Thomas Chabot looks certain to play in the season opener
Karlsson’s injury opens door for Sens blue-line prospect to make big impact
If ever there was doubt, it’s surely gone now.
With Erik Karlsson expected to miss the start of the season because of his slow-to-recover ankle, Thomas Chabot is all but locked in to a spot on the opening night roster.
The 20-year old rookie could, in fact, have an even greater role along the Senators blue-line when they line up for the Oct. 5 lid-lifter against the Washington Capitals.
But if Chabot has considered the new opportunities, he’s not letting on. After the first day of the team’s rookie camp at Bell Sensplex, he maintained his personal game plan has not changed one bit.
“I hope, for the best of the team, he’ll be ready for the start,” Chabot said of Karlsson. “Obviously, I hope the best for him. He’s probably the greatest player in the NHL now ... the greatest defence in the NHL. But right now, my focus is still the same. I’m just focusing on trying to be the best I can during this camp.
“My goal is still the same. I want to make the team. I want to show my coaches that I can play here next year, so I want to focus on that.”
Whether it be on the first, second or third pairing.
“Wherever they give me my chance, I’m going to try to take it,” said Chabot. “Whatever situation I’m going to play. Whatever pairing, whoever I’m going to play with, I’m just going to try to make the best out of it and show them I can play in this league.”
Chabot is fully prepared for the challenge. For the first time in three years, he did not have a summer camp with both his junior team and the under-20 national squad. In strength tests with the Senators on Wednesday, he registered one of the highest grades.
“I got the chance to have a lot of rest,” Chabot said. “I had a lot more time to focus on myself and the gym, and off the ice. I was in the gym every day of the week, except on the weekend. And I was on the ice with a skill coach, so that was good.”
Also beneficial should be the time he spent in Ottawa last fall. The Senators had no intention of keeping their then-teenaged prize prospect for the whole season, but Chabot was still with the team after the final cuts and until the beginning of November.
That’s when he was finally returned to the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and began a banner year that included recognition as the top blue-liner in the country, and lead roles in taking his team to the Memorial Cup as well as bringing Canada to within a goal of the world junior championship.
The Senators admit they wanted Chabot to study Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf and the other D-men to see what it took to be a pro. Chabot agrees. “I learned a lot about myself, on and off the ice here, just being around,” he said. “I had the chance to play one game, played a lot of pre-seasons, so I know what to expect this year. I know what’s going to come in front of me. I know what the challenges are. I know what I have to show the coaches.”
And to Chabot, that means playing solid defensively — starting with this weekend’s rookie tournament in Toronto against prospects for the Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
“I know they’re going to be watching,” said Chabot. “I just want to show them I can play both ends of the ice.
“They know I can skate. They know I can do good things with the puck, but they want to see if I can play real well in my own zone. So that’s the main thing I’m going to focus on for this weekend.”
Chabot says he’s “really an open guy” and he’ll be telling teammates who have never been to a rookie camp what they can expect, much like any good leader would do. He’ll be receiving no special set of instructions from the coaches when the team travels to Toronto following one more Sensplex practice Friday morning.
“We know what kind of a player we have,” said Kurt Kleinendorst, the Belleville Senators coach who will be behind the bench at the tournament. “We’re not going to treat him special or any differently, even though we know he’s special. He’s one of us and we’re just going to approach it like he’s a solid left shot defenceman that skates well and gets up the ice well and shoots well and does all these things.
“We want to be able to showcase everybody we have on our roster. We know he’s going to be around for the main camp. Some of these other guys may not get that opportunity, so we want to give them every chance to show us what they’re capable of.”
At the same time, the final score of any game is important to players.
“We play Toronto and we know how big of a rivalry it is,” said Chabot. “The Ontario battle, they call it. So obviously, it’s big. We want to show ourselves to the coaches, but at the end of the day we’re all big competitors, we always want to win. So we’re going to jump into those games, and we’ll find a way to win.”
My goal is still the same. I want to make the team. I want to show my coaches that I can play here next year.