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Although it was looking like the Senators were going to begin the season with a 23-man roster, that plan has obviously changed as Christian Jaros was sent down to Belleville:
I don't like that Ben Harpur is in the NHL over Jaros, but at the same time, Jaros wouldn't be getting much ice-time as the eighth defenseman in Ottawa anyway. And even if it was a battle for the seventh spot, it's not that worst thing in the world for Harpur to get that spot as long as he is in the press box more often than not.
The Senators shot themselves in the foot by giving Harpur this two-year one-way contract because he hasn't done anything to prove to the team that he is good enough to stay in the NHL. Furthermore, Max Lajoie, Christian Wolanin, and Christian Jaros have all been more impressive than him and all have higher upside. It is encouraging that Lajoie is getting a great opportunity and I hope that he gets a good enough look, but at the same time, Harpur is going to block these three prospects if they still think he is a capable defenseman.
I did not think that Jaros (or Lajoie for that matter) was quite ready for a full-time NHL role, so sending him down to Belleville is the logical choice. Him and Wolanin will definitely get games in Ottawa this season as well because there are always going to be injuries. If he continues to improve in Belleville, that will get recognized, and I think at some point he can develop into a physical third pairing defenseman.
With Jaros getting sent down, the BSens now have quite a solid roster and it looks better than I expected because I thought players like Logan Brown, Filip Chlapik, and Wolanin would be in the NHL. He joins a blueline that features Wolanin, Andreas Englund, Stuart Percy, Erik Burgdoerfer, Julius Bergman, and Patrick Sieloff. With Troy Mann now at the helm, I'm optimistic that prospects will be prioritized in terms of getting important ice-time, which is different than how Kurt Kleinendorst operated.
There are a lot of young players getting an opportunity in Ottawa right now, but there are only so many spots available. Most people are pointing at Harpur as the reason why, but even if he got waived, Jaros wouldn't be able to get much ice-time at the NHL level anyway. He will get his chance, but not just yet. Firstly, we will get to see what Lajoie can do, and that is something to get very excited about. There are a lot of unknown's this season, and at least that's a reason to tune in every night.
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