Will this be the Ottawa Senators line-up in October?
By James Reeve
The Ottawa Senators take to the ice in around a month’s time and there are plenty of questions surrounding what their team will look like on the opening night.
The 2019/20 season will be one of development for the Ottawa Senators, who are likely to see a number of young players step up into the line-up.
With the Senators likely looking to bottom out this year, giving themselves the best chance at landing the first overall selection in the 2020 Draft, it is quite a challenge to name a line-up that the team could start the season with.
Fortunately, the good folks at CapFriendly have a neat little depth chart tool showing what they believe the team’s possible line-up could look like.
So here at SenShot we decided to give the line-up a look and consider whether or not we are likely to see it by the time the regular season rolls around in October.
Forwards
Tkachuk – Pageau – C.Brown
Boedker – Tierney – Ryan
Duclair – Anisimov – White
Balcers – Batherson – Veronneau
Scratches: Ennis, Paul
The top forward line suggested by CapFriendly is arguably the most surprising, with only one of the named players likely to find themselves playing the most minutes each night.
Brady Tkachuk had an exceptional rookie season, registering 22 goals and 45 total points while being the most energetic, agitating player on the team.
He is bound to be the team’s top left winger this season, but his partners are not likely to be Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Connor Brown, both of whom might be better suited to a role further down the line-up.
After locking up Colin White to a long contract extension, it would be a surprise to not see him named the top-line centre for the forthcoming season.
White is currently listed as the team’s third-line right-winger, but his spot moving forward could see him play a more significant role through the middle.
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Drake Batherson, who had an exceptional campaign in the AHL, is likely to be given the opportunity to impress on the top line – having already earned nine points in his first 20 NHL games.
Batherson was on pace to earn around 40 points had he played a full 82-game season and his impressive rate of development in recent seasons could see first-time head coach D.J. Smith give him an opportunity to grow in the show.
Pageau and Brown are likely to play a role in the middle six, with Brown looking to regain his 20-goal scoring rate from his rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Chris Tierney and Artem Anisimov could battle Pageau for the team’s second-line centre role, while Brown is likely to be cemented alongside whoever wins that battle.
On the left side, Anthony Duclair is likely to be given a longer look after impressing greatly during his brief spell with the team after the trade deadline.
Veteran winger Mikkel Boedker will play a crucial role on the third line alongside the ‘loser’ of the Pageau/Tierney/Anisimov battle with Bobby Ryan also providing some valuable veteran experience on what could become one of the stronger third lines in the entire NHL.
The Sens’ bottom line will be an interesting position to watch, with the likes of Tyler Ennis, Nick Paul, Max Veronneau and Rudolfs Balcers all battling for a spot in the line-up along with a number of prospects not listed.
Plenty could change before the opening game of the regular season, but it looks as if the forwards the Ottawa Senators are likely to ice could differ greatly from that suggested by CapFriendly.