For today's report card we look at one of the heart and soul players of the Senators, a man who grew up in the shadow of Scotiabank Place and now plays there, Mark Borowiecki.
PRE-SEASON EXPECTATION
Armed with a new 3 year, 1 way contract extension signed before he had even played a full season in the NHL, Mark Borowiecki was expected to be a 5/6/7/8 defenseman on a team with 8 blueliners. Where he would fit in the pecking order remained to be seen, with hopefully a tough battle for playing time on the menu. He came in with the reputation of being a tough, hard-nosed defenseman who would not be expected to put up many points, but to be a defensive stalwart and penalty killer.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Borowiecki pretty much came as advertised. As he progressed through the season, he gained more confidence in his game, kept it simple and did his job. He was the only Senator to top 100 PIMs, and he ended up finishing with a +15 rating, on a 3rd pair with Eric Gryba.
He even played a regular shift on the top pairing with Erik Karlsson for a time after Jared Cowen and Chris Phillips washed out of that role. It probabaly wasn't his comfort zone, but he was pretty effective in a pinch before Marc Methot returned from his injury.
His willingness to throw his body with reckless abandon made him a fan favorite, as was his ability to absorb punishment, and come back when it looked like he was down for the count.
Although he will never be confused with Karlsson, his skating is better than a lot of people give him credit for, and allows him the odd opportunity to carry the puck, which he started doing a little more as the season went on. Dave Cameron's system even saw him holding the blue line or pinching down the boards to keep the pressure on in the offensive zone.
THE HARD STATS
THE FANCY STATS
Here is a comparison between Borowiecki and some of the defensemen in the division who occupy similar roles.
So as a 5/6 guy, he is pretty effective in preventing scoring chances against despite reliance on him in his own zone and the number of times he starts right in front of his own goalie.
THE "KEY" STATS
Despite playing just 63 games, he led the Senators in hits (233) and finished second to Cody Ceci (who played 81 games) in blocked shots (102 vs Ceci's 113).
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Borowiecki is a guy who knows his role and will do what it takes to fill it. Three more years at just a cap hit of $1.1M is very palatable for the things he does, and he seems to be well liked in the room for his willingness to get his nose dirty to stand up for teammates and do the little things well. If he can quell his penchant for taking the bad penalty at the inopportune times, he is a pretty solid 5-6 guy going forward. He will never be in Norris conversations, but the world needs ditch diggers too, and Borowiecki is pretty effective in that lunch-bucket role.
GRADE: While +/- is an oft-overused stat, but for a blueliner of his ilk, the fancy stats don't always tell the whole story. The fact that Borowiecki was +15 and tied for 20th among all NHL defensemen shows that he was pretty darn effective at doing his job. He will continue to improve in all aspects of his game and now that he has a full season under his belt, he will come in with more confidence too. But for this season, taking into account expectations and performance, Boro earns a B+.
On deck for tomorrow is one of the masked men of the Senators.
If you missed them, check out prior Report Cards: