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Look, let me start with the caveat that the long-term outlook for the Senators is still not fantastic, and everybody knows that not much will change until Eugene Melnyk sells the team. I feel like I have to say that qualifier every single time I want to say something good about this team, but I want to focus purely on what is going on
right now. It's not healthy to avoid talking about the positives surrounding the organization anyway. After the Senators 5-1 win this afternoon against the LA Kings, I feel pretty optimistic about certain players on the team.
Do I have a hot take thinking that the Senators are now a playoff team? No, but their younger players are giving fans reasons to be happy. Specifically, I'm thinking about the performances of Max Lajoie, Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, as well as three players in the AHL who are Rudolfs Balcers, Filip Chlapik, and Drake Batherson.
Chabot leads the team in points with eight and sits tied for 3rd in the league in even-strength points with seven. He looks drastically better than last season and appears to be a top-pairing defenseman that they desperately needed. Lajoie somehow has six points so far, and for a guy who was thought to be 9th or 10th on the depth chart coming into the season, he has blown away expectations.
Tkachuk went pointless in his NHL debut and didn't standout too much but he recorded three points on Wednesday and two points today. All of a sudden he's looking like a solid pick at 4th overall and he'd have to play pretty horribly for the next six games for the Senators to send him back to Junior. White recorded two more points today and now has four in five games. As I tweeted earlier, this could be a major development:
The Senators have a real dearth of options at centre, and White has an opportunity to cement himself in a top-six or top-nine role. I'm not willing to say he's there yet, but he's at least shown flashes. Of all these young NHLers in the lineup that I've listed, they have all stepped up their game and are ready to be a part of the new wave on this Senators team. Not only that, there are others in Belleville who can't wait for their chance.
Rudolfs Balcers has three goals through their first three games, Filip Chlapik has one goal and four assists, and Drake Batherson has two goals and three assists. That trio has been playing together, and it's clear that they have some chemistry going:
It's nice to see the important prospects in the minors actually getting to play with other good players, and I like what new coach Troy Mann is doing so far.
Besides these seven young players, older guys such as Chris Wideman, Dylan DeMelo, and Chris Tierney have been solid contributors, with Tierney second on the team in points with seven. The team obviously has to play a lot better, especially defensively, but there are reasons to be excited moving forward. The young players are getting a chance and they are taking full advantage of the opportunity.
I'm in a good mood after today's results because there is a lot to like with how players in the Senators organization are playing at every level so far.
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