In less than a week, the Ottawa Senators lost three of their top six defensemen. First, it was Artem Zub, who got hit in the ear with a puck on Oct. 20, then just six days later, Erik Brannstrom and Thomas Chabot exited the game against the New York Islanders. Although Zub is expected to return soon from his upper-body injury, he won’t be ready for Thursday’s game. Meanwhile, Chabot will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, and Brannstrom is out indefinitely dealing with a concussion.
The situation is far from ideal, but there is a silver lining. Several of the Senators’ top prospects looked closer to snagging an NHL job in training camp but were sent down due to cap constraints. Now that Chabot is on the injured reserve, the team finally has some space to bring them back and give them the shot they deserve. For some, this may be their best chance to make an impression on Ottawa’s coaching staff and management. Here are five players who have either been called up or will be soon and how likely they are to stick around.
Jacob Bernard-Docker
Fans are well acquainted with Jacob Bernard-Docker. A first-round pick in 2018, he’s been hanging around the Senators since 2021 and has been a regular call-up, playing 32 NHL games over three seasons. He doesn’t bring a lot of offence — in 32 games, he has just two assists — but defensively, he’s proven to be one of the best. Last season, he played just 19 games but finished with an average of 5.33 blocked shots per 60 minutes, which ranked fourth among all Senators who played at least 60 minutes. He also had one of the lowest expected goals against per 60 minutes on the team at 2.53.
Many assumed that Bernard-Docker would be the seventh defenceman heading into the 2023-24 season, but thanks to the Senators’ cap issues, he was placed on waivers. Thankfully, he went unclaimed, but there may be a bit of a chip on his shoulder. After playing three games on the third pairing, he was allowed to take over Chabot’s spot alongside Jacob Chychrun, and he did not disappoint. After 21:45 minutes of ice time, he led all Senators defencemen with 0.16 expected goals for and was second with five blocked shots.
With his best game so far corresponding with his heaviest workload, the future seems bright for the 23-year-old. The only caveat is that he remains waiver-exempt only until Nov. 3; after that, he will have to pass through waivers again. The Senators don’t want to go through that ordeal again, so there’s a chance that, even if he’s playing well, he may be sent down early to prevent losing him for nothing. But right now, Bernard-Docker is the best option to take on some big minutes.
Tyler Kleven
Tyler Kleven is big, mean, and has a cannon of a shot, which has made him a fan favourite, but his upside has always been somewhat limited. That is until he made his NHL debut last season when he snuck into eight games with the Senators and put up two assists, nine hits, eight blocked shots, and owned an impressive 62.1% Corsi for percentage in all situations while averaging 14:41 minutes a game. Could he actually be one of the Senators’ best defensive prospects?
Kleven answered that on Oct. 28 when he made his 2023-24 debut against the Penguins alongside fellow call-up Nikolas Matinpalo. The two were placed on the third pair, filling in for Brannstrom and Travis Hamonic, who moved up to the second pair. Even though they played just over nine minutes, they led the Senators in Corsi, Fenwick, and expected goals for percentage. Kleven alone finished the game with a 0.38 expected goals against and, maybe most strangely, didn’t throw a single hit.
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Admittedly, it is a small sample size, but Kleven looks much smarter and more patient than he ever has, which makes him a real shutdown threat. The Senators appear to be easing him into the pressures of the NHL, which is probably a smart decision; no sense in over-taxing a talented youngster just because people are excited. But at this time, he’s likely a better fit on the third pairing than Brannstrom in that he always was meant to be a defensive presence and won’t have to change up his style too much to make an impact.
Nikolas Matinpalo
Speaking of Matinpalo, he also made a statement in his first NHL game. Not only was he and Kleven a strong pair, but his 0.16 expected goals against was the lowest on the team. Despite only managing one shot attempt, which was blocked, his expected goal percentage was nearly 70 percent, which was only bested by Dominik Kubalik, who notched his first goal as a Senator that game. So why was he the seventh man in some of the Senators’ latest practice lines?
It probably comes down to experience. Matinpalo played five seasons in Finland’s top league, where he was known as a defensive defenceman. Yet when he arrived in Belleville, he scored a goal in his very first game. He’s an adaptable defenceman who can play a variety of roles depending on the need, and at 25 years old, he has the experience to be able to adjust as necessary. If the Senators need someone to put into a sluggish pairing on the fly, he’s your guy. It just might mean that when it comes time to send someone down, he may also be the first to go.
Lassi Thomson
Lassi Thomson was the talk of the preseason after the 2019 first-round pick was placed on waivers and subsequently claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. It looked bad for Ottawa, who lost a player who was supposed to be a building block when he was selected for absolutely nothing. But then, they seemingly rectified the mistake when they claimed him back off waivers eight days later after the Ducks decided he wasn’t good enough for their defence corps this season.
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However, Thomson has had difficulty in finding his place in the organization. In his exit interview last season, he expressed how disappointed he had been in 2022-23, saying, “Obviously, when you play a full year in the American Hockey League (AHL), it’s not the goal or (the league) you want to make. Obviously, we’re here, and we want to make the NHL. It’s gonna be a lot of work this summer to get there next year and not be here (in the AHL) full-time.” Contrast that with Pierre Dorion’s comments in April, in which he claimed that Thomson was probably the most talented defenceman among the team’s prospects, and it’s even stranger why the 23-year-old has played so few NHL games over the last couple of seasons.
The biggest concern for Thomson has been consistency. There has never been a question regarding his skill, but the lack of pace has kept him from transitioning from a player who can play in the top four to a player who should play in the top four. Like with Bernard-Docker, the Senators almost certainly don’t want to go through another waivers debacle again, which may affect how often he gets called up. But Ottawa almost definitely wants to see him again, and Thomson is eager to show them that he has what it takes to stick around. There may not be a more driven player in Belleville right now.
Maxence Guenette
It’s somewhat surprising to see Maxence Guenette still down in the minors while Matinpalo and Kleven prepare to play their second NHL game this season. It’s not that the latter two are undeserving, but Guenette nearly made the team out of camp and was the very last defenceman sent down before the season began. The Senators love his game, and in the preseason, he showed off his excellent puck-moving abilities. After six games, he leads Belleville’s defence with four points, and his four assists are a team-high. He honestly looks like the perfect replacement for Brannstrom on the bottom pair.
It likely comes down to his contract and his status. Matinpalo is brand new to the organization and is on a one-year deal, so the Senators don’t have a lot of time to see what he can do in the NHL. Bernard-Docker and Kleven are former high picks, making their development somewhat more important than lower picks. Guenette, on the other hand, was a seventh-round pick in 2019. He’s waivers exempt, but he’s also in the last year of his entry-level deal. If he breaks out at the NHL level, it will be harder to negotiate with him in the summer, especially with the cap still so tight. It’s less than ideal, but the Senators need to be aware of every penny, leaving Guenette on the outside. But, like Thomson, he’ll be a quick call-up if anyone stumbles.
Although it’s been just a few games for most of the Senators’ call-ups, there is a lot to like from early viewings of the team’s top defensive prospects. Not only is that good news for the team, who can breathe a sigh of relief while they recover from losing three big pieces of their blue line, but also for the prospects, who finally get a chance to play meaningful minutes and show that they are worth keeping around. Now if Ottawa feels like they need to trade someone, they can safely assume that their defence is in good hands for the first time in a while.