So the World Cup kicks off today (at least the exhibition portion of the tournament) and as we all know, Erik Karlsson will be the lone representative of the Senators organization, player or coach.
They are lowest-represented team, which obviously shows that the Senators top players aren't among their country's best. We had that debate when the teams were announced and I am not going to rehash it here about who could have or should have made it or who would have made it if their birth certificate bore a different home.
What I want to discuss is the pros and cons of being in the situation that the Senators find themselves in, and where that will put them once opening night rolls around, as well as how it will affect them as the season rolls on.
Some of the pros include a reduced risk of injury from a tournament that will be fun to watch but have no bearing on the Senators as a team. Not having players there means that they will get a full training camp to ease their way into the grind, as opposed to ramping things up very quickly. A full training camp is also vital for the Senators because of the entirely new coaching staff, new systems that they will need to get accustomed to that Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford bring with them. That extended adjustment period can only benefit the Senators, instead of having 4 or 5 guys having to learn it upon their return. With other teams having more of their key players playing extended minutes, they may wear down as the season goes along, adding high intensity games before the grind starts is quite a departure from the usual 2 or 3 exhibition games to ramp it up.
On the downside, all teams they line up against, especially early in the season, will have their best players much closer to mid-season form with a couple of weeks of best on best competition. The Senators will have to weather that storm and be ready to compete at their highest level early on. Also, I would expect that a lot of teams will be looking for time to rest their World Cup competitors when possible, at different points of the season so that they don't get too worn down to the point where injury and fatigue becomes a concern.
There hasn't been a pre-season best on best tournament in over 20 years, so it is tough to predict how this generation of player will react. (There was a World Cup in 2004, but the lockout happened so no games were played after the tournament). Even 20 years ago, players used training camp as a time to get into shape, but that is no longer the fact. Other than maybe a couple of weeks of cheat time, players today keep themselves in top physical shape (for the most part) so the risk of getting run-down might be overstated just a touch, but it may play a small role as the dog days of the season arrive.
It is what it is, and the Senators need to use the time they have together while the World Cup is going on to prepare themselves, and not worry about how it will affect other teams and their star players. And while the World Cup will be interesting and fun to watch, having limited Senators representation might be the best for the club in the long run. They will be tooth and nail to make the playoffs, and any bit of extra energy they have down the stretch will benefit their quest.
As long as they don't get left behind at the start line by teams that are in full flight when opening night comes around.