The family day long weekend in Belleville wasn’t the one they had envisioned going in. Not only were they on a seven-game win streak, but they also hadn’t lost two in a row since the start of the 2020 calendar year. In the end, they came out of the weekend with a record of 1-1-1, but there were lots of ups and downs.
Christian Wolanin made his return this weekend after missing the entire season up to that point due to surgery he underwent on his shoulder and he didn’t look out of place. Although his overall game was pretty quiet, his skating made it hard to look away when he was on the ice. The team decided it would be best to have him sit for the second half of the back-to-back as he makes his way back into the lineup.
Logan Brown had seemingly been battling a hand injury in the last couple games before Saturday, but after taking a big hit he didn’t return to that game nor did he play on Monday against Milwaukee. He was enjoying a successful season in the AHL, with 28 points in 25 games. Although he should probably be with the big club based on his skill level, the fact that the Sens aren’t competing for a playoff spot makes it more logical for him to continue to develop for the rest of this season.
Vitalii Abramov finally broke his 13 game goalless drought and he looked like a brand new player out there. He finished the weekend with two goals and three points, but he also recorded 13 shots and just looked a lot more confident and energized.
Josh Norris and Alex Formenton continue to dominate the rookie scoring race. Not only do they sit first and second in points, but they also hold the top two spots for goals, and two of top three spots for shots on goal. Over the weekend, Norris added three goals and two assists while Formenton put up a goal as well as three helpers.
In nets, Joey Daccord stopped 57/63 shots (.905) while Gustavsson didn’t do great in his only start, stopping only 21/28 (.750). Assuming Hogberg stays in Ottawa, Daccord is really running away with the starting job and it’d be interesting to see what their plan is in nets going into the playoffs because while they’re the only team to reach 200 goals so far this season, their 163 goals against are 21st in the league.
The reality of a rebuilding team is that their AHL team is never going to be stable until the playoffs and that holds true in Belleville. In one week, we’ll have a much better picture of who goes up or down, but as it stands, it’s impossible to gauge what the roster is going to look like come playoff time. Batherson could very well be sent back down to help with the playoff run, but if the Senators trade some forwards, it’s also possible they need to call up a player or two in Chlapik, Brown or Beaudin. It is also believed management wants to reward Josh Norris by giving him a few games with the NHL squad before the end of the season, so everything is truly up in the air.
If one thing is for sure, it’s that the Belleville Senators are going to be fun to watch for the rest of the season and especially around playoff time with all the talent up and down their roster.