Brian Lee turning heads in Ottawa

It appears that Brian Lee is making quite the impression at his second team's development camp. With the Senators losing Wade Redden to free agency expect former Fighting Sioux defenseman Brian Lee to play a bigger part with Otwawa Senators next season. I have to admit that I am very excited for Brian Lee, when Brian was here with the fighting Sioux Lee had a lot of doubters and people that focused on every mistake the kid made. When he left for the NHL there were all kinds of rude comments about Lee. It is nice to see one of our former players doing well. I guess Lee could ask the naysayers, "how do you like me now?"

Blueliner's stock rises as Senators get ready for life without stalwart Redden
By DON BRENNAN
For how long depends on the wooing abilities of GM Bryan Murray, but the Senators will have a couple of holes in their top four blue-line corps as of noon tomorrow.

At 12:01 p.m., Brian Lee will officially move into one of those slots on the depth chart -- and will stay there until Murray lands a better defenceman and signs restricted free agent Andrej Meszaros.

From looking like the neighbourhood paperboy when Ottawa made him its first pick (ninth overall) of the 2005 NHL draft -- and even a little too beanpole-lish upon his elevation from Binghamton for the Senators' final six games and playoffs last season -- Lee has carried a large and looming presence among the prospects during the team's development camp.

Off the ice, with the tan and long blond hair, he'll offer an appealing contrast to the team's female followers who are already missing Wade Redden, a stalwart the Senators hope Lee can help replace.

"I think I play a little bit like Wade," Lee said when asked what style and contribution he'll ultimately bring to the table. "Good first pass, solid defensively. I hope someday to be as smooth playing offence as he is, as smart offensively as he is."

Make no mistake, at just 21 and with only one season of pro hockey under his belt, the 6-foot-3 University of North Dakota product shouldn't immediately be expected to make anybody forget about Redden. And he knows it.

"I think there's a great D-corps here and I think all the guys will help kind of fill that void, because Wade is such a great player," said Lee, who had three goals and 25 points in 55 games with the Baby Sens. "I'm sure (management) will try and get somebody new, who will be a great player as well.
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