OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators ( @Senators ) announced today that the team has promoted Mikko Ruutu to the role of Chief European scout and has added Anders Östberg to its European scouting staff. Östberg's hiring is in addition to the team's recently having named Bobby Strumm a full-time member of its amateur scouting staff. Additionally, the team has added Dan Boeser and Todd Stirling as part-time scouts.

Östberg, who most recently served as the director of scouting for the Swedish Hockey League's Örebro Hockey program, and who spent three years as an European amateur scout for the St. Louis Blues, will be based in Stockholm and will primarily be responsible for evaluating amateur players throughout Europe. Strumm, who is based in Calgary and most recently served as an area (USA/WHL) scout for the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks, will have a primary focus on the WHL while also providing support in Ontario and with the United States Hockey League. Boeser will provide support in the U.S. Midwest while Stirling will do so in the U.S. Northeast. Ruutu, who originally joined the Senators in 2008, will continue to be based in Helsinki. Each member will report to the team's chief amateur scout, Trent Mann.

Senators restructure medical department

Gerry Townend, the team's head athletic therapist for the past 14 seasons, has been promoted to the newly created position of director of sports medicine. In this role, Townend will continue to oversee the team's athletic therapy staff, in addition to providing assessment and treatment for Senators players and prospects across all professional levels. He will also be responsible for the department's administrative duties and will liaise with members of the Senators' conditioning staff in an effort to identify specialized recovery programs.

Domenic Nicoletta will enter his 11th season with the Senators in 2017-18 following his promotion to the role of head athletic therapist. He previously served as a head therapist with the Binghamton Senators for five seasons in addition to having worked as the Senators' assistant athletic therapist for 10 seasons. In his new role, Nicoletta's primary focus will be the assessment, treatment and emergency care of NHL players. He will also be responsible for communicating with Senators management and its coaching staff on the daily status of injured NHL players while collaborating with both Townend and the team's conditioning staff on rehabilitation and return to play protocols.

The Senators have also announced the hiring of Jean-Sebastien Hartell, who will serve as the team's new assistant athletic therapist. Hartell spent the last four seasons as the head therapist with Canada's senior men's indoor national volleyball team where the team qualified for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, its first Olympic Games in 24 years. He was also on staff as the team earned its first medal, a bronze, at the 2017 World League Finals in Curitiba, Brazil -- its best finish at an FIVB event -- and a feat it duplicated after winning bronze at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

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