Ottawa Senators 2021-22 Season Predictions: Forwards

Predicting the Senators forward stats for 2021-22

The Ottawa Senators exciting, young core of forwards should provide plenty of excitement when Brady Tkachuk finally arrives back in the nation’s capital. A young forward group containing players the calibre of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Josh Norris and Drake Batherson will have the potential to improve even more than they did last year.

Unfortunately, there will be a big shadow cast over the franchise until Tkachuk is signed to a deal but until that point, they will be fighting an uphill battle with their lack of depth. Their forward lines appear to be looking like this heading into their season opener on Thursday when they play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs:

The bottom-six is extremely thin, there’s a chance that both Logan Shaw and Scott Sabourin will be in the opening day lineup, something that needs to obviously change if the team wants to preach that the “rebuild is over”. All in all, this will be an exciting group to follow over the course of the season, potential promotions of AHL players like Egor Sokolov could make for more interesting storylines. However, the Senators can take some solace in the fact that Colin White is sidelined for the next 4-6 months with a dislocated shoulder, and Austin Watson will most likely miss the first month of the season with an ankle sprain. When Watson returns it would give them the luxury to send down players that are in over their head, such as the aforementioned Sabourin.

Left-Wing

Brady Tkachuk

2021-22 Season Prediction: 72GP, 25G-33A-58P

As the Senators and Tkachuk remain at a stalemate with their contract talks, a new season is fastly approaching and it’s certain that he will miss regular-season games, it’s just a matter of how many. There’s no doubt that Tkachuk is itching to get back on the ice with his teammates, look for once the regular season starts for talks to heat up until an agreement is finally reached. If a contract is signed within the next week, Tkachuk will only miss a handful of games.

Tkachuk was a 20-goal scorer in his first two seasons in Ottawa and had 17 tally’s in 56 games last season – a 25 goal pace, the future captain of the Senators numbers will likely continue to progress as the team around him improves. Now, we all know Tkachuk brings a lot more to the game than just his offence, his physicality is one of the reasons he’s so highly regarded throughout the league. Over the last two seasons, Tkachuk has been on pace to become the first player in NHL history to record 300+ shots and hits in a single season, unfortunately, due to Covid both seasons were cut short of 82 games. If Tkachuk is signed in time, his quest for the 300/300 club would be a great storyline to follow.

Tim Stützle

2021-22 Season Prediction: 80GP, 23G-35A-58P

One of the most exciting players to watch since I started following Senators hockey, Stützle’s blend of speed, skill and work ethic make him a hockey fans dream, especially when he’s on your favourite team. Stützle dazzled throughout training camp but had some struggles in the preseason, however, not too much stock should be put into exhibition games.

As of now, Stützle is predicted to start the season on the top line with Josh Norris and Drake Batherson but that’s expected to change when Tkachuk does return to the lineup. If Stützle can find the same chemistry he had last season with Shane Pinto and Connor Brown on the second line, they can complement the top-six better than any other remaining combination. The 2020 3rd overall pick will also see a lot of powerplay time on the top unit, which should allow Stützle to challenge for a 60+ point season.

Nick Paul

2021-22 Season Prediction: 82GP, 14G-24A-38P

In my opinion one of the most improved players on last years team, Paul’s tremendous instincts and takeaway ability make him a standout on the defensive end of the ice. Paul’s offensive game hasn’t quite been able to catch up with his defensive abilities, he had just 5 goals and 20 points last season, but, there’s a reasonable expectation for an uptick in production, especially when he’s starting the season on the second line in Tkachuk’s absence.

Paul has formed a dynamic penalty-killing duo with Connor Brown, who led the NHL in shorthanded goals with 5. Paul was able to register 1 goal and 4 points shorthanded, while consistently causing havoc at both sides of the ice.

Alex Formenton

2021-22 Season Prediction: 80GP, 14G-14A-28P

Out of all the Senators players in the preseason, nobody improved their stock more than Formenton, using his tremendous speed to create offence, the speedy forward had 4 goals and 6 points in 5 preseason contests. He flashed some potential alongside Norris and Batherson:

There’s a chance the 2017 2nd round pick starts on the top line, but once Tkachuk returns Formenton is automatically relegated to a bottom-six role. Expect Formenton to play a bottom-six role with a heavy focus on penalty killing, of the goals he scores this season there’s almost a guarantee that at least one will be shorthanded.

