The Universal Cynic

Don't quite know what's prompting it, but lately TUC has been receiving a lot of searches on Sens' prospect Ben Blood. In case you missed it the first time around, here's my interview with him from July '07. Enjoy.

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Blood on the ice may help Sens

After a heartbreaking loss to the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup final last month, newly minted GM Bryan Murray decided he wanted the Senators to become bigger and tougher.

What better place to begin than at the 2007 NHL entry draft, where the foundations for teams are created?

In the fourth round, the Senators selected Ben Blood, a 6-foot-3, 212-lb. Minnesotan blueliner from Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault. Shattuck has been at the forefront of producing some of the most anticipated prospects in the last few years -- Sidney Crosby's road to greatness went through SSM. Los Angeles defenceman Jack Johnson attended Shattuck, as did Blackhawks centre Jonathan Toews.

With a surname that immediately conjures up images of a skull-crunching scrapper, you assume the young defenceman's moniker will add to Murray's vision of the future Senators.

But there has to be more to a player than a name, especially one that encourages preconceived notions. Blood, all smiles after his first few drills at the Senators' developmental camp this week, had something to say about that.

"I'm used to it. People see the name and think I must be a tough guy. But I can play tough, and I can also make a play if we need a goal," Blood insisted.

But what about that leap in penalty minutes from 32 in 2005-06 to 144 last season?

"I like to battle hard in front of the net," Blood said, with a sheepish grin. "A lot of them were probably roughing calls."

Blood still yearns to be seen as more than his name implies. Off the ice, he is articulate and poised -- likely the result of a 3.8 GPA achieved in school this year.

On the ice, he demonstrates offensive potential with soft hands that were displayed in statistics (36 points in 63 games last season) and during this week's camp.

However, the 18-year-old took away other valuable lessons from his time at Shattuck.

"The hockey's great and obviously my education as well, but being able to mature was so important," Blood said.

"Playing for (coach) Tom Ward -- he makes men at Shattuck. I went there and I was a little immature when I arrived. But I've grown a lot since then."

Blood has accepted an offer to play for the University of North Dakota in the near future.

"(North Dakota) has a remarkable program and so many of their players have gone on to play in the NHL," he said. "I thought it was the best place to help me reach my own goal of playing in the National Hockey League."

But with an overstock of Fighting Sioux blueliners currently at UND, Blood will be sharpening his skills with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers next season.

"I wanted to play a year of junior just to get better; to become an impact player and carry more of a role when I get to UND," he said.

The young prospect followed his new team through the majority of the playoffs. While admittedly a fan of the New York Rangers, he insists he cheered for Ottawa after the Blueshirts were knocked out.

"I like (Patrick) Eaves a lot. (Eaves) played at Shattuck as well," noted Blood -- ever loyal to his alma mater.

The Minnesota native aims to model his game after Matt Smaby, a Tampa Bay prospect with the Springfield Falcons.

"He's a big guy who plays physical but can also move the puck," Blood said.

Surely the Senators could benefit from such a presence in their system.

In the meantime, Blood will continue to polish his game while taking pride in the fact that he's now part of a top NHL franchise.

"It's really fun being here. And getting that call, telling me I was drafted (by the Senators) -- it made my year."

Here was our interview with Sens' prospect Ben Blood.

(Ed. Note: After 11+ years, we're still learning things about The Driver. Recently he told us he was in a high school cover band named "First Impressions". We howled for a good five minutes over the sheer lameness of that title. He swears he told us -- we would've remembered.)

Some initial thoughts from the first day of the Sens' developmental camp on Thursday (which included practice drills and a couple of brief 3-on-3 scrimmages):

Ilja Zubov: I've seen some posters on the HFBoards claiming to be pleased with him -- I wasn't. In fact, I saw shades of Kaigorodov. There's talent to be had; he handles the puck nicely (decent passer and better with the puck than without) and can make plays, but he's slow as all hell. The skating just isn't there. The other thing that bothered me was his work ethic. He cheated during drills -- one in particular I noticed was an exercise where players would skate backwards around the faceoff circle. Zubov would cut off the top of the circle. He's also prone to skating with his head down, and he was the only one I saw take a knee during drills.

