Sens Watcher

Defensive side

2008-10-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take the time to write a little, or a lot depending on how I feel, about the state of defense in the NHL, especially our Senators, today.

To quickly introduce why I'd do this; all my hockey playing career, which consisted mostly of minor hockey as a child, pond hockey behind my home in rural Newfoundland, and nowadays any type of putting a stick to a small object that I can be a part of. I was a defensemen. I've dedicated my time in the past few years to becoming schooled in the art of defense and all the theoretical and practical knowledge I can find on doing it effectively.

This year the Senators got a little bigger and, arguably, a lot slower on defense. I have no problems with this. I don't really care if any of our defense is potting any more than 10-15 points a year just as long as they are solid when keeping the other team off the scoreboard. Throw some body around, stick check, block shots, cover your man - or area - diligently, take your time and create space for yourself, and never take the puck before the man on a one-on-one.

I've come to a conclusion. I hate the moniker of offensive defensemen, I truly believe that this conflict of ideas, an abstraction if you will, and cannot actually exist. Alas, the term has persisted, and grows, each season to describe any defensemen who is; a little faster out of his own end, can score more than 10 goals or near 50 points a season, makes passes that cross the red line from behind their blueline.

Whatever...

These guys rarely do a good job as a defensemen, and have only vague dreams of being Bobby Orr as they sleep at night.

TSN kicks CBC Ass

2008-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

A quick post about how much better TSN is getting at Marketing to me, as a part of the current generation of avid HOCKEY watchers, by creating campaigns like this "more Canadian content" commercial. Believe me its funny and makes you think all at the same time... as soon as someone, besides me, decides to put it on the internet I'll add it to the blog.

I've gotta say that this is something I'm looking forward to much more than an outdated dinosaur who seems more worried about sensationalism, fashion, and fighting then the game that is being played on any given night. I've always hated how "that show" has become a soapbox for a tired and outdated set of opinions without much care for the big picture of hockey.

I just wish TSN would do some more research about the AVERAGE Canadian hockey fan, because I'm pretty sure they are NOT Leaf fans.

Bored Ad's

2008-08-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

During a conversation, over on the Sens Underground forums, the topic of those pesky board ad's was brought up... by myself if I'm not mistaken.

Eventually the conversation led to how to replace the board ad's, without losing the revenue they bring, while providing entertainment for the fans. As opposed to increasing clutter near the ice surface; I'm looking at you LCD screen board ads.

The single question I asked myself over and over was; "Who are the board ad's aimed at in the first place?" -My marketing teacher would be very proud that I looked for the target market right off the bat.

And the answer to my question...

...the arena population
...the television audience.

It's not clear cut who the ad's are targeted at more, both these groups are exposed to the ad's pretty consistently, so I decided to ponder how to replace the board ad revenues as if they were targeted at both groups on the same levels.

Below are my suggestions for alternatives that allow the elimination the board ad's. Creating less clutter on the ice surface during the action, while increasing the fan experience and still retaining the revenue the ad's provided.

The Arena Population

It's all about the gathering of the individual. You sit down, grab a brew, push to the edge of your seat and cheer your head off when the ice sheet players meet your fancy. People near you feed off your emotion and the excitement, or tension, grows exponentially. You want to be able to push that puck a little to the right, so it squeezes between the goalies glove and the post, lighting the red lamps in overtime. Increasing the ambient crowd noise would provided that little something extra for the fans.

Repositioning of the board ad's in the arena and turning them into sound deflecting, amplification, dampening devices works to up the involvement, increasing the fan experience during the event at the same time. Imagine feeling your heart pounding to the crowds chants of "Alfie, Alfie, Alfie!"

It's either this or have microphones in the stands, like some sports arena's I've recently heard about, to increase the crowd volume.

The Television Audience

The only ad's I can stand, during a television broadcast of a hockey game, are those semi- transparent ones that usually float onto the screen for 10 to 25 seconds apiece during some stoppages in play.

Why? I think it's because they are the only ad's that break-up the action and only slightly remind me that I'm watching a television show. Watching a game on television is all about finding ways to get involved in the action, commercials that take you out of the arena and into a clothing store or hardware store are detrimental to that goal.

