The Ottawa Senators continued to trim their roster on Thursday, making 17 cuts as their training camp moves into its next phase.
Eight players were assigned directly to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League: Matthew Andonovski, Tyler Boucher, Jake Chiasson, Jorian Donovan, Tomas Hamara, Jackson Parsons, Oskar Pettersson and Djibril Toure. All eight will now join Belleville’s camp as they look to take the next steps in their development.
Five additional players will require waivers before being sent down to Belleville. That group includes forwards Wyatt Bongiovanni, Xavier Bourgault and Garrett Pilon, along with defenceman Cameron Crotty and goaltender Hunter Shepard. They will be available to the other 31 NHL clubs before officially reporting to Ottawa’s AHL affiliate.
Four more players — Philippe Daoust, Landen Hookey, Jamieson Rees and Keean Washkurak — were also reassigned to Belleville. Each is on an AHL contract and attended Ottawa’s camp on a tryout basis.
With the latest moves, the Senators’ training camp roster has been reduced to 31 players. The group now consists of three goaltenders, ten defencemen and eighteen forwards still competing for opening-night spots.
The team will shift its focus to Quebec City over the next five days, where they will hold practices and play a pair of preseason games at the Videotron Centre. Ottawa is set to face the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, September 28, followed by a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, September 30.
The Senators are 1-1 in preseason play so far after splitting a home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs to open their exhibition schedule earlier this week.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
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