Senyshyn surprisingly selected 15th overall
The Hockey News Draft Preview rated him the 47th top prospect in the 2015 NHL Draft. TSN’s Bob McKenzie had him No. 40, while NHL’s Central Scouting’s final rankings listed the young Ukrainian hopeful at No. 38. When Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney called his name as the 15th overall pick, Zach Senyshyn was caught off guard.
He knew his play had made an impact with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in his debut season in the Ontario Hockey League, but he could never have envisioned being Boston’s third selection in the draft’s first round. He was prepared to go in the second round, believing all of the pre-draft rankings. To say Senyshyn was surprised and excited was an understatement.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” he said in a statement shortly after donning a Bruins sweater and cap. “It’s such an honor, especially a team like the Bruins with so much history. I can’t say enough about it. I’m really ecstatic right now.”
Senyshyn attended the draft with his mother, Melissa, Ukrainian father, Paul, sister, Samantha and his girlfriend. He respectfully credited his parents for seeing him through years of practices which culminated with the unbelievable moment of being a first-round selection.
Here’s why Boston’s scouts shocked the hockey world with the initial off-the-board first- round pick of Senyshyn, a speedster with major upside.
The Ottawa native established himself a potential home run prospect, as scouts became enamored with his elite skating ability and potential offensive skills. On a loaded Greyhounds squad, Senyshyn provided the team with outstanding secondary scoring for a first-year player. He finished as one of the OHL’s top rookie scorers with 26 goals and 46 points in 66 games.
Scouts say his north-south speed is suffocating and he owns a deceptively quick shot release, which he gets off at top speed. He is a workhorse type of player who excels when the game’s pace is high, yet can get overexcited and overthinks things at times. Look for him to have a break-out year in 2015-2016 as more opportunities are handed over to Sault Ste. Marie’s emerging youngsters. Some NHL scouts labeled him a first-round sleeper.
One NHL scout said: “There’s a lot of potential there. If there’s one player in this draft that we’re going to look back on in a year’s time and say, ‘How did this team get him in that spot?’ it might very well be Zach Senyshyn.”
Boston’s grabbing him so high in the first round probably eliminates that question being asked in the future. It is up to Senyshyn to prove the Bruins scouting staff was correct in its assessment of his talent.
Winger Winnik wanted back in Toronto
Daniel Winnik certainly wasn’t the biggest name free agent available this past summer. He was, however, very high on Toronto’s wanted list. The Leafs stuck to their off-season plan and brought the 30-year-old winger back into their fold.
Winnik spent 58 games in Toronto last season before being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline. During his tenure in blue and white, the Toronto native tallied seven goals and 25 points, and added two goals and nine points in 21 games with the Penguins.
His 34 points in the 2014-2015 were the most Winnik registered in a single season and his .43 points per game was his career best. His deal with the Maple Leafs is for two years with a cap hit of $2.25 million per season. His actual salary in 2015-2016 will be $3 million.
Winnik’s signing was praised by the advanced statistics crowd and old-school hockey purists. He was never going to be a 20-goal scorer for Toronto, but he was a very valuable asset for the Leafs and, post-deadline, for Pittsburgh. Winnik’s defensive abilities allowed him to play big penalty kill minutes – he averaged 3-plus minutes per game on the kill – plus skate a regular third- or fourth-line shift.
Getting Winnik back in Toronto was part of a master plan for the Maple Leafs and, looking at their other signings, one gets a clearer picture of what their plan is seeking to accomplish.
The team signed forwards Winnik, P-A Parenteau, Mark Arcobello, Richard Panik and defenseman Matt Hunwick. None are accomplished offensive performers, yet each of the five has significant prowess to contribute to a puck possession game Toronto must improve this season. The player acquisitions were not made to make a splash, but to make an impact on one of Toronto’s weakest areas, which is obtaining and maintaining possession of the puck.
Trading sniper Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh, the Leafs embarked on a new era and a big change in philosophy. Bringing back Winnik is a big piece of what Toronto builds in the future.
The Ukrainian presence will be strong in Toronto with Winnik re-joining No. 1 center Tyler Bozak and winger Joffrey Lupul.
Kozun hopes to make big splash in KHL
In the last 20-plus years pro hockey has had its share of small players who bucked the odds and challenged traditional thinking that you have to be big to make it in the big leagues. Enter Ukrainian Brandon Kozun, a 5-foot-8 speedster who turned heads at Toronto’s training camp last year, giving himself his first real shot at NHL employment with physical play to go with his quickness. Simply put: a small guy who aims to play big.
Like the smaller players before him, he doesn’t take no for an answer. If you tell him he can’t do something, he’ll go out and do it anyway, just to prove you wrong. He always has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove you wrong for all the right reasons. The issue has always been his size and can he do it at the next level.
Kozun was a sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2009 after he scored 40 goals and 68 assists for the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen. He won the league scoring championship in 2010 and played for Canada on its silver medal-winning junior club.
Kozun took to heart Calgary coach Dave Lowry’s advice when he was drafted: “Prove the guys right that drafted you, prove the guys wrong that overlooked you. The biggest challenge after being drafted is how you handle it, how you advance your career. Every day you have to prove you belong.”
Kozun continued scoring in the AHL with the Kings’ top farm team in Manchester. After being traded to the Maple Leafs late in the 2013-2014 season, the young Ukrainian kept putting up points with the AHL’s Marlies. He has speed and offensive skills – the concern is whether Kozun can get around NHL defensemen who are bigger, faster and smarter than AHL defenders. Or should we say Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) defensemen.
Kozun, who made ripples in Toronto at the beginning of 2014-2015 by actually making the team out of training camp, left the organization to sign with Finnish-based KHL club Jokerit. He made the opening-night roster last season, but suffered a high ankle sprain in mid-October. After returning, he was placed on waivers, went unclaimed and then split time between the Leafs and AHL Marlies for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see how he fares with Jokerit, which has been a desirable landing spot for undersized players. Steve Moses, a diminutive forward who set a KHL scoring record (36 goals) for Jokerit last season, recently signed a one-year, $1 million deal with Nashville.
Ukrainian utterings: He won two Stanley Cups and concluded the KHL was not for him. Ruslan Fedotenko got a one-year, two-way deal with Minnesota in a final attempt to earn an NHL job. The Devils rewarded Jordin Tootoo with a second one-year contract good for some $850,000. Speaking of whom, Bryce Salvador retired as a Devil with the captain’s ‘C’ on his jersey. Relocating this past summer were Kyle Brodziak (St. Louis) and Tyson Strachan (Minnesota). Don’t know how or why, but Carolina re-signed winger Zach Boychuk for another season. One of the best minor league prospects has never quite made it. There are 27 Ukrainians listed on 2015-2016 NHL rosters heading into training camps.
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].