Increasing the number of semi-transparent ad's would provide this. Allowing for greater involvement of the audience by; showing panorama's of the arena busting with fans, close-ups of fans enjoying themselves, player intimates, interviews with coaches and players alike, more features like "McGuire's Monster" and the Team1200 going through the players hockey equipment. All of these things, which involve the audience more intimately with the progam, can only increase viewership and boost advertising dollars. Even if the ad's are see-through.

Heatley Rules

2008-04-16T06:59:00.001-07:00

Nuff Said!

Where is the Gold?

2008-01-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting here- near death from a nasty cold/flu/Ebola virus- and I have been thinking- (I can hear you groaning already.)

I still don't like the new uniforms. Why? I asked myself; the team looks faster, the players look less bulky, and its a great marketing tool.

I don't like that there is no GOLD incorporated into the uniforms. The socks are black, red and white. The Jersey (yes the hockey sweater is dead) is red, white and black.

No Gold. None except for the logo, which I do like. I wanna see this team have something all it's own - as of now were a shade away from being Carolina, and a loss of our basic black away from being Detroit.

I know it's basically a non-issue. People will argue that the way the stripes and lines are laid out will make the difference in the recognition of the other "Red-Drenched" teams. But hear me out... Give this team an identity all it's own, bring back the "GOLD" of the third jersey from years past and it will make a big difference. This team should be able "to make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup then." ;)

Darth Gerber

2007-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

As a quiet tribute to Gerber...

... the block is definitely hot people.

What happens next?

2007-12-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

This is a really strange time to be a Sens fan. The team is paying 7 million dollars a season to retain both of it's #1 goaltenders. Gerber and Emery are both very good goaltenders, and might deserve getting that much money a season, but they are currently not living up to many fans expectations.

Letting the two goalies battle it out for the Numero Uno job seems to be having a negative effect on the whole team. Up until recently the Sens had dropped seven in a row, their longest losing streak in years, and the Gerber/Emery tandem was receiving the brunt of criticism from the media for the streak.

During the losses all I saw was a team with the potential to out play" everyone else in the league playing an unfocused game of hockey. I'll have to give Paddock the thumbs down for the recent choices he's made when dealing with the adversity on the club. But on the other hand I doubt that any other coach, besides someone like Bowman, could do the job any better. I'll have to get into this another time, rest assured there will be a blog soon enough detailing Ottawa's current "System" of hockey.

Back to the "controversy" in net.

I see this goalie tandem as fire and ice. I like Emery's blazing-fire but I also like Gerber's cold-calm, if only we could amalgamate them... we'd have some kinda crazy super-goalie... or not. What I've seen so far the past two season, from both these net-minders, is a little unsettling. Neither goalie seems to be willing to take that extra step and enter the league of the ELITE Goalies in the NHL. I'm not actually saying that either of them has the ability to sustain a " Patrick Roy-Like" career. What I mean is; I don't see either one doing something, on a regular basis, that separates the Backups from the True #1's in the League... six very important words...

"NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PLAY"

Both Darth Gerber and Sugar Ray have been unable to show me that they will do anything for a win. Sure we've seen flashes of brilliance from both, but flashes are not enough. That extra push to get across the crease or contorting ones body into seemingly impossible positions seems beyond these guys. To make a point -or to beat a "near-dead horse" in my opinion- We need to ask the "HATED" question about why the Sens were considered "Playoff Chokers" up until last year? We were beaten by goalies who were on the top of their game. Period. To make the Senators a dynasty, which is said to be near impossible in the New NHL, we need a heart between the pipes that is bigger than all of Hockey Country.

On a sorta irrelevant, but related topic. I wanna see how Gerber does with the black mask from this year and the black pads from last year. That would definitely make him a scary site to opposing players.

And while were on the subject of "intimidating the opposition... Emery seems to thrive on the physical aspect of hockey so why not let him loose once and a while -an example would be the Buffalo game pictured here- in which he willingly fought both Biron and Peters within a five minute span. I know! It was Awesome! But apparently everyone thought that the Sens should have been "protecting" their number one.

