Received by email:
Last September, we announced a rebuild to make our team younger, faster and stronger; improve our defence with a good balance of shut-down capability and offensive skill; establish an offensive scheme to produce more scoring; and enhance our goaltending so as to give us a competitive edge.
At the time, I also highlighted the role I expected our veterans to play in the rebuild. We made it an absolute priority to sign our UFAs Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. In spite of our best efforts, they chose not to stay.
From the moment we knew they would not re-sign, we had to adapt while moving the rebuild forward.
We still intend to rely on veterans for leadership. I am absolutely confident that we can lean on Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mark Borowiecki, Zack Smith, Cody Ceci, Bobby Ryan, Craig Anderson, Chris Tierney, and Dylan DeMelo to show our youth movement the way.
They have character, work ethic and leadership worthy of our youngest players’ attention. Three of them, Pageau, Boro and Ceci, are hometown guys who will help instill a passion for, and a commitment to the community we love.
The talent pool that our veterans now have the opportunity to lead is unprecedented. In addition to having up to 17 draft picks in the first three rounds of the next three seasons, we now have an NHL Club and development program absolutely brimming with promise.
Whether we need dynamic offensive impact or shut-down ability, we have the depth to build a solid defence for years to come: Erik Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Christian Wolanin, Christian Jaros, Maxime Lajoie, Andreas Englund, Ben Harpur and Jonathan Tychonick have all progressed this season, and – as has our All-Star Thomas Chabot – they will thrive in our system.
The offensive end is equally promising: guys like Rudolfs Balcers, Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Josh Norris, Alex Formenton, Filip Chlapik and Parker Kelly should benefit from the energy and example of Brady Tkachuk and Colin White. Together, they should also spark the development of Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson.
The future looks just as bright inside the crease: Marcus Hogberg, Filip Gustavsson and Joey Daccord have all played well this season, and they are becoming ideal candidates to grow into cornerstone roles with the Ottawa Senators.
Today, we also announced a coaching change to support our rebuild. While we are grateful for Guy Boucher’s three years of service to the Ottawa Senators, we need a different set of skills to move our team forward. Once our season concludes, we will launch a search to identify a coach who excels as:
I look forward to seeing you at Canadian Tire Centre.
Sincerely,
Pierre Dorion
Last September, we announced a rebuild to make our team younger, faster and stronger; improve our defence with a good balance of shut-down capability and offensive skill; establish an offensive scheme to produce more scoring; and enhance our goaltending so as to give us a competitive edge.
At the time, I also highlighted the role I expected our veterans to play in the rebuild. We made it an absolute priority to sign our UFAs Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. In spite of our best efforts, they chose not to stay.
From the moment we knew they would not re-sign, we had to adapt while moving the rebuild forward.
We still intend to rely on veterans for leadership. I am absolutely confident that we can lean on Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mark Borowiecki, Zack Smith, Cody Ceci, Bobby Ryan, Craig Anderson, Chris Tierney, and Dylan DeMelo to show our youth movement the way.
They have character, work ethic and leadership worthy of our youngest players’ attention. Three of them, Pageau, Boro and Ceci, are hometown guys who will help instill a passion for, and a commitment to the community we love.
The talent pool that our veterans now have the opportunity to lead is unprecedented. In addition to having up to 17 draft picks in the first three rounds of the next three seasons, we now have an NHL Club and development program absolutely brimming with promise.
Whether we need dynamic offensive impact or shut-down ability, we have the depth to build a solid defence for years to come: Erik Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Christian Wolanin, Christian Jaros, Maxime Lajoie, Andreas Englund, Ben Harpur and Jonathan Tychonick have all progressed this season, and – as has our All-Star Thomas Chabot – they will thrive in our system.
The offensive end is equally promising: guys like Rudolfs Balcers, Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Josh Norris, Alex Formenton, Filip Chlapik and Parker Kelly should benefit from the energy and example of Brady Tkachuk and Colin White. Together, they should also spark the development of Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson.
The future looks just as bright inside the crease: Marcus Hogberg, Filip Gustavsson and Joey Daccord have all played well this season, and they are becoming ideal candidates to grow into cornerstone roles with the Ottawa Senators.
Today, we also announced a coaching change to support our rebuild. While we are grateful for Guy Boucher’s three years of service to the Ottawa Senators, we need a different set of skills to move our team forward. Once our season concludes, we will launch a search to identify a coach who excels as:
- A teacher who will focus on the development and growth of each player on the team;
- A listener who encourages feedback from players and the coaching staff;
- A communicator who lets every team member know where they stand and what to expect; and
- A tactician who brings structure and game planning that will enhance our rebuilding effort.
I look forward to seeing you at Canadian Tire Centre.
Sincerely,
Pierre Dorion
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