Despite Andrew Hammond posting a 20-1-2 record while helping the Ottawa Senators secure a playoff berth last season, coach Dave Cameron has no doubt Craig Anderson will be the club’s No. 1 goaltender heading into this season.
“I’m not big on No. 1,” Cameron told the Ottawa Sun. “I know you need two goalies, but I’ll be shocked if Anderson doesn’t play more games than Hammond this year. I’ll be really shocked. You need two goalies, you need healthy competition among the goalies, you need the goalies definitely to push one another.”
Hammond posted a 1.79 G.A.A. and a .941 save percentage during the regular season finishing tied for seventh in Vezina Trophy voting. The Sens rewarded Hammond with a new three-year, $4.05 million extension in May.
Meanwhile Anderson made 35 regular season appearances in the Sens’ net last season posting a 14-13-8 record to go along with a 2.49 G.A.A. and a .923 save percentage.
“(Hammond is) a kid coming in that should be feeling pretty good about what he did last year, but I think his personality is such that I don’t think he’s going to get ahead of himself,” said Cameron. “I think he realized he did well but he also knows this is the best league in the world and his sample size is small.
“He looks good from what I’ve seen and he’s going to come in and accept the challenge of being a regular NHL goalie.”