Nick Foligno: It's obvious the kid tries hard, particularly with his skating, but he still needs a lot of work. His backwards skating was laboured, but better than some of the forwards I saw (see Zubov). Granted, that still isn't saying much. Foligno has initial bursts of speed which are impressive (10-15 seconds), but has difficulty maintaining stamina. He does carry himself with a great deal of confidence. What he's able to accomplish in Binghamton (when the time comes) will matter a great deal -- it'll mean the difference between him turning into a second-line contributor, or a third-line filler. Right now, I see the latter.

Louie Caporusso: Itty-bitty, but one of the better skaters I saw. Good speed, and smooth strides. Unfortunately, I didn't see him put one puck into the net during the two-hour practice. Hands of stone (at least on this day).

Ben Blood: His stride reminded me a bit of Phillips, but his skating definitely needs work. His size was obviously apparent during the practice (one of the bigger players) but he carries himself fairly well. That being said, the kid's got a nose for the net. Very nice hands, and a good wrist shot (I saw him put the puck top-right more than once with little effort). You'll note in the interview he practiced his shooting for three hours a day, but admitted his feet needed some work. If he's willing to put that kind of dedication into his skating, he could develop nicely. Oh, and take this for what it's worth -- he's a Sean Avery fan.

I'm going to try and head back for one of the 3-on-3s to gather more thoughts, but just an overall assessment: I didn't see anyone that blew me away, or anything resembling a raw balanced player -- they all need work in various areas. If you've attended, give me your thoughts via e-mail and I'll post them.

P.S. I don't know what was up with this, but the practice was broken up into halves, separated by a Zamboni re-icing. Most left after the first half hour or so, because I'm assuming they thought it was over (when I spoke to PR rep Brian Morris, he told me the practice would run until 3:30). There was only a handful of people who stayed for the whole thing, or were at least planning to. At around 3 pm, some dandy with a clipboard started walking around questioning people about why they're present, and if they knew anyone on the ice -- then they were told to leave, because it was a closed practice. Uh, that's not what the website says.

It's been a deathly quiet week for the Senators thus far, and info's been extremely hard to come by -- with the exception of Ray Emery's growing RFA price. Seriously, what are we up to? Throw out a number and it allegedly becomes fact (as we pointed out two weeks ago). We started at 2 million, then 4, now we're discussing if the amount is less than 4.5? Why don't we just make it a nice, even number...like 7? And let's also assume Ray will be tendered 10 offer sheets. We said it, so it's got to be true! This whole episode is beginning to feel very Stephen Colbert-ish.

Obviously GM Bryan Murray's (God, that still feels odd) first big move will set the tone for his tenure as general manager. There's mounting circumstantial evidence to suggest it could involve the previously referenced goaltender, which may come out of left field for some. Where would that leave the maligned Swiss Manatee? Well, if one must go, someone's got to stay. Is this the big move Murray wishes to begin his GM phase with? It'd definitely create some talk, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, we'll likely be attending the Senators' Developmental Camp tomorrow (we love events like these). It's a good chance to see how the prospects are growing and maturing. Ben Blood is going to be there, so needless to say The Driver's pleased. Here's the full list of attendees:

GOALTENDERS
30 *Brian Elliott
35 *Ryan Daniels

DEFENCEMEN
51 Derek Smith
55 *Brian Lee
57 *Mattias Karlsson
59 *Tomas Kudelka
61 *Eric Gryba
66 *Pierre-Luc Lessard
70 Ben Blood

FORWARDS
36 Josh Hennessy
48 *Danny Bois
50 *Shawn Weller
52 *Colin Greening
53 Ilja Zubov
56 Kaspar Daugavins
58 *Cody Bass
62 Jim O’Brien
63 *Jim McKenzie
64 *Matthew McIlvane
67 Louie Caporusso
68 *Erik Condra
71 *Nick Foligno

The event's open to the public and runs through to the 4th, so go check it out if you have a chance.

Brian Murray wants the Sens to be tougher, so how can you go wrong with a kid with a moniker straight out of a B-movie slasher flick?

In the fourth round of the '07 Entry Draft, newly minted GM Bryan Murray and his think tank took Ben Blood -- a 6'3", 212 lb. left-handed defenseman originally from Shattuck St. Mary's, however, Blood was recruited by the University of North Dakota late last year. The blueliner could join the Fighting Sioux as early as September, which means he would be playing alongside '05 first round pick Brian Lee (assuming Lee stays in school).