Wait a minute... I thought I was the flip flopper here.... Isn't Gerber the better goalie? Why should their be a huge backlash against the team if there was a superior goalie sitting on the bench? I think the shortness of the memory in many hockey fans makes them seem very flaky more often then not. The bottom line was; Gerber had been playing badly, Emery was the hot hand. The roles were reversed at the beginning of this year, it's that simple. Now that the team seems to be settling in with Sugar Ray in net -circa the last three games- I say let Emery off the leash, give him the ball so he can throw it at your little sister... or your grandma.

Whats the worst that might happen? He'd injure himself and all you Gerber-Babies would get your "Wish for the Swiss" to be number one. ;)

Cheers.

House Cleaning! A NEW FORMAT BEGINS!

2007-12-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

Seems I really need to change the format around here... I get the feeling that I need a specific angle from which to "watch" the Senators from... And so a new era begins.

I currently have no way to actually watch the Senators in person -maybe in a few months that'll change- so I'll only comment on things I've been able to see on TV, including hockey shows like; HOCKEY CENTRAL, THE SPIN, Hockey Night in Canada, That's Hockey, and NHL on the Fly.

And of course all the Sens Televised games on the various sports networks, excluding the PayPerVu's -don't even get me started on those, I'll do it later.

I'll also be trying to learn more about this crazy thing called "Blogger" so I can make this blog more enjoyable for everyone including myself.

So from here on out I'll be doing my best to make this an enjoyable place to come and mix words about the sens. Perhaps someone who's able to see the team regularly might pitch in once and a while around here as well. ;)

Where have I been?

2007-11-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Playing ball hockey of course!

Well I guess it's time to write something- like a quick recap to get you up to speed. The Sens are in the middle of some adversity as I write this- Yes, a seven game losing streak has come and gone.

The Goaltending situation in the Capital has also changed. Emery hasn't had the same "hot hand" he had about a year ago. He isn't the guy coming in to "save the day" for the Sens either. He's played a game that some have considered "Playoff Lalime-Like," for those of you not in the know that isn't exactly stellar. And maybe that's it... maybe Emery needs to feel like this teams Messiah to play as well as he can. We'll have to wait and see.

Lots to talk about... so little time.

2007-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll make this very quick...

The Sens are first overall....
The fastest team to 26 points....
Spezza is hurting...
Alfie is a Golden God...
Sens Underground Rules...
Gerber is a lesser Golden God...
Emery will soon have to S#!T or get off the toilet...

That is all.
See you soon.

Ha ha ha ha ha!

2007-10-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Looks like there is a pretty long wait between games this week so I have time to check out what's happening in the "eye of the hockey universe!"

Knock on wood that we don't see Meszaros doing this sometime this season. I sure hope its worth the 7 million plus your paying him Leafs Nation.

Boo Ya! I got one! - I definitely upped my asking price on the open market now.

I'm sorry to all the "Offensive Defenseman (or is it men)" but I think you really need a new moniker to describe yourselves. Especially when your pushing the twine in your own net. I have no idea what Offensive Defenseman means and I think we should stone the person who created the term.

Emery in Bingo + some other cool stuff.

2007-10-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Full story

Sugar Ray has been sent to the AHL.... for conditioning... for two games. Looks like a few day's from now it's gonna be time for the "good kind of goaltending controversy" to start. I can see this being a fantastic year for the Senators with both these guys fighting for the top spot.

The Sens continue to roll putting a fifth notch in their belt, with win number five on Wednesday night. I keep hearing the same thing from most of the commentators - this team just seems to shut other teams down in their sleep, and then score goals for breakfast - I think it's brilliant hockey and the Sens are only impressing me more each game. Scoring from many more angles then they "looked like" they could last year I see them as THE TEAM to beat in the NHL. I mean they could actually pick up Forsberg when he feels like picking up his Three-Million dollars.

Sens -vs.- Pens

...wait for it....

In Russia! to start the season next year. Should be made pretty exciting with the snow and ice that they actually get there in winter. I don't see any ice problems for these guys. I'll stop now before I start complaining about the ice conditions in some of the current NHL cities.

Sens 2-0 to start season.

2007-10-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Toronto seems to be a better team this year, in the second period at least.

