you think it'll play out after the season starts.