Ottawa Senators SIGN Nikolay Kulemin And Calen Addison To Professional Tryouts!

welcome S Talk Back AC scores makes it two to nothing Shu along SC kachu score the captain Brady kachu buries it with 118 to go later go s go welcome to S talk my name is Brandon planton hi am your host today we have some breaking news coming out of the nation's capital as Steve stos and your Ottawa Senators have made a pair of PTO signings that's right it's early September that means it's professional try out season ladies and gentlemen when all the free agents that didn't get signed say you know what might as well take a PDO and Ottawa has got a pair of those today but before I break down those two signings and frankly for professional trial agreements these are some really interesting signings uh before I break that all down I just want say this um I was supposed to be uploading a very special video today uh the other day um if you don't follow me on Twitter or X whatever the hell you want to call it and Instagram you probably wouldn't know this uh but the send organization invited myself and other members of the media um and social media influencers I hate that term they invited some people to U you know a media launch event uh yesterday and I did a special type of video I did a vlog style I never really done that before maybe the first of many I don't know I kind of like how it turned out but uh it was a really cool experience got to meet a lot of really incredible people and on top of all that I got to hear from some really interesting people of course like lenus allmar his first real media availability was yesterday uh we also heard from Steve stos and some other department heads within the sense organization so that was a really cool video to shoot it's over 20 minutes long I believe uh you got some food reviews you got some clips of the allmark and stos um you know availabilities which are basically exclusive because they weren't really streamed anywhere so stay tuned for that this Sunday was going to upload that tonight but of course going have delayed that for a couple days because of the signings you know we want to keep it fresh um so we're going to cover this first and then we'll put that out on Sunday and by the way next week we have some huge interviews on the way I'm not going to say who we're being very tight lipped here at sense talk but let me just say this a few sense players are joining the show just going to leave it at that so stay tuned for that uh in the coming week or two uh on top of our Vlog video on Sunday now that's enough in that's enough blabbing let's get into why you clicked on this video is aut today announced a pair of signings in the professional Tri out realm of things as they signed right-handed defenseman uh kayin Addison and as well and this is the one that's really gone viral on Twitter and got a lot of people talking Winger from Russia Nikolai kulan uh you know frankly if you're a leaf fan you're probably watching this to be honest with you hello from the other side of Ontario um the better side of Ontario I might add um but this is a guy that is a leaf Legend of course uh you know he had that huge year with them like 14 years ago a 30 goal season grabovski they had a great line together so uh I trust me I'm all in on the lore on Nikolai kulaman so yeah it's that kulaman I had to you know do a double glance when they dropped this um you know uh news a couple hours ago because I couldn't believe it I mean again not trying to take shots at him he's been playing in the KHL a really tough league but at 38 years old you never really see a guy come over from you know Russia after being out of the league for six seven years to you know back to North America but on a PDO not even on a contract so bit of a interesting scenario there which we'll get into in a minute because I want to start off with the blue line with kayin Addison because kayin Addison he's 24 years old he's a right-handed defenseman and he's from Brandon Manitoba one of the best cities in Canada baby love that City for no particular reason um but yeah Kaylin Addison right-handed defenseman at 5'11 this is a guy that it's got a lot of people talking unlike you know with kulan this is a guy that people can really see as a guy that yeah maybe that would be a good asset to bring in uh to shore up the depth whether it's in you know the 67 position or just throughout the organization they're on the top pairing with Bellville or in the top four of Belleville uh cuz this is a guy with a lot of NHL experience last year 72 games between the Minnesota Wild and the San shark 17 points one of which were a goal so you know not exactly a point getter but the year before he had like 22 points in like 70 games so he is a guy that could produce um the shortcomings for him however though is his defensive side of things he's not exactly a strong Defender he's kind of the right-handed version of Eric branstrom he's a little undersized but a very very good Puck mover and skater um in his NHL career he's played in 152 games six goals 44 assists for 50 total points so again you know not bad at all especially if you're getting that from your third pairing um but not you know lighting up the World by any means again this is a