{"id":1348,"date":"2016-09-17T20:48:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-18T00:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=1348"},"modified":"2016-09-22T09:03:02","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T13:03:02","slug":"ottawa-senators-rookie-camp-day-2-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/09\/17\/ottawa-senators-rookie-camp-day-2-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa Senators Rookie Camp Day 2 Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ottawa Senators rookie camp\u00a0<\/strong>kicked off on Day 2 of the 2016 NHL Rookie Tournament in London, Ontario, by edging out the Pittsburgh Penguins <\/strong>rookies 1-0. They went ahead in the first period on a goal from Stephen Harper<\/strong>, attending the tournament on an amateur tryout, and never looked back, with goaltender Chris Driedger <\/strong>completing a 43-save shutout for the victory.<\/p>\n

Ottawa Senators Rookie Camp Day 2 Recap<\/h1>\n

It was a fairly slow game, with a very physical tone set early on when Pittsburgh\u2019s Brandon Crawley <\/strong>hit Anthony DiFruscia <\/strong>hard from behind, then dropping the gloves with Vincent Dunn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Kurt Kleinendorst<\/strong>, coaching the Sens rookies this weekend, said that he saw \u201ca lot of battle\u201d from his team. \u201cThe one thing that stands out is the compete level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Not one for the typical hockey clich\u00e9, though, Kleinendorst clarified his definition of compete level.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompeting for us isn\u2019t fighting,\u201d he was quick to insist. \u201cCompeting for us is winning the battles. It\u2019s first touch on pucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coach had no shortage of good things to say about the performance he saw from Driedger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought our goaltending was phenomenal,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I was giving a game puck I\u2019d have given it to my goaltender because he was that good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite facing 43 shots and stopping every one of them, Driedger himself didn\u2019t feel hung out to dry by his team. In fact, he complimented his defencemen on their ability to keep Pittsburgh\u2019s shots to the low-percentage areas of the offensive zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we kept the shots mostly to the outside. There was a few that got to the middle but that\u2019s to be expected. I thought for the most part we did a good job of giving me the shots that I should be saving.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of other standouts in the Senators\u2019 lineup, 2014 fourth round pick Andreas Englund<\/strong> was another that Kleinendorst singled out, gushing about his ability to play with the puck.<\/p>\n

The coach\u2019s praise of his young defenceman went into great detail, and reads almost like a scouting report:<\/p>\n

\u201c[Englund]\u2019s a big guy, and he plays a steady game, but he\u2019s very capable. He\u2019s got good offence, he\u2019s got good touch on the puck. He thinks the game very well, and he is one of the guys that you can see pretty much grasp everything we\u2019ve thrown at him.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHockey players all have a different level of intelligence, like all human beings, and some players get it a little quicker than others. I just think he\u2019s a guy that absorbs everything, but it\u2019s not just the absorption \u2013 it\u2019s his willingness to do it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Gabriel Gagne <\/strong>was one that stood out among Ottawa\u2019s forward group. The 36th<\/sup> overall pick in 2015 has a lot of offensive skill, which is complemented incredibly by his 6\u20195\u201d frame that often brings him to the front of the net.<\/p>\n

Ottawa\u2019s most prolific prospect, 6\u20196\u201d 11th-overall pick Logan Brown<\/strong>, had a very quiet game. He contributed in the offensive zone by clearing the front of the net and doing battle with the Penguins defencemen, and was serviceable on the penalty kill, but otherwise had an uneventful night.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Senators played quite a strong systematic game. Kleinendorst was happy with his team\u2019s performance, given all the coaching pointers he\u2019s thrown at them the past couple of days.<\/p>\n

With a new coaching staff in Ottawa, highlighted by new head coach Guy Boucher <\/strong>and assistants Marc Crawford <\/strong>and Rob Cookson<\/strong>, Kleinendorst wants to give his rookies an edge heading into Senators training camp.<\/p>\n

He noted that he and his Binghamton Senators <\/strong>coaching staff have bombarded the rookies with systematic instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably done a little bit of a disservice to the kids,\u201d he admitted, \u201cbecause they\u2019re thinking a little more than we would really like them to. We feel like in the big picture they should have a nice advantage when they get to camp. We\u2019ve thrown a lot of systems at them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kleinendorst gave his players credit for the effort they\u2019ve put in, having to make a significant adjustment from junior to play against some stronger competition here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have no time with the puck [at this level],\u201d he pointed out. \u201cThis is a game now of speed and quickness, and we talked about getting in their pockets \u2013 getting right in on them \u2013 so there\u2019s no time, there\u2019s no space. No disrespect to the junior leagues or anything like that but there\u2019s just no time at this level. I think that\u2019s the biggest adjustment that these kids are making.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Senators will try and finish their rookie tournament with a win on Sunday as they play the Montreal Canadiens<\/strong> at 1 pm EST.<\/p>\n

Main image credit:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n