With the start of training camp just around the corner, no one is more excited about the start of the 2023-24 season than the Ottawa Senators. Brady Tkachuk has been a vocal supporter of his team, commenting, “I think with our team, I feel like it will be in the spotlight for the next bunch of years and hopefully be able to keep progressing into the big NHL events — Winter Classic, Heritage Classic, something like that — and other different moments throughout the season…I think it just speaks to our team that we’re starting to a become well-known team, a team that’s fun to watch.”
That’s a lot of optimism for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in six years, but it’s not undeserved. The Senators boast a young core full of top-tier talent that, barring any injuries, will push for a playoff spot as early as this season. But there are still some spots to be figured out, and on a team looking to be incredibly competitive, each spot is going to be hard-won.
Who Slots Into the Bottom Six?
There’s no question who will be in the top six in Ottawa; Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Josh Norris are set to lead this team for the foreseeable future, and veterans Claude Giroux and Vladimir Tarasenko help fill out the rest of the group. But the same can’t be said for the bottom six. The Senators made it a priority to address one of their weakest areas during the offseason but may have inadvertently created a logjam.
So far, it’s safe to assume that Dominik Kubalik and Mathieu Joseph will play on the third line, barring any trades. Kubalik scored 20 goals with limited minutes with the Detroit Red Wings last season, and although repeating that feat will be difficult, he brings a much-needed offensive punch to the bottom half of the roster. Joseph had a tough season in 2022-23, but having him alongside Kubalik should help him bounce back to his 25-point pace.
Shane Pinto should also be on the third line, but he needs a contract first. Will the contract negotiations stretch into the season as they did with Tkachuk? Anything is possible, and as training camp starts up, it’s been reported that he won’t be there to start. That leaves an opening that is ripe for Mark Kastelic, who was one of the Senators’ best faceoff men last season with a 56.9% win rate. He’s also ready to get on the ice after topping the Senators in preseason fitness testing, but he was closely followed by rookie Ridly Greig, who will be itching to secure a spot in the NHL.
Looking at the fourth line, Parker Kelly already has the coach’s attention, giving him the upper hand to secure a spot. Last season, he finished second on the Senators with 172 hits and he can play both left wing and center. Alongside newcomer Zack MacEwen, who finished last season with 150 hits, the fourth line could be a force to be reckoned with. Bokondji Imama could also sneak in there with a strong training camp. In five games with the Arizona Coyotes, he had 13 hits; over 82 games, that works out to 213, which would have been second on the Senators.
There are a few other players to keep an eye on, too. Jiri Smejkal, who joined the team from Czechia during the offseason, finished the 2022-23 season with 23 goals in 46 games. Rourke Chartier also flashed his scoring prowess last season with an impressive 20 goals in 40 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) and could compete for a depth center spot. Recent signee Matthew Highmore has the most NHL experience of the three, however, with 12 points in 46 games with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021-22.
Already, that’s 11 players for six spots. But then the Senators offered Josh Bailey a professional tryout (PTO) contract, which throws yet another talented veteran into the mix. The long-time New York Islanders’ center isn’t the 18-goal, 71-point player he was five years ago, but he’s still a capable offensive presence and could compete for the third-line center spot in Pinto’s absence. It feels similar to Derrick Brassard last season, who joined the team on a PTO and ended up beingone of the team’s best depth forwards. The only problem is there’s already no money – how can they justify adding him if they can’t add Pinto?
Who Fills Out the Defence?
Like the forward group, the top four are set on defence, with Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson, and Artem Zub slotted to start the season in some orientation. But the only guarantee of who starts on the bottom pairing is Travis Hamonic; as to who skates beside him is anyone’s guess.
Erik Brannstrom currently makes the most sense. He has four seasons under his belt and has emerged as a capable two-way player, although the Senators likely wanted to develop his offensive side a bit more by now. At 24 years old, he still has plenty of time to figure that out, but at this time, no one’s complaining about what he’s become. However, the one aspect that could keep him off the opening night roster is the chance he could be traded to make some room under the salary cap, allowing one of the talented youngsters to grab a spot.
The most ready and willing has to be Jacob Bernard-Docker. A first-round pick in 2018, he’s struggled to convince the Senators to give him an extended look in the NHL. Last season was his largest showing to date with 19 appearances, during which he was one of the most reliable defensive presences on the team. He’s ready to challenge for a permanent roster spot.
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But he’ll have some competition from his former University of North Dakota teammate, Tyler Kleven, who made his NHL debut last season and made a big impression on everyone around him. The Hockey News gave him a grade of A-minus, citing his ability to provide the team with something they don’t have in abundance on the blue line – size and snarl. If the team believes he can make them tougher to compete against, that might be all it takes to give him a spot.
Who Gets the Starting Job in Belleville?
With Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg set to split duties in Ottawa, the Senators’ crease looks stronger than it has in years. The same goes for the team’s pipeline, as three young stars could all have challenged for the backup role in the NHL had the Senators not acquired a new goalie in the offseason, leaving them to compete for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) starting job.
The top candidate for the job is Mads Sogaard. The 6-foot-7 Dane finished second in Belleville last season with 22 games started, just one game less than the leader, AHL veteran Antoine Bibeau. In that span, he finished with a .893 save percentage (SV%), which also sat second among goalies who appeared in at least 10 games. But what makes him a top candidate is his experience – last season, he snuck into 19 NHL games, where he recorded a .889 SV%. While those numbers aren’t spectacular, neither was the team around him, leading Tkachuk to give the 22-year-old his vote of confidence as Ottawa’s goalie of the future.
However, Kevin Mandolese will have something to say about Sogaard’s claim to the starting job. Last season, he was the third-most utilized goalie in Belleville, playing 17 games while posting a .890 SV%, both of which don’t promote him over his counterpart. But his NHL stint last season might. In three appearances, the 23-year-old recorded a .916 SV% despite posting two losses, and in his first start, he made an incredible 46 saves. Given his age advantage, he could end up as the team’s third-best goalie, especially if he has a strong camp.
Then there’s Leevi Merilainen, the youngest member of the trio and easily the most intriguing. On one hand, he doesn’t have nearly the experience the other two goalies do, but on the other, he might not need it. In four games with Belleville last season, he recorded the second-highest SV% of any goalie to dress for the team with a .933 SV%. He was also one of two goalies to record a shutout. Before arriving in North America, he set a record for shutouts by a rookie goalie in Finland’s Liiga with eight in 2022-23. Add in his impressive performance at the Senators’ Rookie Tournament and Sogaard and Mandolese have some serious competition on their hands.
Although the Senators don’t have the most exciting camp battles, the spots up for grabs will be incredibly important to get right. The team knows they have the potential to get to the playoffs and no one wants to waste another year on the outside looking in. That makes getting each position right all the more pressing, and each spot will be a hard-fought battle between all involved.
