Who’s The 2021 Ottawa Senators No.1 Centre?
By Derek Lee
Artem Anisimov
He said something “that got the wheels turning” as they say, suggesting that perhaps head coach, DJ Smith will try Artem Anisimov as the no.1 centre between the two obvious wingers, Brady Tkachuk and Evgenii Dadonov. Interesting.
That got me thinking, it’s definitely a real possibility. If you haven’t heard already, Anisimov actually had a huge hand in acquiring star right-winger and fellow Russian, Dadonov. The two have also trained together in past offseasons and could have some chemistry with one another on the ice. The 32-year-old veteran has played in top roles before and is one of the few experienced players on the roster. With just over 13 minutes of ice time last year, Anisimov was able to produce 15 goals and 5 assists, some would say making the most of his opportunities. Some inconsistencies and an upper-body injury that sidelined Anisimov for 22 games last year, made him more of a depth player but it’s not a stretch to believe that upon return Anisimov could play a more prominent role on this roster in 2021. Makes sense!