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Weekly Question: Who is Your Favourite Senator off the Ice?

The off-ice vibes are off the charts, but who is your favourite player in that regard?

Although the Ottawa Senators have been near the bottom of the standings all year long, one thing they seemingly always have are fantastic vibes.

There are so many moments over the past few seasons that make you remember why it’s great to be a fan of a team. It’s not always about the on-ice moments, sometimes it’s about the off-ice things that make you smile and keep you rooting for the team, which is what I can relate to with the Senators. All of us have favourite players and they’re usually the most talented ones on the team—Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, etc.

But people can also have a different form of a “favourite” player based on the definition of them just being a good or cool person. Ottawa has a lot of these players who are easy to root for, and Mark Borowiecki was the perfect example of that a few years ago. These favourites don’t have to be any good on the ice, because all that matters is what kind of person they are. To be clear, “off-ice” will include anything that happens on the bench as well, so some in-game moments count towards this favouritism. Who is your favourite current Senator off the ice?

Brady Tkachuk

This is probably the first player you think of because he’s such a visible character. The reason I thought of doing this article was because of his generosity and kindness towards a young girl who admires him and had some questions for him:

There are too many moments to choose from, but Brady always knows how to put a smile and somebody’s face.

Thomas Chabot

I’ve been trying to think of one off-ice moment in particular with Chabot but I’m not sure there’s a defining one. He’s just very laid back and seems like a chill person to be around, which I personally find easy to root for in a different way compared to others. A lack of an example doesn't mean he can’t be a favourite, he just might not stand out as much off the ice.

Tim Stützle

What can we even say about our boy Tim? That smile oozes charisma and it’s so easy to root for him. You can just tell how much these local kids love Stützle by their “hat trick” gesture from last season, and I’m sure he’s incredibly nice to all of these neighbours:

They even got to play some road hockey with him last month, and it was so wholesome.

Nick Holden

The first thing I think of when I think about Holden is him in the “safety first” bike helmet after a victory:

He also comes across very well in this Bell Breakaway video where you can see how much his family means to him:

Austin Watson

A lot of people love that he stands up for his teammates, but he’s also very vocal in the dressing room and is featured very often in the “safety first” victory videos. He seems like a changed person based on the snippets we’ve seen:

He’s also given back to the community, which is great to see:

Artem Zub

To be honest, Zub is a massive wildcard here but I felt like I couldn’t leave him out. He doesn’t speak much English, but this clip will always be great:

Egor Sokolov

Sokolov is such a character. His story is incredible and I want him to be an NHLer so bad so that his second family can be even more proud of him:

Jacob Bernard-Docker

Bernard-Docker has only played 8 games this season, but I always had respect for him after being amongst the first NCAA players to kneel during the anthem in December 2020 to protest police brutality:

This example is quite different than the others, but based on that gesture alone, I can tell he’s a good person to root for.

Other

Obviously there are many other options! Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Tyler Ennis, etc., but the players above seemed like the most obvious choices. Comment below if you are picking someone else.

Who is your favourite Senator off the ice?

Brady Tkachuk36
Thomas Chabot7
Tim Stützle11
Nick Holden8
Artem Zub6
Austin Watson6
Egor Sokolov10
Jacob Bernard-Docker6
Other4

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