The 7-19-65 Watch

While I was watching the Sens in their 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers,the commenter mentioned having a chance to talk to coach Paul MacLean.  During the interview, MacLean stated that there were three numbers to watch this year: #7 (Kyle Turris), #19 (Jason Spezza), and #65 (Erik Karlsson).  If these players did well in the coming season, then the Senators would also be doing well.

Because of this, I have decided to start a 7-19-65 Watch to see how these three players do this year and find out if this prediction will turn out to be correct.  To start it off, here are their current stats:

Kyle Turris - 3 Goals, 0 Assists, +2

Jason Spezza - 0 Goals, 1 Assists, +2 (I've even seen Jason Spezza shoot the puck twice!)

Erik Karlsson - 1 Goal, 2 Assists, +3

Off to a strong start

Something miraculous happened today as I was channel surfing.  I was looking through the TV guide and saw something I haven't seen for a very long time: a hockey game.  And it was even an Ottawa Senators hockey game at that.

I was a bit late getting started on watching it (I had to pry the television away from my parents and the Australian Open), coming in during the second half of the second period, just in time to see the goal scored by Chris Neil which would ultimately be the game winner.  Chris Neil is another favourite of mine as well as being the undisputed winner of Best Smile on the team.

And then there were a few more goals as well, from Karlsson (who by now you should know is my favourite player) and Turris.  Good solid goaltending from Craig Anderson, though I did apparently miss some of the best saves from the beginning of the second period.  Ultimately, it was 4-1 for Ottawa, hurrah!


It's going to be an interesting season this year, more of a sprint to the playoffs than a marathon, which means that every game is that much more important.  Which in turn makes this victory a very important one as well and hopefully sets the stage for many more.


While I do agree with the general disgruntlement left from the lockout, I am really glad to see the team back in action.  It is actually pretty incredible, really, to see the personal level of attachment a fan can get to a hockey player that he or she has only ever seen from afar.  And I definitely have been converted by the Canadian brainwashing machine that tells us that hockey = life.

Hockey News in Summer? What's Going on Here?

Wow, so much Sens news!  Did the season start early or something?  Crazy.  I guess I’d better jump right in and get down to business.

I was busy when the awards were being announced but my mother came down to let me know Karlsson had won the Norris Trophy (did I mention he’s my favourite player?).  Neither of us were actually expecting him to win it, to be quite honest, but I am very excited that he did.  It really has been one crazy year for him and about to get even crazier since he’s off to get married now (at least he probably won’t be traded on his wedding day, unlike Jordan Staal).

Even more exciting though really was Alfredsson’s win for the King Clancy.  As I mentioned before, I will be sad if Alfie retires without a Cup under his belt (though let’s face it, the chances of him sticking around AND the Senators winning aren’t particularly great) but the more honours he gets, the better I would feel.  Plus he really just means so much to Ottawa and it’s great to see that acknowledged.

Finally, we’ve got the Draft to talk about.  Despite missing the awards I did actually watch some of this on TSN.  Trust me, it was riveting.

Okay, maybe not but there were some interesting parts to it as you try and figure out a team’s strategy (or maybe just try and figure out if the Flames were the smartest team or the dumbest).  For the Sens, the biggest news is, of course, the first round pick of Cody Ceci.  I am a bit of a lapsed 67s Fan but it is very exciting to see someone who grew up in Ottawa play here for the OHL and the NHL. 

The team picked up 6 other players and I’m excited for all of them to come on board, in particular our new goalie since I’ve always been partial to them when I’m not paying attention to Karlsson (I used to play nets myself).  Hopefully the team is on the path to doing a bit better in the coming years than in the last ones, since it wasn’t so long ago when we were at the top of the West. 

Though as long as we’re better than the Leafs I won’t be too upset.

Lucky 7 Years for Karlsson & the Sens

It's been pretty quiet for the Senators since their first round loss in the play-offs but things are looking up for the future.  Erik Karlsson signed a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension today.


Seeing as he is my favourite player on the team, I am really happy about the news though also a bit worried at who the team may end up losing if the money runs out.  But if anyone is worth the money, it's Karlsson and at least now Daniel Alfredsson's kids won't lose their favourite babysitter.

There is still no news on the Alfredsson front.  I know that a lot of people will be disappointed if he decides to retire now, though after the many ups and downs of last season no one could blame him, especially given that he'll be turning 40 at the end of this year.  Still, it always makes me sad to see a good player retire without winning a Stanley Cup, even though I know it happens to a lot of them.  Of course he does have an Olympic gold medal, which is pretty damn impressive too.

All and all, it is shaping up to be an interesting summer and an even more interesting fall.