I have a feeling that the Sens will be picking up lots of points off the Leafs again this year. My thoughts on the two games were overshadowed by the news of the Dany Heatley signing. Here we go anyway. I thought Gerber looked a little more confident but wasn't the goalie who's going to take this team to the heights it achieved last year. Toronto was a one line team and Gerber should have looked a lot better when that line wasn't on the ice, he seemed to be having lots of trouble smothering rebounds. I'll give him props for his positioning, the rebounds were there for the Leafs to jump on, but Gerber was there and square for many of them. Or a Sens stick was there to sweep the puck out of the danger zone.

Hopefully Emery doesn't have the same "relying on the defence to clear his garbage" problem Gerber seems to be having.

Is it just me or did Alfie score the same goal in both games? The only change I saw was the colour of his jersey.

Oh and Sundin tied Sittler's career Leaf goals in the second game. Heres a picture.

It's Over! Its finally over.

2007-09-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Preseason is over. And the Sens went undefeated against all opposition- "Good for them" - I just wish I would have seen some of the great plays that I heard over the radio, but I guess you gotta be grateful that this stuff is being broadcast in any form. Thankfully the commentators on the TEAM1200 are always top notch.

Well it's time to get down to business.

The Leafs are up first.

I'm hoping for a heated contest, something that will give a little spark to the battle of Ontario, like some of the leafs having a mad-on for Jason Spezza. I just hope all you SENS fans get out to Scotiabank place on Thursday and show the cockroaches that there is no longer room for them in the building. Good Luck!

What Steve Downie recieved...

2007-09-25T17:35:00.001-07:00

Steve Downie is 20 years old.
He got Tweny games. I say, lets forget about him now, he's had his 15 minutes.

Why the preseason SUCKS!

2007-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Nuff' said!

Actually it isn't enough. I'm sorry to keep bitching about this... but I see it as a very real problem. And something obviously needs to be done.

When will this hair brained "Interview" idea come to an end. If you want players to prove themselves make them do it at training camp. This is especially important when these players are only trying for a 4th line job or spot on the healthy scratch list for the rest of the season. It totally blows my mind that the NHL would decide that an preseason should include the amount of games it does for the teams in the NHL.

New 42" Plasma!

2007-09-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post that I have a new TV. A 42" Hitachi Plasma.
All I've got to say about it right now is..... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! To bad the only thing on was Hockey Central, I should have just tuned it off and took the picture. Just kidding.

Two More Games

2007-09-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Two more games that I cannot watch on my new big screen...
Still waiting for games that aren't practice or job interviews...

Final Scores

Ottawa 2
Montreal 1

Ottawa 4
Toronto 3 <---(notice the nice colour)

That's about the size of it. We beat two of our division rivals and Jason Spezza held onto the puck deep in Leafs territory for what seemed like a lifetime.

Now we just have to play the other two teams in the division, Boston and Buffalo, and we can get on with the season right?....

Right!!!

The Pre-"is it over yet"-Season

2007-09-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

No it's not over. And I will continue to complain until it over, or shortened to 3 or 4 games and placed in the first week of september.

Here's a few thoughts on the second game of the Pre-Season.

It's SENS vs. CAPS next on the TEAM1200.
That's right people. I can only listen to em for now.

So it's top line for Patty Eaves tonight, sounds like there could be some "creativity" showing up early on from that group. Now that I think about it (Heatley - Spezza - Eaves) would make up a pretty youthful line for an NHL club.

Ok. I get it. There are only three numbers that belong together on the top line (19-15-11) it's just that sometimes we need to mix it up to throw the other team off their game. Makes sense... scratch that... Makes PERFECT sense.

Overall it sounded like a pretty good game. I'm a little shy of high-scoring games, being a goaltender and/or defencemen all my life, but I sometimes find that once the floodgates are opened in a game the players seem to play with more abandon. And that's something we can all appreciate, unless someone get's seriously hurt... in a game that really doesn't matter.

Don't you just love the Pre-Season?

Final
Ottawa            5
Washington    4

The Pre-Season Schedule & Game One

2007-09-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

Tue Sep 18, 2007 Senators vs. Flyers (London, ON) 7:00 PM
Thu Sep 20, 2007 Capitals vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sat Sep 22, 2007 Senators vs. Canadiens 7:00 PM
Mon Sep 24, 2007 Senators vs. Maple Leafs 7:30 PM
Tue Sep 25, 2007 Flyers vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sat Sep 29, 2007 Canadiens vs. Senators 7:00 PM
Sun Sep 30, 2007 Senators vs. Capitals 5:00 PM
That's the Pre-Season.

