Follow Notch's observations all week long at the Leaf's rookie tournament in Kitchener.

I am not sure why I decided to drive three and a half hours just to watch the prospects practice Sunday morning, but I did.

The four-team, three-game rookie tournament is being held at the Aud in Kitchener. Ottawa will be playing the Pittsburgh, Boston and Toronto prospects on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will be giving you insight that will hopefully give some of you in deeper leagues a leg up on your competition. If anyone has prospects they would like me to keep an extra close eye on from the Sens, Penguins, Bruins or Leafs, post in the comments below.

Onto today's practice. I am a goalie myself, so I naturally paid close attention to them. Anytime somebody mentions that they saw Robin Lehner, the first thing they say is that he is massive. I am not going to buck that trend. Not only is he huge, he has cat-like reflexes. If I lived in the Soo, I would definitely pay to watch this guy night in a night out in some great OHL action. He has the makings of a star. I can't see myself driving to the Soo, but I will be making a trip up to Barrie to watch him for sure. I want to see how he reads the play at game speed. I'll to have to borrow my buddy's Greyhounds jersey for the occasion. The rebound control problem that some people in the media harp on was nonexistent this practice as Lehner seemed to smother everything that came his way or at least deflect the puck into the safe areas of play. The future may be bright in the Senators' crease for years to come with Elliott and Lehner between the pipes.

Erik Karlsson will be on the Ottawa Senators this season...all season. He has a cannon of a shot with a. .308 rifles accuracy (that is good, by the way). Not only that but his poise with the puck, skating stride, acceleration and top speed was second to none from the back end today (granted, I'm comparing him to other rookies on the ice). GM Bryan Murray has hinted all summer that Karlsson is ready and I couldn't agree more. On your draft day please put Karlsson down as a 35-point-plus D-man because that is what he will get this year. Calder candidate. Not a bad early impression!

Jim O'Brien and Peter Regin looked great, but they should. They are some of the oldest at camp and have a wealth of experience over most others. I have Regin penciled in on the Sens starting lineup, but I fear I may be wrong. He seemed a little off today with his skating. I am not sure if he is nursing an injury to his lower body, but he was skating very awkwardly and I have never noticed that before in him. He was a little bit slower than I have seen before. I have lowered my expectations, but still feel he is the closest forward prospect we have and will be the first call up all year along with Ilya Zubov.

I also found myself watching guys that I have never seen before. There was this little spark plug flying around the ice and doing Datsyukian-like things with the puck on his stick. His name was Brandon Svendsen and he was signed in late July by Ottawa on an amateur tryout basis. Impressive. He could be one to watch in the AHL as the numbers in Ottawa just don't add up to him making the big club. He is now on my radar though, and he should be on yours, too. He had a coming out party for Bowling Green last season and ended the year toying with competition in the ECHL not unlike Alex Burrows a few years ago.

That's it for today - back with more all week.

Notch

Comments (10)

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Stuart McDonald said:

	... I love the way you went to Kitchener for a practice. I can SOOOO relate. I went to Amherst NY from suburban Toronto two years ago for a practice.
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September 08, 2009
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Stuart McDonald said:

	... Karlsson - I'm skeptical that he'll get more than 65 games. I don't like Ottawa's defence but if I was Ottawa, I'd send him down when he's lower than fifth on the depth chart. If he's going to develop properly he needs quality ice time. Brian Murray may disagree with me.
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September 08, 2009
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Ian Sharp said:

	Thanks Thanks for the article. Greatly appreciated. Loved the update on Lehner and Karlsson. Gonna watch out for Svendson as well. Nice work.
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September 07, 2009
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Maximus said:

	Brad Thiessen Does Thiessen have the tools to project as an NHL starter and if so, what would his timeline be?
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September 07, 2009
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Maximus said:

	Watch List Pittsburgh: Caputi & Tangradi Which player is looking like the better NHL candidate for 09-10 or 10-11? and are they both still looking like top 6 players? Veilleux How many years away is he from making an NHL impact? He is listed as a C but to move up in the Pens organization a move to the wing might serve him a lot better, does he look like he can play the wing successfully as well?
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September 07, 2009
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Steve Johnson said:

	... OK guys. Will try my best for you. Here is a link to my original posting in the forum: http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=93&jfile=showthread.php&t=44958 I am packing for my trip, it should be fun!
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September 07, 2009
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Mike said:

	Pens forwards would like to hear about young forwards Keven Veilleux, Eric Tangradi, Luca Caputi and Casey Pierro-Zabotel. Compared against each other, how would they rank for proximity to NHL duty.
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September 07, 2009
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paul said:

	andre petersson not sure if he is in camp but would love to hear how he is doing
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September 07, 2009
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fzusher said:

	Svendsen Here's a little item about Svendsen.
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September 07, 2009
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fzusher said:

Players to watch ... OK, i'll bite. Quite voraciously ... [i'll list the question I have on each, but any info will be great] Boston: Jordan Knackstedt (does he have the offense to be more than a checker at the NHL?) Levi Nelson (is he still on track to making the NHL [80% to make it in the 2008 prospect guide] after dropping to the ECHL last year?) Rob Kwiet (were last year's numbers the mark of an overager on a stacked team or of a late bloomer who will translate to the NHL eventually?) Ottawa: Craig Schira (same as Rob Kwiet) Pittsburgh: Lane Caffaro (is there any offensive or two-way NHL potential there?) Toronto: Barron Smith (nobody seems to really know much about the 09 draftee, I guess the most basic question is whether there's any offense to him or whether he's a pure defensive D) Andrew Engelage (is the recent memorial cup winner the real deal or just the beneficiary of a stacked team?)

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September 07, 2009
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