| Michael Sonday. 22nd September, 2008 - 7:13 pm
 With just a few days of training camp in the books Ottawa Senators' Coach Craig Hartsburg is already creating waves. Coach Hartsburg opened up camp this past week with mid-level prospect Jesses Winchester playing on the first line with Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza.
While the news of Winchester playing with the big guns may come as a surprise, it is Hartsburg’s plan this season to use a balanced attack, ultimately hoping that a prospect such has Winchester can contribute. Winchester was signed this past May to a two-year, one-way contract, so in all likelihood he will find himself on the roster when the Senators open their season vs. the Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 4th. The question is where will he be playing?
The Senators used 11 different players at right wing on the top line last season, so a consistent linemate might benefit Spezza and Heatley, but is a player such as Winchester the answer?
The 24-year-old Winchester has only one game of NHL experience, playing 14 minutes in a 4-0 loss to Boston late last season. Not having experience would be fine if you were going to use a top prospect such as Steven Stamkos but Winchester did not exactly light up the college ranks as he only scored eight goals last season for Colgate University.
"I'm just focusing on doing all the things I can do. The rest is up to the coaching staff and management." Winchester told the media about the possibility of playing on the top line. "The way I look at it right now, I feel like I'm starting over. I feel like it's a fresh start for me."
Hartsburg has made it known over that past few weeks that he will look at the young players and give them a chance to show what they have in camp. If youngsters such as Winchester and Nick Foligno fail to impress, Hartsburg and GM Bryan Murray may look at available free agents to fill their need of a top six forward.
Daniel Alfredsson, who has had a great deal of success on the first line alongside Heatley and Spezza, welcomes the idea of spreading out the scoring. "We've had me, Spezza and Heater before and it puts a lot of pressure on one line to perform." Alfredsson told the Canadian Press on Wednesday. "With 82 games, if you can spread it out, it makes life easier on everybody."
So is putting Winchester on the top line early in camp a ploy by Hartsburg to send a message, or does he see something in Winchester that will have him excel on the Senators' top unit? |
