Daryn has been an avid follower of NHL hockey for nearly 30 years and his passion for the game spills into his writing. He had a brief stint as a weekly CFL/NHL columnist with a moderately successful online newspaper and continues to discuss the game he loves as a freelancer on the world wide web. This NHL preseason, a title about a new "superstar" such as this would almost surely indicate a column about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ phenom, Sidney Crosby. Not this time.
... The Ottawa Senators’ Jason Spezza.
Spezza has been considered a future Art Ross trophy contender ever since he was drafted No. 2 overall by Ottawa back in the 2001 NHL entry draft. A 6’2", 200 pound frame impressed Ottawa scouts nearly as much as his natural offensive ability. Spezza was taken behind only Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk in the draft that year.
In 56 games during the 2000-01 season, Spezza put up a very impressive 43 goals and 73 assists for 116 points in 56 games split between the Mississauga Ice Dogs and the Windsor Spitfires. That put him second in the Ontario league in scoring, two points behind Kyle Welwood’s league leading 118 points despite playing 12 fewer games.
Spezza then spent one more season in the O, splitting the 2001-02 campaign between the Spitfires and the Belleville Bulls. He put up stellar numbers once again, finishing third in the league with 105 points in only 53 games. Spezza also represented Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships for the second consecutive year causing him to miss a portion of the OHL regular season. Projecting his numbers, Spezza would have won the league scoring crown by 25 points had he played the entire schedule.
With the 2002-03 season, Spezza made the step up to professional hockey. Despite a very respectable 21 points in 33 games with the Ottawa Senators, it was decided to send Spezza to the Sens’ AHL farm team in Binghamton for the balance of the year. Senators’ coach Jacques Martin was less than enthralled with Spezza’s defensive game and believed that Spezza would be better served learning at the AHL level. He put up 54 points in 43 games with the baby Sens.
Finally, in ’03-’04, Martin decided it was time for Spezza to spend the entire year playing at the NHL level. He played well, showing flashes of offensive brilliance in limited ice time. Martin still had reservations about the kid’s defensive skills and used him sparingly for the Cup-contending Senators. Fifty-five points in 78 games is far from disappointing considering the spot-duty that Spezza saw at times. During the playoffs, Spezza was used even more sparingly, including being a healthy scratch for Ottawa’s game 7 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Coming off his first full season in the bigs, Spezza was ready to really show what he could do in hockey’s greatest league, but the unthinkable then happened. A Collective Bargaining impasse between the NHL and the Player’s Association forced the cancellation of the NHL season. No other major North American professional sports league had ever cancelled an entire season from beginning to end, but the NHL was to become the first.
With most players either taking the year off or jetting off to Europe to keep in game shape, Spezza had a unique opportunity. NHL teams were permitted to allow certain young players to spend the year in the AHL playing for their farm clubs. Spezza took advantage and played a full year for the Senators affiliate in Binghamton, New York.
As expected, he performed very well in the AHL. He had 32 goals to go a long with a staggering 85 assists, to capture the league scoring title by 8 points over Manchester’s Mike Cammalleri. Even more impressive, Spezza’s 85 assists almost equaled the third place scorers’ entire point total of 88. The NHL’s year off gave Spezza a chance to show the Senators that he was ready to be a significant part of the team’s future.
During the lockout, another positive for Spezza’s career took place. Because of repeated playoff failures, Senators’ coach Martin was let go. He was never a big fan of Spezza’s offensive style and he reigned in the firepower of the entire team to focus on a more defensive approach to the game. New coach, Bryan Murray favors a more offensive game than does Martin and Spezza fits into his plans quite prominently.
Spezza has spent the pre-season on a line with newly acquired Dany Heatley. The two have clicked beautifully with Spezza picking up 10 points in only three pre-season games and Heatley chipping in with eight of his own. In the regular season, things will definitely tighten up but the Spezza/Heatley combination looks like dynamite so far.
It appears that everything is aligning itself perfectly for Spezza to have a huge breakout season. Expect to see him crack the top10, finishing with 90 – 100 points. Playing with Spezza, Heatley should contribute 85-90 points, himself.
If you are in a hockey pool this year, grab Jason Spezza. Most will not take him early, as he does not show up in the top 30 scorers from ’03-’04. If you have the patience, grab him in round 3 or, if you are in a large pool, you may want to snag him with your second pick. Upside is what hockey pools are all about and Spezza has more upside than anyone in the NHL this season.