Brian Lee has been knocked in the past for his soft play, but it doesn't look like that will be an issue for Blood -- he comes with a physical game and an offensive presence. Ben played in 63 games in 2006-07 for Shattuck St. Mary's, finishing with 36 points (11 G, 23 A) and 144 PIM (he had only 32 in 2005-'06).

We're pretty into this kid, and his name alone caused The Driver to request a Ben Blood Senators jersey for Christmas this year. Goon's World, a UND-based blog, has always been one of our favourite haunts for Fighting Sioux news. They found a great interview detailing the recruitment of Blood to UND, as well as some valuable information on the Senators' prospect. Unfortunately, the piece doesn't have a byline, so we're forced to give credit to Umdpenaltybox.com. You can read the interview below in its entirety.


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Say this for North Dakota: It doesn't rest on its laurels.

Yes it has, arguably, the most stunning building in all of college hockey. Yes it has a tremendous winning tradition, and yes, it sends many top talents to the NHL.

But ask 17 year-old Shattuck St. Mary's senior defenseman Ben Blood, and he'll tell you the Fighting Sioux just don't open their doors and expect young recruits to simply say yes.

"When I took my official visit last weekend, my family and I were just blown away over how prepared they were," explains Blood, a native of Plymouth, Minnesota. "They really put effort into it. Not that the other schools I was considering didn't, but when I was there (in Grand Forks), they had an itinerary all mapped out for me. I had a pre-game meal with the players, watched video, and met with the assistant coaches several times. They really kept the focus on me," adds Blood. "Then I had breakfast with all the coaches, (including head coach Dave Hakstol), and that's when they made me an offer."

Offer made, offer accepted. Blood will join the Fighting Sioux next September, or no later than the fall after that.

"They sold me, and that's why I'm going there," says Blood, who shoots left, and stands at 6-2 and 212 pounds.

"But even more than that, the guys are just tremendous there. They all have great character, and you see all the players that came before me, (Zach) Parise, (Drew) Stafford and alike. I knew I wanted to be a part of it, and perhaps one day become one of their players who make it to the NHL."

Though highly ranked on many scouting lists--he's an A prospect per NHL Central Scouting, and 128th overall by Red Line Report-- Blood says he's keeping his focus on self improvement, and moreover, the team.

"Team is what we're taught more than anything else at Shattuck, and most of that goes to coach (Tom) Ward," says Blood. "Being here has helped me mature, become more of a man, and taught me the importance of being a team player."

Blood is in his third season at Shattuck. Two years ago, a broken left leg limited him to about 30 games in his first season.

"That was one of the hardest times of my life," Blood admits, "I couldn't do anything for almost four months, but I was determined to come back as best as I could."

He has.

An offensive minded and physical type, Blood has seven goals, 14 points and 70 PIMs in 21 games thus far this year.

"I think I'm a physical player, a decent skater with a better than average shot," says Blood in self-assessment, "what I really need to work on is my foot speed."

While at summer hockey camp, Blood worked almost three hours a day on shooting. That type of effort, be it in season or off-season, is evenly matched by what he's done in school. A 3.4 GPA student, Blood's learned that success in the classroom usually translates into success on the ice.

"Coach Ward always says he can tell which guys are struggling academically by how they play and how they practice," Blood explains. "If things aren't going well off the ice, that can easily reflect on what happens once you get to the rink."

What parent wouldn't be proud of that!

"It isn't cheap, but sending him to Shattuck was the best thing we could have done," beams Mike Blood, Ben's father. "It's been an excellent experience for him, and for us. Shattuck's challenged him academically, he's made great friendships, and the hockey atmosphere is second to none."

Aside from Ben, the middle child, Mike and Carol Blood also have two daughters, one of whom, Erin, is a junior blueliner at Boston College. Last Saturday, Erin scored the game winning goal in a 5-4 holiday tournament victory over Wayne State.

"I've always been proud and looked up to her," says brother Ben. "When she committed to Boston College, I thought, that's just what I want to do, play college hockey."

Blood also considered schools like Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud. As for North Dakota, if he doesn't join the Sioux next fall, he'll likely play a year in Des Moines, which holds his USHL rights.

"Everyone's told me not to worry about it and just focus on the team," says Blood. "If it's next year, fine, but if not, that's ok too. All I have to do is keep working hard, and things I'm sure will work out."