Thomas Chabot is off this week to the worlds
Thomas Chabot is ready to take on the world.
The Ottawa Senators’ top prospect on the blue-line is back on the ice at his home near Quebec City this week as he prepares to pack his bags Thursday morning to head for Riga, Latvia, to attend training camp with Team Canada to prepare for the world championship that gets underway May 4 in Denmark.
The 21-year-old Chabot has had the chance to suit up for his country at two world junior championships, but this is the first opportunity the rookie defenceman will get in the senior men’s tournament with a Team Canada roster that includes Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid.
Chabot is looking forward to the challenge, especially with former NHLers Sean Burke and Martin Brodeur as the co-general managers, while Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters, who was named to his new post Monday after four years with the Carolina Hurricanes, will be behind the bench.
“It’s always fun to go and represent your country,” Chabot told the Citizen in a telephone interview Wednesday. “For me, it’s something different because it’s going to be the first time that I play for Team Canada at the men’s level and older guys we play against around the league.
“I’m going to get a chance to play with guys that are pretty great and amazing hockey players. I’m going to get a chance to play with them and learn more about the game, so I’m looking forward to this tournament.”
Yes, this will be a learning experience, but it’s also an opportunity for Chabot to extend his season against some strong competition after the Senators finished 30th and played games down the stretch that really didn’t mean a whole lot in the big scheme of things.
“When I look back on my last two or three seasons, I’ve always played for quite a long time and I’ve had a little bit (of a) short summer,” said Chabot, who won silver with Canada at the 2017 world junior championship. “After my first year in the NHL, not making the playoffs makes the season short and it gets you a long summer.
“When I got the call to go (to the worlds), I was excited because it makes the season longer and it also gives you a chance to play a great level. It’s not like we’re going to play somewhere just for fun. It’s a good experience, we’re going to play great players against great countries and it’s going to be a good learning process for me.”
This was a season of adjustment for Chabot.
He started the year with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, but was called up in November and never looked back. He finished with 25 points in 63 games with Ottawa and saw his ice time increase down the stretch.
“When I look back at training camp, they felt like I needed to develop more of my game in my own zone to play in the NHL,” Chabot said. “I think when I went back (to the AHL) I focused on it and once I got called up (for good) I felt like I was a better player and I felt like I wanted to make an impact.
“My goal when I got called up the last time was to stay (in Ottawa) the rest of the year and that’s what happened. They were telling me through the season that they were happy with the way I came back. I learned and I was better in my own zone, and that’s what we worked on the rest of the year.
“When I look back from the first day of camp to the last day of the season, I’ve come a long way. It’s not perfect and it’s never going to be perfect, but when we see from the start of the season to the end, we see a big difference in my game. That’s positive and the way we want to keep going.”
It will be a different challenge playing on the bigger ice, but that fact doesn’t intimidate Chabot because he’s done it before while playing for Canada at the world under-18 championship in Finland in 2015.
“It’s something I’m really looking forward to and I’ve always been excited to play on it,” Chabot said. “You can use more of your skating and more of your speed because there’s more room on the ice. It gives you more time and more space to skate.
“It makes the tournament even better playing on the big ice.”