PDO signing you shouldn't expect Eric Carlson numbers but that's my point for PDO signing these are actually some pretty decent numbers and numbers that would suggest that this guy has a very good shot at at least getting a two-way contract with the sends um you know if you look at his Advanced analytics it's not bad his cor4 percentage which means when you're on the ice when he's on the ice I should say um the team has possession more often than not if it's below you know 50% then more often than not the other team has possession when he's on the ice um and that is the case he's at 48.1% in his entire NHL career however you know I want to say that he played last year with the San Jose Sharks historically one of the worst teams in frankly the 21st century so um that definitely took a hit on his you know cor C4 percentage um but he also has a top 10 worst plus minus uh you know in the National Hockey League in the last couple years again the San Jose effect absolutely has to be considered um but again this is not exactly a defensively strong Defender which of course is a cause for concern when you're looking at depth that's why you know I can see him signing a two-way deal but a one-way deal especially with Travis hamik still on the fold you know on that no movement Clause I don't really see happening a kayin Addison kind of guy is a very good piece to have within the organization for the depth as the eighth defenseman maybe that seventh defenseman theoretically um he would provide very good um you know veteran experience for Belleville but also very good talent for Belleville while also providing some very decent um NHL capabilities for Ottawa if he's here as well this is a young defenseman remember he's only 24 years old he's only played 150 games in the National Hockey League um and he was a star he was a star in the WHL 215 points in 252 WHL games also won Gold with Canada in 2020 at the world juniors with nine points as well this is a very talented player was drafted in the second round a few years ago as well so um again you know this is either a guy that's going to light it up in Belleville or be a solid depth guy for the OTA sers basically what I'm saying is I hope the sends take a shot at him and give him a contract to be honest I've been very vocal about my iffiness around the sends and their you know third pairing and their seventh defenseman situation and Belleville as well taken some hits as of late in terms of their depth down there on the blue line with the losses of Lassie Thompson and of course Jacob Larson so you know bring him in on a two-way deal would provide value for the NHL and AHL teams which makes them a very attractive option for me again I'm just a little hesitant because of those defensive abilities which are lacking to be honest with you but also he was on the San J sharks um not exactly an ideal situation for anyone let alone a young defenseman trying to catch his stride in the National Hockey League on the bright side of things though if you look at the advanced analytics um yeah he is a bit rough defensively however he's ranked number 10 out of, 1500 defensemen in the last three years for giveaways per 60 Minutes at 0.95 so you know I'm trying to take a positive out of what seemingly looks like a negative again a lot of the advanced analytics aren't exactly favorable for him on the defensive side of things but that's a favorable thing and again on the offensive side of things he's clearly a talented and gifted defenseman again he's basically the right-handed version of Eric branstrom who we just lost in free agency to Colorado so um again I think this is an interesting piece um frankly even if we don't sign him is just a good uh you know addition for camp and preseason um because it will create more internal competition to force Jacob Bernard doctor and Tyler cevin to compete even harder for those last couple positions on the third pairing and again there is a very decent chance that the send Signum to a 2A deal to provide more depth for the S organization throughout uh you know Belleville and of course here in Ottawa um you need guys like this especially when you get into those nitty-gritty days of the Season injuries are going to happen and you're going to need guys like this to come up in a pinch um so yeah we'll see what happens with that um but once again a nice piece of work here from Steve stos um no risk literally you can just release him and best case you sign him um one thing to note though is as I about to get into the Nikolai kulan side of things is the sends only have one available contract slot left you know NHL teams are only allowed 50 NHL contracts per year Ottawa currently has 49 so if they're serious about signing one of these two pto's they likely only can pick one unless they trade somebody and don't really know if you're going to trade somebody for a PTO guys so just keep that in mind when considering whether or not Ottawa is going to sign an Addison or Nikolai kulman and speaking of Nikolai kulan let's get to him right now so Nikolai kouman um You probably clicked on this video for Nikolai kulman uh kulman is a Winger who is 38 years old as I mentioned at the beginning of the video who's 6'1 as well he has some connections to