Staios says the Senators are confident that Jake Sanderson will play on opening night in Toronto on Saturday.
The Senators are still dealing with some uncertainty on defence as the regular season approaches, but general manager Steve Staios provided some encouraging news Wednesday morning on two key pieces of his blue line.
Appearing on TSN 1200’s morning show, Staios said the Senators remain confident Jake Sanderson will be ready for the start of the regular season.
“We feel confident that Sandy's going to be ready to start the season,” Staios said. “I feel like we've taken a big step with our medical and strength and conditioning, and that coordination with Matt Nichol being able to not only provide the best care available for our players, but to get them back as quickly as possible.”
Staios also addressed some of the recent discussion surrounding head coach Travis Green and the injury updates he provides to the media. Green pushed back earlier this week against suggestions that the club has intentionally withheld information or been misleading about injured players.
Staios jokingly took a shot at the TSN 1200 hosts, John Rodenburg and Steve Lloyd, outing them as the media members Green was referring to on Monday when he mentioned “one of the locals” was discussing the quality of the injury updates he provides.
“It’s good to be here with ‘The Locals,’ live and in person,” Staios said in his greeting, drawing a big laugh from the hosts.
The GM later backed up Green’s assessment of the club’s injury reports.
“The injury thing is hard because a lot of times we don't really know,” Staios said. “Like the injury report comes out, and it's day to day or week to week, and we don't have a clear timeline.”
Staios added that Green is sometimes receiving updated medical information shortly before speaking with reporters, if he gets it at all.
“We want to be as transparent as possible. But a lot of times we don't have all the information, and it's a bit of a moving target.”
The news isn't quite as encouraging for Artem Zub, who suffered a setback in his recovery. But it doesn’t appear to be a long term thing either. Zub has been rehabbing since being injured in Game 1 of Ottawa’s first-round playoff series last spring.
“I think initially we thought that he'd be ready for the start of the season,” Staios said. “I don't think it's going to be far beyond the start of the season. He continues to progress.”
There was no new information on the opening night status of Andre Burakovsky or Warren Foegel. Burakovsky isn't skating and Foegele skated in the top six for the second straight day, alongside
Any extended absence for Zub would put an even brighter spotlight on rookie Carter Yakemchuk, who’s also a right shot D.
The 2024 first-round pick has already shown NHL-level offense. The bigger question throughout training camp has been whether his defensive game is ready to go full-time in the show.
Staios believes Yakemchuk has made significant progress.
“He has attributes that you just can't teach,” Staios said. “He's had a big summer. He's taken a big step forward physically and mentally as well.”
“Don't let his personality fool you. Like, he's a committed guy and he's a hard guy. I know he's a little bit soft spoken, but I think his defensive game has taken a good step forward.”
There will inevitably be mistakes, something Staios acknowledged several times. But Yakemchuk has already shown an ability to handle pressure. He produced two points in his NHL debut late last season in a huge game in Detroit, and another two points when injuries forced the Sens to use him in the playoffs.
“The lights (of the NHL stage) aren't too bright for this player,” Staios said. “Are there going to be bumps in the road? For sure.”
With Sanderson apparently close to returning but Zub potentially unavailable beyond opening night, the Senators’ assessment of Yakemchuk is no longer just a training-camp storyline. It’s pretty clear that he’s still ahead of fellow rookie Hoyt Stanley on the depth chart and that they’re counting on Yakemchuk to play meaningful minutes.
Well, at least until Zub is ready. Where it goes from there remains to be seen.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
