A look at the Binghamton Senators defensemen
Yesterday, we took a look at what is likely the forward roster for the Binghamton Senators for the upcoming season. It featured a few returnees, but a whole whack of new faces, too. On defense, we've got even more of a changeover: Four of the seven players expected on Bingo's blueline will be new faces. Two free agent signings (Andre Benoit and David Hale) and two prospects (Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch, although Gryba's got a few games under his belt) join returning defenders Derek Smith, Geoff Kinrade, and Craig Schira.
So we can expect an experienced defense corps this season. What might each player bring to the table?
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 65 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 62 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 77 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 65 | 22 | 45 | 67 | 77 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 16 | ||
| 2003–04 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 65 | 24 | 51 | 75 | 67 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 67 | 24 | 53 | 77 | 72 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 70 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 64 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 41 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 22 | ||
| 2007–08 | Tappara Tampere | SM-l | 54 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 96 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Sodertalje SK | SEL | 54 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 78 | 6 | 30 | 36 | 63 | 19 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 8 | ||
| OHL totals | 324 | 99 | 200 | 299 | 330 | 45 | 8 | 30 | 27 | 36 | ||||
| AHL totals | 212 | 23 | 70 | 93 | 164 | 41 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 30 | ||||
Benoit, a former Montreal Canadiens prospect, is a slick skater with proven offensive abilities. He was originally a forward, but a switch to defense during his OHL career explains the offensive bent to his game. Expect Benoit to quarterback the powerplay in Binghamton.
A big kid who knows how to hit and knows how to fight, Gryba's usually a PIM leader and actually led the USHL in penalty minutes in 2005-06. If you loved Andy Sutton, then Gryba is your new favorite Binghamton Senator. He got some praise from GM Bryan Murray this year, but Gryba needs to work on his skating to take the next step in pro hockey.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 1999–00 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 54 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 187 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 44 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 34 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 26 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 65 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 38 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2005–06 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 43 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Lowell Devils | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 58 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 48 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 39 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| USHL totals | 110 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 314 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | ||||
| WCHA totals | 104 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 191 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 66 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 302 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 236 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ||||
A journeyman with some very respectable NHL experience, expect Hale to be the first call-up when the Senators run into injury problems. As you can probably guess based on his offensive production, Hale is defensively focused, and will likely form one half of a shutdown pairing for Binghamton. He will be looked on as a leader in the locker room, too.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Cowichan Valley Capitals | BCHL | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2004–05 | Cowichan Valley Capitals | BCHL | 60 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 40 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 39 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 38 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 76 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| BCHL totals | 108 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 83 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| WCHA totals | 150 | 14 | 47 | 61 | 124 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 86 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Although he's had limited success so far, Kinrade still has plenty of potential as a well-rounded defender. His point totals last season were improved, and can be expected to continue their upward trend this year.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Regina Pats | WHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Regina Pats | WHL | 60 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Regina Pats | WHL | 71 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 72 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Regina Pats | WHL | 71 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 74 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Regina Pats | WHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 63 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 58 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 71 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 46 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 68 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHL totals | 340 | 33 | 124 | 157 | 277 | 43 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||||
An undrafted free agent who made his professional debut last season, Schira put up decent numbers in his rookie season. With a full season under his belt, though, we can probably expect his production to improve this season.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Wellington Dukes | OPJHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Wellington Dukes | OPJHL | 46 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Wellington Dukes | OPJHL | 21 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Wellington Dukes | OPJHL | 44 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Lake Superior State U. | CCHA | 38 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Lake Superior State U. | CCHA | 36 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Lake Superior State U. | CCHA | 43 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 52 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Elmira Jackals | ECHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 75 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 74 | 14 | 37 | 51 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| OPJHL totals | 123 | 20 | 52 | 72 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NCAA totals | 117 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 201 | 23 | 65 | 88 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Derek Smith is a fantastic skater and will sneak up on many players with his speed. He's got defense down, and is starting to show life with his offense. He's a good shot selector and is willing to wait for the right moment to shoot. Last season he was able to shut down opponents remarkably well and showed vast improvement with his play on the boards, and Ottawa noticed the change as well and called him for a two game tryout. The only thing keeping him back is his lack of physical play.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006-07 | Burnaby Express | BCHL | 42 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 40 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | U. of Denver | NCAA | 36 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | U. of Denver | NCAA | 39 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 75 | 18 | 44 | 62 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
If Jared Cowen doesn't make the NHL team, Patrick Wiercioch will be the guy everyone looks at. He's got the size (at least the height; he still needs to bulk up a bit) to go along with his excellent puck handling, and even better hands. He does need to work on his skating, but Wiercioch has all the tools to become an NHL defenseman.
