Sweating the small stuff often yields big shiny things. For Zach Senyshyn, the Boston Bruins first-rounder who had a summer of setbacks, that involved breaking out with a four-goal weekend for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Since he debuted in the Soo, it’s been evident that Senyshyn’s acceleration and quick release on his shot are world class. The 19-year-old’s chance to make a run at an extended stay in Boston was restricted due to contracting mononucleosis in the summer and appendicitis in early September. In spite of the back-to-back medical episodes, Senyshyn used his second NHL camp experience to become more mindful of what he needs to do to evolve beyond being a great goal scorer at the OHL level.
“I talked to Boston, and it’s not really my offensive play that is going to hold me back from making the NHL—it’s going to be looking at the little things in your game and being able to play good defence,” said Senyshyn, whom the Bruins chose 15th overall in 2015. “I think if I work on those things I’ll be able to make the NHL next year.”
“It’s the details, being able to stop and start [after a change in possession] and always being able to stay on pucks. Looking at the older guys there, seeing [Patrice] Bergeron and [Brad] Marchand and getting to play with [Ryan] Spooner and [Matt] Beleskey, it’s a big jump. Their game and play away from the puck is perfect and I’ve got to get used to it.”
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Senyshyn, who had 45 goals last season, was scoreless in his first three OHL games. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right winger had a hat trick in Kingston on Friday and also scored in his hometown against Ottawa on Sunday. The ‘Hounds won both to improve to 6-0 on the road.
“It’s just been slow progress for him—I think all the kids, when they come back from a NHL training camp, it takes them a little while,” Greyhounds coach Drew Bannister said. “The details in his game were a lot better than we had seen. That’s something that we have to work on for him to get to the next level.
“That’s better recognition in the ‘D’ zone, being available and supporting the puck instead of just trying to take off wide,” Bannister added. “He understands what he needs to do to take the next step.”
Adapting from a pro environment to junior usually takes a few weeks. Senyshyn is working on forging chemistry with new linemates, Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay Lightning) and newcomer Otto Makinen. His regular collaborator, ‘Hounds captain Blake Speers, is up with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
As for the effect of being laid low by mono and an appendectomy, it’s best not to dwell on it.
“It’s an adversity that I have to overcome and I am on the right track,” Senyshyn said. “I am still trying to get back into game form, and I am starting to get there now.”
Flyers pick Laberge felled by vicious by headshot
Intent should supersede the extent of the injury when it comes to meting out a suspension for a check to the head. Victoriaville Tigres right winger Pascal Laberge was injured Saturday when he was clocked by Moncton Wildcats blueliner Zach Malatesta, who has been placed under suspension by the QMJHL.
Based on the replay, it appears Malatesta was targeting the head of Laberge when he came in at high speed for the collision. While the overageR will have a hearing with the QMJHL before a suspension is levied, 12-15 games seems like an easy call for the league.
Laberge, whom the Philadelphia Flyers selected at No. 36 in the 2016 NHL Draft, did not return to the game. The 18-year-old also sat out on Sunday.
Malatesta, one of the Q’s more rugged defencemen, has shown he’s capable of checking cleanly in the past. The Wilmington, Mass., native has had three suspensions during his career—once for abuse of an official, once for removing an opponent’s helmet in a fight, and once for kneeing.
New hope for Wolves
The Sudbury Wolves have been held up as the OHL’s analog to the Toronto Maple Leafs—so much suffering, and yet so many true believers among the fan base. Four weeks does not a season make, but the sight of Sudbury (6-3-1-0) leading the Central Division is a sign a transformation has traction.
The Wolves are skilled and deep in the 17- and 18-year-old cohorts. The likes of rugged left winger Macauley Carson, 2015 OHL first-overall pick David Levin and 18-year-old Dmitry Sokolov (Minnesota Wild) have bestowed Sudbury with the depth it lacked the past two seasons. Overage Chandler Yakimowicz, late of defending MasterCard Memorial Cup champion London, also has eight points in six games since moving east.
Sudbury GM Barclay Branch has moved fast to rebuild the roster. Typically, an OHL team’s prospects are predicated on the development of the draft class from three seasons ago, but No. 1 defenceman Kyle Capobianco (Arizona) is the only 2013 pick still with the Wolves.
The promising start, in the wake of two seasons that were an extended dirge, marks the first time Sudbury has been above .500 after 10 games since 2008-09. Each of the last two iterations of the Wolves got their sixth win in the second weekend of December. True story.
Canadian NHL team prospect of the week
Carl Neill, D, Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
Neill was the catalyst for the Phoenix during a 2-0-1-0 week, with eight assists. The Vancouver Canucks fifth-rounder (No. 144 overall in 2015) reportedly had just an average showing at the Young Stars prospect tournament last month, but has snapped into form with Sherbrooke. Neill, the team’s captain, has 11 points in his first eight games.
New name to know
Denis Mikhnin, Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
Russians have long gravitated toward the Q due to its fast pace and being fewer time zones (relatively) away from the motherland, and Mikhnin is quickly adapting in Rimouski. The 17-year-old got a hat trick in his ninth game on Saturday during a 10-6 win against Moncton. The 5-foot-10, 167-pound Mikhnin scored three different ways: a snap shot off the rush, a wrist shot after carrying from the half-wall to the high slot, and on a deke after splitting the defence.
Mikhnin is tied for first in QMJHL rookie scoring with 11 points (8G-3A) in nine games.
