Ottawa Senators Prospect Update: January 30th to February 5th

It’s becoming ironic to write about Ottawa’s young players on a weekly basis. While the CHLers and their respective clubs are excelling, Ottawa (15 points out) and Belleville (10 points out) are struggling mightily. There’s some hope — Chlapik, White, and Gagne are putting up respectable numbers and Thomas Chabot is proving himself to be a capable NHL player — but also reason to be concerned. The young players, a group who you’d expect to see a bump in minutes and opportunity when teams are “out of it”, haven’t been receiving that relative to our expectations.

Case in point: although Belleville went 1-1 over the weekend, Danny Taylor started both games of a back-to-back. Now, Filip Chlapik scored a goal and he continues to lead BSens in points-per-game (min. 20 GP); moreover, White has stuck with Ottawa for now and put up his first NHL point after generating numerous scoring chances. As the team gets further and further out, I’d hope that more of these prospects get an extended opportunity to shine.

Filip Chlapik scored Belleville's only goal last night, his 7th of the season 🚨

Chlapik has 18 Points (7G, 11A) in 33GP. His 0.55 PTS/G is 1st among #BSens skaters with 20+ GP. pic.twitter.com/jmhJkISkSr

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 4, 2018

COLIN WHITE FIRST POINT ALERT! #Sens up 1-0 after White passes to Hoffman who gives it to Duchene who BURIES it. pic.twitter.com/p1zNC9QOEu

— Alex M (@nhlsensandstuff) February 3, 2018

Stats Sheet

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Biggest Standouts

Aaron Luchuk

Playing on a line with top prospect Andrei Svechnikov has done Aaron Luchuk well. He currently leads all OHLers with 39 goals in 50 games, is third in the lead in shots on goal with 211, and is third in league scoring with 79 points. The OHL annually has an award for “Best Overager” and I’d be surprised if Luchuk isn’t the recipient.

Aaron Luchuk had a big weekend: 6 Points (2G, 4A) in 2GP, including a 4 Point game vs Windsor, his old team 🔥 pic.twitter.com/csJw9vKpmz

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 4, 2018

Joey Daccord

No highlight pack for this one, but imagine being peppered with 102 shots in 2 games, putting up a .931 sv%, and losing both contests. Daccord’s .909 sv% may not rank among the greats in the NCAA (typically in the .930s) but he’s faced the most rubber among college goaltenders and has a tough job playing in front of no drafted players.

Silver Linings

• Although Drake Batherson’s 14-game point streak came to an end, he still put up 5 points in 4 games — including a highlight reel goal (see below). His 2.1 primary points per 60 at 5-on-5 only trails Brown and Luchuk for the most among Sens CHLers. /

Drake Batherson, highlight reel hat trick! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/8G1tAC3UNv

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 3, 2018

• Parker Kelly and Alex Formenton both set career highs in goals over the weekend. Formenton scored his 17th, while Kelly recorded three and sits at 24.
• Meanwhile, Logan Brown had four assists and was named first star as Kitchener dismantled Hamilton. He had 1G and 1A in his other weekend conest.
• Macoy Erkamps (remember him?) scored his first career AHL goal over the weekend. After spending a bulk of his time in the ECHL last season, Erkamps has suited up regularly for Belleville.
• In the bad news section, check out these point totals (via Peter Levi): Nick Paul: 4P in last 21 games, Jack Rodewald: 4P in last 27 games, Francis Perron: 3P in last 22 games. Paul and Rodewald have played top-six minutes while Perron is a fourth line staple, but it’s not good production for three players currently on entry-level deals
• Speaking of the ECHL, Scott Wheeler penned an illuminating piece on what life is like in that league. He covered the Brampton Beast, so Sens prospects Marcus Hogberg, Cody Donaghey, and Vincent Dunn are mentioned. Fascinating read. /