Time is ticking before a decision will have to be made on whether or not Curtis Lazar is ready to be a full-time NHLer or if he would be better served by another season with the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings and another crack at winning gold with Canada's World Junior team, possibly as the captain.

There are essentially 2 variables in determining whether he is ready to stick - 1) his on ice play; and 2) his maturity and readiness to handle what will be thrown his way off the ice.

At just 19 years of age, Lazar has shown enough progress on the ice to justify keeping him on the team. His blend of energy and awareness are already NHL level, and the scoring touch will come in time. He has an assist so far to show for his efforts, but has earned the trust of the coach in important situations like penalty killing and late in close games.

I was able to be in the scrum following Saturday's morning skate and sat in as Lazar addressed the media and you can't help but be impressed with his composure, maturity and simply saying the right things at the right time, not just sometimes, but all the time.

When asked about his responsibilities, Lazar stated "I wanted the coach's trust early and maybe instead of trying to thread a pass through a couple of guys I'm going to take the safer approach and make the higher percentage plays and go from there. As I get more confident I will be able to stretch my offense a little bit but that speaks volumes and I am proud of myself to be in those situations and I have felt for the most part I have got the job done."

Also, when first round draft picks are scratched from the lineup like Lazar was on last Monday's game in Florida, sometimes players not used to that treatment take it as a slight, but not Lazar. "It was great. And that is what I talked to Coach MacLean about and he said I have been through a lot in the past month, and just let it digest and take a breath, take a step back." He said, and continued with "nobody likes being scratched, and I was a little mad but everyone wants to be playing and the best thing about this team is you can dress any 20 guys and everyone is going to get the job done. So I took that as an opportunity just to watch the game from a different perspective and realize I have more time and I can really just be myself. And come in Thursday I had the mindset to play, don't think, and have fun and that is exactly what I did."

When he was asked if he was nervous coming out for the player introductions prior to Thursday's home opener, Lazar stated that "I did not want to fall let's put it that way. I got to centre and I was pretty proud of myself. You hear the crowd cheer and I just had goosebumps and chills that entire time. It was a night I will never forget."

I don't think the Senators have any reason to worry about this kid off the ice, and now that he is shacked up with veteran Chris Phillips, a fellow westerner who has seen it all in this league, it will also help keep him grounded.

Just being around him for a couple of minutes made me realize the maturity he shows and the reason that he will be a success. Confident but not arrogant, poised yet self deprecating, and just so aware of his surroundings and his role in it. Very impressive for anyone, let alone a 19 year old rookie just getting his feet wet.

The Senators can play him in 5 more games before the decision has to be made about whether to burn the first year of his contract. Unless something drastic happens in the next couple of weeks, I think it is pretty safe to say he Curtis Lazar will be around for the long haul, and although he might not win the Calder Trophy (although if he does it wouldn't shock me), it won't be too long before he is a part of the leadership core of this team both on and off the ice.

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