Ottawa Senators chief amateur scout Trent Mann was in Buffalo for the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship and we picked his brain on the four Sens prospects that took part in the tournament.

His thoughts on Drake Batherson's showing at the World Juniors:

He really took advantage of the opportunity that was given to him. He was playing on the third line and second power play unit. For him, it kind of started back in November with the CHL/Russia Series where he had an opportunity to play for the head coach in those two games and he was able to show a little bit of his offensive ability. Going into the tryout, they knew it was there it was just a matter of if he'd be able to show it or not and he continued to showcase his offensive skills through the tryouts. This was all after he returned from a finger injury so he was able to recover from that and he took advantage of the opportunities that he was given by the coach when they were available.



On Batherson's work ethic paying dividends:

It's a pretty nice story and very good for him. That's a good sign in terms of the player's development too. It means he's ready and willing to take advantage of whatever he's given. His whole history is that he's had to work really hard to get to the next level all the time so that just seems to be breed into him that that's what he has to do. He doesn't whine or complain, he just goes about his business, believes in himself and the results speak for themselves at the World Juniors.

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On Batherson's development since being drafted in June:

In the summertime when he left development camp we identified a couple of things for him to work on over the summer. Skating is always one for younger players and for him, he's not a bad skater he just needs to improve his quickness so he went back and worked on that along with other areas of his game. He got off to a great start in Cape Breton and it kind of went from there so we were happy to see the instant results. As far as strength and conditioning, he's been in constant contact with our coaches and has been working on some stuff they've put together for him. He's a pretty driven kid, he's just kind of mild-mannered but he has that drive to want to always improve.



Batherson working his way onto Team Canada:

His agent told me that he had set a goal for himself over the summer to make the World Junior team. At that time, I'm sure a lot of people would have maybe had a chuckle about that a little bit because he's never been on their radar for anything in the past but he forced his way into those conversations. That's the exciting part about Drake, you watch him and I think everyone can see his skill now and that big stage in Buffalo, he showcased what he can do with the puck, his offensive abilities, his vision and his shot. All those things are very positive but there's a piece behind the scenes that you don't normally see just by watching a hockey game. You need to dig in a little bit deeper and we did that last season and found out more about him heading into the Draft



On Alex Formenton's tournament:

I think he did exactly what he was asked to do which bodes well for him as well. He was asked to play a role where he'd use his speed and his relentlessness to bring some energy to the team and put a lot of pressure on the other team's defenders on the forecheck. He was always driving lanes to the net and going into those dirty areas and was just tough to play against. He seemed to build some good chemistry with his linemates and they all understood the role that they had been given and they worked hard at it. They were an effective line for Team Canada.



On Formenton being among Canada's impressive depth:

Everyone kept talking about how there weren't any big superstars for Team Canada and maybe there wasn't but there were a lot of good players there and Alex was one of those kids that just put his skills to work and did what he was asked to do. He was also able to contribute at both ends of the ice. He chipped in a little offensively which is what you want from those lines and at the same time he was able to create some energy every time his line was out there so that the next line up was feeding off that. A lot of the intangibles that both Alex and Drake brought to the table for Team Canada were really nice for us to see.



On what playing in a gold medal game for Team Canada means for the development of Batherson and Formenton:

I think it builds confidence and it builds character. It's important to belong to something and when you belong to something and you're able to contribute to it that becomes a learning experience of its own. They learned how to sacrifice certain things. These kids are first line players on their CHL teams and all of a sudden they may have a little bit of a different role that builds character and it forces them to mature a little bit. Our two kids started strong in the tournament and they kept building and building so that when they got to the gold medal game they were prepared for that situation. We're really proud of what they accomplished and I think that that tournament will help them move to the next level of their careers.



On Logan Brown's injury at the World Juniors:

He was injured so early in the tournament so that was tough for him. Obviously he wasn't able to have a huge impact given that he was out so early however you could tell that Team USA missed his puck possession ability. That's what he brings to the table. He can really help scoring wingers by being that playmaking centre they need to get them the puck and they were missing that. I saw him play with Mittelstadt and Yamamoto in August and they were by far the best line on any team. Then you take away a big piece of that with Logan being out and it hurts your team. From their standpoint, you probably couldn't have picked a worse player to pull out of their line-up, not because he's our player, but because he creates offence. All of a sudden, he's not there so that was tough for them.



On Brown returning to play in the semi-finals against Sweden:

What I respect about Logan is that he went out in that semi-final game and, if you watched it closely, he basically played on one leg. You could tell that he wasn't ready to play but wanted to try and wanted to see if he was able to help contribute. Unfortunately, he just wasn't physically able to do that but I have a lot of respect for Logan for pushing and wanting to try. I think that's the biggest part of Logan's game that's grown in the last 12 months. He has skill, and I don't think anyone can deny the skill level he has, but his off-ice and his compete level has grown over the last year and he really showed that by trying to gut it out in their semi-final game. Sometimes it's tough for the outsider to see that part but I was extremely proud how he wanted to play and try to help his team.



On Sens fans getting a chance to see Markus Nurmi play:

That's Markus right there. I think he showed what his strengths are and he was able to contribute a little offensively here and there and that's him. There are games where the puck is just rolling his way and he's able to help out offensively but when he's not able to do that, he's a big kid that uses his size and uses his reach. While his skating stride is not the smoothest stride that you'll see, he makes up for it in his work ethic and his compete level. He's on pucks and defenders all the time so he's not easy to play against. He can also do a lot of good work along the boards and all those hard areas that not every player is willing to go to.



On how Nurmi was used throughout the tournament for Finland:

The role that they put him in suited him quite well. He was on a line that was supposed to create energy and make it hard and wear down other teams defenders along with contributing offensively where he could and I think he did all those things. In the games that were going really well, they'd pop him up to one of the other lines to see how he'd mesh with their top forwards so that's always a good sign because that means the coach trusts you when he starts moving you up the line-up. When things are a little bit flat, you're the guy he calls on to jump on to another line.