And most likely my last choice for a post topic before the season starts, unless something big happens. <-- Hint, Hint again Mr. Murray!

I'll just add some thoughts on what I heard over internet radio, when I listened to the game on TEAM1200 for example, and enything I observed watching the various TV channels later on.

Right now I'm listening to the Philly/Ottawa game on the Team1200 and I think Kelly or Eaves just drove up to the drive-thru lane, pulled up to the window and ordered a double cheeseburger and fries! - boy do I love listening to Dean and Gord.

Final Score
Ottawa 4
Philadelphia 0

As I heard it. Gerber was spectacular, which could help his bid to be traded. But he needs to start drinking some clear coloured drinks out of his water bottle. He's beginning to look like an extra from the Exorcist Movie. - Thank you Dean and Gord, you make listening to the games on my computer fun again.

Intrasquad Fight?

2007-09-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Yablonski decided that the best way to get noticed was to fight Chris Neil.

Excellent choice of sparring partner.

Why?

I can take a guess - If I didn't it wouldn't have been much of a blog.

     Chris is not just a fighter called up for "sticky situations." He is a genuine Ottawa Senator, and plays an important role on the team outside of scrapping. He's shown some soft hands over the past couple of seasons and I think this trend will continue for him.

Then we can add the Pest factor.

     Chris Neil is one of those guys that other fans don't want to see play their team, let alone come and wear their teams colors, granted he isn't one of the most hated guys in the NHL like Pronger, but he does have the ability to get under the skin of the opposition.

     Fighting with a guy who's worth to the team has done nothing but increase in the past two years is a good way for Jeremy to show that he's ready to step into the role that McGratton isn't quite fast enough for, yet.

Although the Big EARN did pull quite the move as I'm sure all the talking heads pointed out when the highlight reel was rolling.

I looked everwhere for pics or even a video. If anyone knows where I can find some leave it in the comments for this post.

Something more than a Script.

2007-09-15T18:38:00.001-07:00

I remember seeing this when it first aired.

I wish there was more of this interaction with the players, instead of the "Post Game/PreGame Shows" where all the players sound like their reading from a script.
I remember this segment really cementing my respect for the guys willing to go outside the box with Shaun Majumder -Yes even Hasek. I enjoy being able to see what it's really like for NHLer's outside of the regular interviews and highlight reel spots. It can only improve the fan/player(team) relationship for the better. Just keep watching these things and the NHL "MIGHT" catch on, and actually invest in solidifying the current teams in the league's fan-base.

Pre-Season = 7 Games, Wasted?

2007-09-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just an opinion from me, because most people think that dropping teams out of the current 30 team league is the best way for the NHL to get better.

I'm not sure why the Pre-Season is 7 Games long. The pre-season could be four games long,start in early September and leave room for playoffs that start in March (or earlier if the season was shortened). This could move the NHL playoffs into a position to possibly be the only thing happening in sports at the time. I'm thinking that this MIGHT BE GOOD for the NHL and it's fans, and may even help bring in some new fans at the same time.

Here it is in language the NHL can understand:

Make the pre-season shorter (four games or less).
Only have a 74 game season.
No division leader gets a top three playoff spot (give them a banner or plaque).
Enforce new rules evenly across entire league, for the ENTIRE season and playoffs.
Yearn for a Canadian team. Don't stop eveyone who said it in their bid for a franchise.

That's pretty clear... Right? Anyone who has trouble understanding should ask and I will explain fully what I mean above. I can only imagine what it would be like to witness a playoff series without hearing about the ice conditions. Just trying to follow a bouncing puck, while beating the heat with a cold Canadian in my hand, is hard enough.

I can dream can't I?

A New Era Begins. Welcome to Sens Watcher!

2007-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

This blog is my P.O.V. on the Ottawa Senators and the happenings around the NHL. Since I just started this blog you can expect a very sparse number of Blogs until the NHL season kicks off later this month. Hopefully there will be something to blog about, within the next couple of days, on the trade front for the Senators. <- Hint, Hint Mr. Murray

You can also find me, in blog form, at www.sensunderground.com an excellent site dedicated to the Ottawa Senators.