BINGHAMTON -- The Binghamton Senators' newest defenseman planned to take a tour of his new surroundings Thursday afternoon, with an eye on finding a good restaurant.
"Steak, I think," Erik Karlsson said, when asked if he had a certain cuisine in mind. "I like steak."
Before finding his way around town, though, Karlsson introduced himself to the ice at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, where he participated in his first practice with the B-Sens and quickly found his way onto the power play.
The 15th overall pick in the 2008 draft, Karlsson, 19, was assigned to Binghamton Tuesday by the Ottawa Senators, who hope to give their highly touted rookie some more seasoning in the American Hockey League. He is expected to make his B-Sens debut Friday night at home against the Rochester Americans.
"It's not fun to get (that) news, but I'm here now and I'm going to do everything I can to play good," Karlsson said after practice. "And I know almost all the guys here, and I know it's a good group. And I'm going to have a fun time down here, as long as I'm here, and work hard."
But while the B-Sens added one first-round pick to their blue line Thursday, they lost another. Ottawa recalled Brian Lee, the ninth overall pick in 2005, after defenseman Anton Volchenkov injured his elbow in Wednesday night's 4-3 win in Florida. Ottawa coach Cory Clouston said Volchenkov is likely to miss at least "a couple weeks," the team reported on its Web site.
With Lee gone for now, Karlsson will likely either slide into his spot alongside Tomas Kudelka, or team up in a defensive pairing with Derek Smith, assistant coach Mike Busniuk said. In Thursday's practice, Karlsson also logged power-play time on the point across from center Martin St. Pierre, with the hope being that his arrival can help Binghamton turn around its struggling unit.
"He's a good player," St. Pierre said. "He's a young guy, and obviously he started up in Ottawa for a reason. He's got a great shot, great vision, and he's very smooth with the puck. So he'll definitely help us on the power play."
Added head coach Don Nachbaur of an AHL-worst power play that's scored just once in 34 opportunities over the last seven games: "I think the one thing that we need is a shot from the back end that gets through. In today's game, it's very, very difficult when people stack the front of their net to get shots through. And it takes a tremendous amount of skill, not everybody can do that. A guy with skill, with his head up, that has a good shot, that has good presence and patience with the puck is capable of doing that. And we expect Erik to be able to help us out in that department."
After announcing the decision to send Karlsson down earlier this week, Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray said part of the appeal of having him play in Binghamton -- rather than return to his native Sweden -- was the challenge of playing on the smaller North American ice surfaces.
"It's a different type of game, I think, and I'm getting used to the game over here now," said Karlsson, who is listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. "I've just got to work on the small things, and the more games I play, the more experience I get, and the more I get to know about the game. And yeah, I think it's good that I stay here and play in the small surface."
Murray also said Tuesday that Karlsson had been given permission to rejoin the Swedish national team for the World Junior Championships in two months, should he still be playing with Binghamton. It's an offer that Karlsson would seem likely to take him up on.
"I'm planning on playing well, and I mean, when the time comes, if I'm available, and if I get the opportunity to play for my country, of course I'm going to do that," said Karlsson, who was named the top defenseman at last year's event, where Sweden took silver. "I mean, it's the thing you want to do. So, I think if I have the chance, and the opportunity, and if they let me go, I'm probably going to (do it)."
The World Junior Championships run Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. But for now, Karlsson is gearing up for Friday night, when he'll don No. 15 and join the B-Sens in trying to cool off the Rochester Americans, who enter with an AHL-best 8-1-1-1 mark.
"He's obviously got skill, and he's going to help many parts of our game," Nachbaur said. "I think he's a young guy that has tremendous upside, and that's why he's here, is to develop that upside."
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Karlsson set for his debut with B-Sens | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
Binghamton Senators get promising rookie
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