I know there aren't a lot of stats to get excited about the Sens right now, but I found one that's kinda interesting. Among players in the league with under 50% raw CF%, the top three players (min 50 GP) in RelCorsi/60 last year were Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Colin White. Next comes another depressing stat - Mika Zibanejad ranks fourth. But then Dylan DeMelo is fifth.
For those who math, that means because the Sens' average raw corsi was around 43%, by virtue of having raw corsi in the high 40s, Tkachuk was +6.0% (14.0/60), Chabot was +6.1% (13.6/60) and White was +3.4% (8.1/60).
I'm getting excited for this season to start. Those three will be handed the reigns and I'm intrigued to see what they do with it, particularly White and Tkachuk without Stone. I've been thinking about what would be the best possible case realistic scenario for the Sens this year.
I'd like to see Chabot continue to work on his defensive game and play upwards of 2:00 a game on the PK this year. He'll also get every opportunity to continue to improve on the powerplay, as everything runs through him now with Stone and Duchene gone. White and Tkachuk should improve on last season's offensive totals based on development and increased opportunity and responsibility, but I don't expect a drastic improvement because they'll also be the primary focus of opponents' defense now.
On the plus side, that should create a little bit of breathing room for Batherson, who I feel could be a legit Calder candidate. Brännström and Logan Brown will at least get some long looks I'm sure. I'll be worried about Brown if he doesn't see 30+ NHL games this year and he needs to be a point per game player when in the AHL. For Brännström I'd like to see monster minutes and at least 0.75 p/g in the AHL; upwards of 30 NHL games would be nice, but I'm not as worried about it as with Brown.
Some will argue that it would be a better case scenario for both to be in the NHL full-time this year, but I don't like the idea of pushing more kids than necessary into roles they aren't ready for and risk screwing with confidence and mentality. Force Brännström and Brown to prove themselves as not just very good, but elite players in the AHL before coming up, if that's what we hope they will be in the NHL someday.
On some level I'd like to see most of the kids stay down in Belleville and make a strong playoff push, learn how to be a team that believes they should win every night, not a pesky underdog. That's one of the things I like about the Veronneau and Davidsson additions - I don't have overly high hopes for them as prospects, but given their age and experience they could quickly earn depth roles in the NHL and help keep some of the higher upside prospects in the AHL longer.
We'll want to be pushing playing the veterans for the first half of the season, both to try to pump their value to trade before the deadline, and to let the kids slowly grow into bigger roles. Really hoping we can sign DeMelo and one of Tierney/Pageau, and then trade the other before the deadline. I mean I love both Pageau and Tierney, but can't imagine we sign both, and not even sure it would be practical if we could.
I also can't wait to see what Wolanin and Balcers can do with a full NHL season.
As some veterans are dealt, would be cool to see Högberg, Lajoie, Chlapik and Paul find their way onto the roster full-time.
And in the AHL, will be looking for solid rookie pro turns from Norris and Formenton, for Gustavsson to establish himself as a competent starter at that level, and for a big step forward offensively from Abramov.
