Ottawa Senators: Take Note NHL, Thomas Chabot is a Superstar

Why aren’t more people around the league talking about the 22-year old who has become a sensation for the Ottawa Senators?

It was one of their better efforts this season, but the Ottawa Senators dropped a 4-5 tilt to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. During the game there were signs of just how good the Sens could be if the goaltending, defense (Particularly the 2nd and 3rd pairings) and coaching were improved. A major component of that solid play was defenseman Thomas Chabot, who recorded a goal and led all Senators in ice-time.

If you’re a Senators fan, you’ve probably heard of him. The Quebec-born Chabot has captivated the city of Ottawa with his fantastic play on the back-end while also dazzling with his understated offensive ability. He picked up his 40th point of the season last night, tying Keith Yandle for eighth place in defensive scoring this season. He’s been one of the bright spots in a dark season for the Sens.

The sad part is not a lot of people around the NHL are talking about him. Yes he appeared at the All-Star Game in San Jose and took part in the “Premier Passer” segment of the skills competition, but that was the first time many people had seen or even heard of Chabot.

Call it the curse of playing on the worst team in hockey, but fans across the league should get to know Chabot, because he’s going to be tearing them apart for the next decade.

Expectations

Chosen with the 18th overall pick in the 2015, Chabot had some significant expectations put upon him. After playing just one game in 2016-17, he was given a baptism by fire when he played in 63 games for a Senators squad that finished 28-43-11 in 2017-18. His numbers showed promise though, putting up 25 points and playing a decent 17:31 minutes per game. It looked like with a little more seasoning Chabot would become a core member of the team.

Then Erik Karlsson was traded to San Jose and Chabot immediately became the top player on the Sens’ defense.

His Breakout Year

While other young players may have cracked under the pressure of going from 17 minutes per games to 24 minutes per game, Chabot did not.

On the top pairing with Dylan Demelo, Chabot has shown what he can do with an expanded role. He is the Sens’ top scoring d-man (40 points as previously mentioned), he has earned a permanent spot on the top power play unit (With 12 power play points to boot), his relative Corsi percentage is 6.9, up from 3.9 the year before and the team has scored 80 goals when he is on the ice this season, more than any other player on the team.

Basically the Ottawa Senators are a better hockey team when Chabot is on the ice.

Be Afraid NHL

At just 22-years old, Thomas Chabot has the ability to not only become one of the top defensemen but also one of the best players in all of the NHL. He has speed, he has precision passing, he’s a monster on defense and on offense. He is a two-way player that will give teams around the NHL headaches for years to come.

Through 109 career NHL games, Chabot has 65 points, or about 0.60 points per game on a team that will finish in the bottom five of the league for two straight seasons. Erik Karlsson through his first 109 games had 55 points, or .50 points per game and he was on an Ottawa Senators team that made the playoffs in his rookie season. If Chabot sticks with the Sens through the rebuild, he will be around to see the team return to playoff contention, which should scare anyone with a pulse in the NHL.