Zach Sanford

2021-22 Season Prediction: 46GP, 10G-6A-16P

Sanford is a curious case, acquired for the polarizing Logan Brown, the former St. Louis Blues forward is now in a battle to get into the opening night lineup. It appears there’s a chance Sanford is a healthy scratch for opening night, if that’s the case it doesn’t bode well for the future. The 6’4″ power forward doesn’t play with a ton of pace or urgency, something that plagued Logan Brown in his time here. It remains to be seen if Sanford can turn it around and return to his form from 2019-20 where he recorded 30 points in 58 games and produced solid defensive numbers.

Parker Kelly

2021-22 Season Prediction: 36GP, 5G-3A-8P

Starting the season in the lineup fresh off a two-year contract extension that takes Kelly through the 2023-24 season, it seems like the tenacious forward has an inside track to becoming a regular in the lineup. However, don’t expect Kelly to play in every game, it’s still likely he spends some time refining his skills in Belleville, but it’s easily plausible that he will spend a significant amount of time with the big club. Kelly gave us a preview of what’s to come in his first NHL game last season, and of course, he scored a goal too. Here’s a compilation of Kelly agitating the Leafs’ Jake Muzzin:

Not known for his offensive flair, Kelly won’t produce crazy numbers but he is everything you look for in a 4th line player, he brings speed, a motor that never stops and he also has an innate ability to throw the opposing team off their game.

Right-Wing

Drake Batherson

2021-22 Season Prediction: 82GP, 27G-33A-60P

Batherson finally established himself as a full-time NHL player last season after a few seasons dominating the AHL with Belleville, he scored 17 goals and 34 points last season in Ottawa. Finding himself firmly placed on the top-line, Batherson should have the ideal platform to continue his rapid development, and that’s not including the six-year $29.5 million contract that the talented forward signed prior to training camp.

One thing that impressed me when watching Batherson in the preseason is his pace, he looked much faster and more aggressive in puck battles. In the Senators preseason battle versus the Maple Leafs on October 4th, Batherson registered 9 hits, which is unheard of, especially for a preseason game.

The 23-year-old winger showed off his great ability on the powerplay, recording a team-high 15 points on the man advantage (5G, 10A), expect Batherson to continue on as one of the teams premier contributors on the powerplay.

Connor Brown

2021-22 Season Prediction: 82GP, 19G-30A-49P

Brown’s 21 goals last season led all Senators players, now, it’s tough to expect Brown to continue his 30-goal pace from last season, I would still expect him to come close to 20 goals and 50 points, which is a fair benchmark.

The tenacious two-way winger has made a name for himself because of his ability to produce offence when shorthanded, like mentioned above, Brown’s 5 shorthanded goals led all NHL skaters. It’s likely the Senators forward finds himself on the second powerplay unit, where he has the potential to lead that unit.

Tyler Ennis

2021-22 Season Prediction: 60GP, 10G-13A-23P

Signed to a PTO (Professional Tryout) prior to the start of training camp, it seemed as though Ennis had the job from the start, his solid play in the preseason and in camp further supported the one-year, $900,000 contract he’d eventually be rewarded with.

Initially, Ennis slots in on the third line but once Tkachuk and Watson return he may be pushed to the fourth line, either way, the Senators are getting a contributing NHL player for a minimal cost. D.J. Smith seems to be high on Ennis’ powerplay ability and by his preseason deployment, he will be starting on the second unit.

Austin Watson

2021-22 Season Prediction: 68GP, 7G-9A-16P

Watson recently suffered an ankle injury that will keep the power forward out of the lineup for the next four weeks, once he returns he will be a key factor in the bottom-six. The 29-year-old forward hasn’t produced much offence in his NHL career, but his toughness and renowned leadership ability have made him a favourite on every team he’s been on. Watson has a career-high of 14 goals scored back in the 2017-18 season and it’s wishful thinking to expect that production again.

The veteran forward can give the Senators some quality bottom-six minutes and can potentially fill in on the penalty-kill if need be.