Ottawa Senators: Top 5 players to get excited for in 2019

The Ottawa Senators might not win too many games during the 2019-20 season, but fans should be optimistic. Here are five players worth getting excited about.

The Ottawa Senators are likely going to be a terrible team in 2019-20. Perhaps not as terrible as they were in 2018-19. But still, it will be by design. The Senators are rebuilding. Right now, they simply don’t have what it takes to keep up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs

However, their rebuild is going along fairly well. They have one of the best prospect pipelines in the NHL and have a plethora of draft picks in the upcoming drafts. The Senators have five picks in the first 62 selections of the 2020 NHL Draft and four in the top 62 in 2021.

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Even though the 2019-20 season will likely feature a lot of losing, as they say, “no pain, no gain”. There are still players worth getting excited for. The Senators have players who they should be able to build a competitive team around in the near future. Let’s take a look at five players Sens fans should be excited about.

Thomas Chabot

Thomas Chabot eased the Senators pain after the Erik Karlsson trade. The trade allowed him to get more playing time and he ran with it. With 55 points last season, Chabot finished 10th in points among defensemen. At 22 years old, he was the youngest defensemen in the top 10 in points by three years.

Furthermore, Chabot was effective even when he didn’t have the puck. His relative underlying numbers were among the best in the NHL, meaning he tilted the ice in the Senators favor whenever he was on the ice.

While Chabot will likely face some regression in 2019-20 (the Senators had a 10.48% shooting percentage at five-on-five with him on the ice last season), his underlying stats prove that he’s the real deal.

Brady Tkachuk

The Ottawa Senators are going to get roasted for giving up the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft for Matt Duchene for all of eternity. However, Brady Tkachuk made them look smart when they elected to keep their 2018 first-round pick instead of their 2019 pick and picked him with the fourth overall pick in 2018.

Bowen Byram is going to be a stud and Alex Turcotte would have been perfect for the Senators. However, Tkachuk had a very impressive rookie season that should encourage Sens fans. Though he missed time, which likely cost him getting some Calder Trophy love, he was easily one of the best rookie forwards.

Much like Chabot, his relative underlying numbers were borderline elite. And it wasn’t because Tkachuk was sheltered. At five-on-five, he started less than 50% of his zone starts in the offensive zone. Also, Tkachuk faced primarily elite and middle-tier competition, according to PuckIQ.

He also lived up to his family name. Being a Tkachuk means you have to be an annoying person to play against. You have to stand up for yourself. Brady made his family proud, picking up 75 penalty minutes in 71 games. He also finished in the top 30 among forwards in penalties drawn per hour at five-on-five.

It’s going to be a ton of fun to see Tkachuk develop into a unique offensive weapon. He’s skilled, he’s hard to play against, and he’s very pesty. In short, Brady’s living up to the Tkachuk tradition. Expect him to get even closer to his brother Matthew’s level this season.

Drake Batherson

The Senators prospect pool has some impressive prospects. None of their forwards were more impressive last year than Drake Batherson. In 41 AHL games, he put up 55 points (21 goals and 34 assists. Batherson did that at the age of 20, which puts him in pretty special company.

He managed to get a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, playing in 20 games. Batherson, despite averaging about 13 minutes a night, managed to pick up nine points, which put him at a 0.45 points per game rate. For a 20-year-old, that’s impressive.

Batherson likely won’t start the season in Ottawa unless he really impresses the team during training camp. After all, the Senators didn’t have him up on the NHL roster for long after the trade deadline, since his last NHL game was on Feb. 28. Plus, Batherson cooled off in March with 13 points in 18 games. He’s also exempt from waivers, which might ultimately seal his fate to start the year.

Still, he’s definitely worth getting excited about. Batherson has what it takes to be a legitimate top-six scoring wing. The Senators desperately need more guys like him. Batherson’s still only 21 years old and has a lot of room to grow. Expect him to be up in the NHL for good by the end of the season.

Erik Brannstrom

Erik Brannstrom made his NHL debut last season for the Ottawa Senators, playing in two games while averaging over 18 minutes per game. There’s a good chance he’ll make the Sens Opening Night NHL roster. Brannstrom could stand to marinate in the AHL for a little bit longer, but it’s not like he has much to learn from playing there.

With 32 points in 50 games split between the Chicago Wolves and the Belleville Senators, he was one of the best defensemen in the AHL last season. It’s hard to believe Brannstrom will be just 20 years old when the puck drops in October. He captained Sweden’s under 20 team last season at the World Juniors when they won the silver medal.

Brannstrom would probably be one of their best defensemen if he makes the NHL roster. He excels at moving the puck with his mobility and skill. And since he turns 20 in September, Brannstrom’s entry-level contract no longer slides. For that reason, it wouldn’t be surprising if he makes the permanent move to the NHL by the end of the regular season.

With Brannstrom and Chabot on the left side, Ottawa has a bright future on their blueline. Senators fans would be wise to keep an eye on the 20-year-old defensemen, no matter where he plays this season.