Monday Links, News and Notes: Prospect Rankings, Loans & Mark Stone Being Awesome
A new set of prospect rankings was released while more players were sent overseas for guaranteed competitive games this fall. Oh, yeah, and Mark Stone was awesome again.
On Saturday, the NHL resumed play after two days away from the game to focus on far more important things like fighting social injustice and the fact that Black Lives Matter. The NHL’s disappointingly delayed response to the matter has been well documented, especially on this blog here and here.
For fans of the Ottawa Senators, it’s been another quiet week in hockey news in this never ending offseason. Will we hear about a new captain soon? Are the Senators ever going to officially release their new logo and jersey? Will the Los Angeles Kings confirm they’re taking Tim Stützle second overall so we can properly fawn over Quinton Byfield?
None of these things will happen any time soon. In fact, it’s growingly likely they’ll all happen closer to, if not at, the draft.
- Ryan Reaves spoke with Scott Oake, continuing the conversation about the support from his teammates and fellow NHLers while acknowledging that these few days from the NHL alone aren’t going to change anything - it’ll be what happens moving forward that will be most important.
- Josh Bell over at The Hockey Writers posted an updated Top 100 NHL prospects rankings last week. While it featured a number of Senators, the interesting thing to note is just how many rank in the mid-to-late tiers of this ranking. Drake Batherson ranks highest at 18, while Logan Brown (43), Alex Formenton (44) and Josh Norris (55) are the next highest. This goes to show just how important the 2020 NHL Draft will be for the Ottawa Senators, as it will be sure to aid the club in bringing in some true, gamebreaking talent.
- The Dallas Stars are surprising the hockey world by extending their lead over the high flying Colorado Avalanche three games to one. It doesn’t feel like the Stars are, in any way, the better team but four games into the series, they have Nathan MacKinnon and his Avs against a wall. Are the Stars the real deal or will they be an easy matchup for, probably, the Vegas Golden Knights next round?
- Russian prospect Vitali Kravstov joins the wave of prospects heading overseas as he was officially loaned to the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk, starting the season in Russia next week giving another example of prospects being sent overseas for guaranteed competitive hockey as the NHL’s season isn’t expected to kick off until December. Lassi Thomson remains the only Senators prospect, so far, to be loaned to a club outside of North America.
- Bruce Garrioch once again dismissed the “ridiculous notion” that the Senators would move their top two picks in the 2020 Draft in an article he penned last week. While there’s nothing overly new to report in this piece, it’s interesting that Garrioch notes that Lucas Raymond, in particular “could fit the bill” for the Sens. Is this random guesswork? Did Garrioch hear this straight from Pierre Dorion? Or Melnyk?/
- Mark Stone was at it again, scoring an incredible goal and giving the NHL yet another taste of just how much this guy loves the game./
#ExpressiveMarkStone strikes again. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Eo3ebG9VLf
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) August 30, 2020
That’s it for your Monday edition of Links, News and Notes. As we creep into September, we’ll get closer and closer to news us Sens fans will be more enamoured with... we hope.