Senators Establish Bright Future With Rising Talent
There will be a fresh feel around the Ottawa Senators as the club embarks on their 27th season at Canadian Tire Centre, led by new head coach D.J. Smith.
On the ice the future looks bright with bubbling talent, spearheaded by up and coming stars like Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk.
After breaking out with a franchise record 62 points throughout his first 100 NHL games, Chabot is ready to take his game to even greater heights in 2019-20. Getting off to a blazing start, last season the 22-year-old became the first NHL defenceman to register at least 20 points in the first 15 games since Hall of Famer Brian Leetch did it as a member of the Rangers back in 2000-01. Developing into a first-time NHL All-Star, Chabot would go on to record a career-high 55 points, ranking among the top-10 scoring defenceman throughout the league and within the top-15 among all NHLers in ice-time (24:17).
Tkachuk’s debut provided an impressive first glimpse at the rugged left winger’s game, finishing the campaign second among all rookie scorers with 45 points in 71 games played. His 22 goals set a new club record for the most by a teenager in a single season, breaking Alexandre Daigle’s marker (20) that stood for 25 years. Aligning with Colin White, together the rookies became the third pair in franchise history to register more than 40 points in a season.
A total of 17 rookies hit the ice for the Senators in 2018-19, including the likes of Drake Batherson and newly added Erik Brannstrom who are ready to make big strides in their respective games this season. As a result, general manager Pierre Dorion was active in the offseason compacting steady leadership around a large contingent of rising talent established to become Stanley Cup contenders in the near future.
