Ottawa Senators: Christian Wolanin Needs to get Top-4 Minutes

Wolanin Missed practically all of last season with a shoulder injury

Injuries are a part of the game and unluckily for Christian Wolanin, it ultimately decided the majority of his season in 2019-20. Coming off of a season where he had 12 points in just 30 NHL games, all signs were pointing to Wolanin breaking out as a full-time member of the Ottawa Senators prior to the injury.

The Senators do not have a lot of depth on the left side, of course, Thomas Chabot at the top, but after that things get a little interesting. Mike Reilly follows as the only proven NHLer out of the remaining options and Wolanin brings much more to the team than Reilly does.

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Then you have options such as Erik Brannstrom and Max Lajoie, Brannstrom clearly has the upper hand here and if he proves he’s ready and capable to play on the left side (prefers his off-side) he takes priority in the top-4 behind Chabot. While there’s no tangible evidence that Lajoie is better than Wolanin and I don’t see a viable avenue for Lajoie to get NHL time next season. Even if Brannstrom sits on the second-pair, Wolanin offers much more than Reilly who can easily slide in as the 7th defenceman. Wolanin being just 25 too and his enticing offensive skill set should make him a lock for this roster. It seems likely that Brannstrom starts the season in the AHL, as his start last season wasn’t great, with this in mind there’s no legitimate option to beat out Wolanin for his spot on the 2nd pairing.

Analytically, Wolanin was just fine in 2018-19, showcasing his ability to carry the play especially in the offensive zone, something many current defencemen on the team lack in spades. Wolanin carried a CF/60 (Corsi-for per 60 minutes) of 54.17, 3rd among Senators defenders, trailing only Thomas Chabot and Dylan Demelo. His GF% ranked 3rd on the entire team at a mark of 56%, when Wolanin was on the ice his team was considerably more likely to score than give up a goal against. This was all while being relied on pretty heavily, averaging 17:20 TOI/game.

Wolanin can also join the rush too, while he doesn’t possess great speed, he does a good job anticipating the play and jumping at the opportunity, he’s mainly a setup man for these opportunities.

Wolanin has clearly outgrown the AHL as well, producing 31 points in 40 games for Belleville during the 2018-19 season. Last season he did play in 9 games with Belleville and only registered 1 point, but that was in a rehab stint after being away from the game for months. He also played in the Senators last three games of the season before the season was cancelled due to the pandemic, he was held pointless.

A hungry Wolanin coming back fresh after basically a year off should be a welcomed sight for the Senators staff and he needs to be an everyday contributor in the lineup.

All stats via Natural Stat Trick.