TKACHUK CONTINUES TO SHOW POISE IN SENS CAMP
‘Very coachable’ forward has lot of enthusiasm, coach says
Brady Tkachuk has made a lasting impression as Ottawa Senators training camp enters its final full week.
He should survive the final cuts when they’re made later this week. There are 30 players left after the Senators sent 23 packing on the weekend.
The club’s top selection in the National Hockey League draft in June, Tkachuk scored in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal.
Senators head coach Guy Boucher has been impressed and Tkachuk will receive every chance to start the season in the National Hockey League. Whether he sticks around for the whole year will be determined later.
“I just see a kid that has got a lot of enthusiasm,” Boucher said Saturday night. “He’s not just physically strong, he’s extremely open first of all and very coachable. That’s fun for a coach. The minute you ask him something, he does it right away.
“That means, if you make a projection, which is what my job is to make a projection three weeks, a month or (six weeks) down the road, right now the projection is clear. He’s adapting every day and he’s piling on the details. He’s showing it every day. He’s had a terrific development camp, rookie camp and main camp. That’s as good as you can expect.”
Tkachuk looked good when he opened the scoring only 75 seconds into the first period of Saturday’s contest, beating Canadiens netminder Carey Price in a one-on-one matchup.
“He’s considered one of the best goalies in the world and it’s pretty special. It was a great play by (Mark Stone). I just kind of shot it and I was hoping for the best to be honest,” Tkachuk said.
The Senators have kept Tkachuk on a line with the veteran Stone through most of training camp, and that’s no accident.
“He’s got poise and confidence,” Stone said. “He plays his game, and I’ve said that numerous times, but he’s an easy guy to play with because he’s always in for a dogfight. It’s fun to go to war with a guy like that.
“He (made) a great play on (Price), he forced him out and he made a great shot under the blocker.”
ANDY HAS BEEN DANDY
The Senators haven’t won in the pre-season, but you can’t point the finger at goalie Craig Anderson.
The 37-year-old Anderson had a difficult 2017-18 season, but his play has been one of the bright spots in camp as the Senators prepare to open the new season Oct. 4 at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.
While Saturday’s loss was their fourth in five nights, Senators players felt Anderson, who stopped 29 of 32 shots, gave them a chance to win and that’s what they’ll need when the puck is dropped for real.
“He looked great and I was really proud of him,” Boucher said.
"He worked and prepared hard this summer. With a little luck, we could have had a different result and he deserves the recognition for getting prepared this summer.
“I’m happy. I’m very happy because goalies are always the most important players on your team and I think him and (Mike Condon) have gone hard this summer preparing. They’re ready and it shows.”
The Senators led 2-1 through 40 minutes, but Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher struck in a span of 23 seconds to give the Canadiens a victory. The Sena- tors finished with only 18 shots on Price.
“(Anderson) made big saves,” Stone said. “We know how good a goalie he is, so it doesn’t really surprise us, but I think he’s pretty under-rated around the league.
“At the same time, we can’t expect that kind of goaltending every night, so we’ve got to make the saves for him easy. I think we did a good job in the first period and a bit, then we kind of let him hang in a bit where he made a couple of big saves to keep us up.
“We know we’re going to get good goaltending.”
THE LAST WORDS
There will be more decisions through this week, but the Senators will be happy to have 30 players in camp when they get on the ice Monday morning. “We have three days of practice that are going to be good for us and we’re going to be down in numbers,” Stone said. “We’re going to ramp up the intensity, which is going to be nice for a change. We’ve had quite a few bodies on the ice. We’ll be ready for Thursday and we’re just going to keep getting better.” ... Some roster moves will depend on the health of a couple of players. Winger Max McCormick, who’s on a one-way deal worth $650,000, has been cleared to skate, but has yet to participate in pre-season games. Centre Jim O’Brien is ailing, too … The affiliate Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League will open camp Monday morning at the CAA Arena under new head coach Troy Mann … The GoFundMe campaign started Saturday by the Senators organization to raise money for tornado relief has already surpassed its goal of $25,000. The Senators Foundation will also donate $25,000.