the organization Dave pulin the S senior vice president of hockey operation used to be the vice president of hockey operations for the Toronto map Leafs and Steve stos was also part of the Leaf's organization at the time as well um so kman has some connections with the sen organization right now which could explain why um he was signed to this PTO again as I mentioned at the beginning of the video not trying to take shots at kman this is a guy with a very solid career um no doubt about it and has put up decent numbers in the KHL the last six seven years but at the same time when's the last time you saw a 38-year-old you know player who hasn't played in the National hocky League in almost a decade come overseas from you know away from his home country back to North America on a non-even guaranteed contract you really never see that so that's really why I'm trying to emphasize how weird this is and I'm trying to make it make sense you know again we know Steve stos loves veterans but this seems like a bit of a weird veteran to bring in especially with some free Asian still available that are veterans so um there's definitely that connection so that could be why you know maybe doing an agent or you know cool him in himself a favor yeah of course the S are going to take a look at him and if they like him they'll sign him to you know a contract whether it's a oneway or two-way where he helps Belleville which is certainly a possibility as well but the other thing could be is he's just showing himself off to get back the National Hockey League to begin with maybe other teams take a look at him when he's with Ottawa and then they offer him a contract so that also might be what's in it for kolman as well but uh kouman was a 30 goal scorer 14 years ago at the Toronto mate beliefs and he's been long far gone from the Leafs organization so the stench of the Leafs is off him by now so it's okay he's a sen no doubt about it his last NHL game was in November of 2017 with the New York Islanders before he got hurt in that game uh for you know the year or season ending upper body injury so uh since that unfortunate injury has not been back to the National Hockey League and has spent the last six years in the KHL where he's put up 326 games played with 88 goals 92 assists for 80 total points while in the National Hockey League before that stint in the KHL this is what he's really known for he played in 669 games with 121 goals including of course that 30 goal season with the Maple Leafs 14 years ago and 153 assists for 274 total points with as well 25 career playoff games with two goals and five assists for seven total points so yeah this is an interesting uh PDO signing no doubt about it again sends obviously going to take a look at him and I think this would be a really cool ad for the sends if it was for Belleville if this is for the Ottawa Senators in their fourth line 13 forward position I think they can do better um just going to be honest about it you know I I have to watch coolman but I can I can't imagine he's the fastest skater anymore and on your fourth line you don't want guys that are slow so that's exactly why for example eor soov didn't work out in the National Hoy League or at least with Ottawa um it's because he was not the fastest skater so you know I can't imagine the guy that is in the last couple years of his NHL career being a fast or very very good skater again I'm going to watch him in preseason I'm really really intrigued to watch them in preseason and knowing the UT with Sanders this guy's going to probably go off in preseason and I'm here for it to be honest with you um I think this would be a really cool ad for the Belleville Sanders um you know Belleville has a lot of Toronto fans there as well um that would definitely help with ticket sales no doubt about it um and again for a few games if you need a guy in a pinch I'm sure he's fine but my point is you don't want him to be you know the everyday you know 12th or 13th forward that's just not a ideal scenario again no offense to cool him in it's just he's 38 years old and has not been the league for almost a decade this seems to be more of a depth signing where he's in the AHL or get signed somewhere else or it's just released by The PDO I don't really see him signing an NHL oneway deal um unlike kayin Adison where I think there's certainly a decent potential that that happens but yeah let me know what you think in the comment section down below about those two signings really really interesting really intrigued to watch both of these players uh compete in Camp and play in the preseason uh kolman especially cuz I mean what an unknown player this is considering we I don't know about you I haven't watched KHL hockey so I haven't seen this guy play in six seven years and then for Addison a young Prospect who's kind of lost it you know was on a really brutal sharks team maybe he can bounce back with the ottaa Sanders so with that thank you all for watching and I will see you all on Sunday for that Vlog to recap and you know relive I guess you can call it the media Representatives event uh from yesterday again thanks for the S organization for that so besides that thank you all for watching I'll see you Sunday and go SS go [Music]