Thunder continues to cope with revolving door

The partnership between the Thunder and the other affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, Binghamton of the Triple-A American Hockey League, has mostly been a one-sided alliance.

Binghamton has taken several players from the Thunder, at one point carrying seven on its roster, while rarely sending one back.

First-year Thunder coach Malcolm Cameron, who signed most of the players called up to Binghamton, isn’t discouraged. He believes the shuttle between Wichita and Bighamtom will balance out, even though the Thunder has never had a problem filling its roster from game to game.

“They’ve been good,” Cameron said. “Unfortunately, Ottawa ran into a major rash of injuries and suspensions, so those things hurt. But definitely, they’ve been good partners.”

Ten Binghamton players, including recently promoted goaltender Chris Driedger, have spent time with the Thunder this season. The biggest losses have been forward Jack Rodewald, who ranks fifth in scoring for Binghamton, and defenseman Chris Rumble.

Leading Thunder scorer Alexis Loiseau went to Triple-A for a three-game stretch and has since returned, but young players such as Macoy Erkamps and Gabriel Gagne have stayed in Binghamton even without much production.

Cameron said the answer is in developing the players who stay with the Thunder and getting help from the upper levels of the system.

“It’ll be a combination of both of those things, for sure,” Cameron said.

The in-house development is probably most pressing, even though it wouldn’t be as urgent if all the players Cameron signed this offseason remained with the Thunder.

In the midst of roster uncertainty, the Thunder has lost eight of its last 12 games while falling near the bottom of the ECHL in goals scored – playing fewer games than most teams has contributed to that.

“It’s my job to figure out who the guys are who are going to be here when it’s all said and done,” Cameron said. “There’s guys that are inconsistent. Coaches don’t have to make decisions, players make decisions for coaches.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2016 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Thunder continues to cope with revolving door."