With Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman both expected to miss significant time, the Ottawa Senators once again find themselves looking for help on the blueline.
And this time, they’ve turned to the organization’s top prospect.
Thomas Chabot was recalled from the American Hockey League late yesterday and is expected to join the team for practice in Washington later today.
Chabot has appeared in 12 games in Belleville (equaling Erik Karlsson’s AHL games played total) and picked up 7 points, including a couple goals. He sits at a -7 right now but that has a lot to with Belleville’s struggles as a team.
Most people who have watched Belleville on a regular basis this year have come away thinking that Chabot was the best defenceman on that team.
Colin White 🍎 -> Thomas Chabot 🚨 pic.twitter.com/7QmH1TRwaQ
— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) November 12, 2017
When Wideman went down in the game against Pittsburgh, Ben Harpur was the one called up primarily because the Senators felt it was important for Chabot to keep playing and to not be in and out of the line up with the NHL team. For that reason, you would expect Chabot to get a real shot this time around.
Chabot has played in three NHL games this season, averaging 13:40 minutes a game.
While Chabot still has to adjust to the NHL game, particularly in his own end of the rink, there’s no doubt he can help fill the void in the team’s transition game left by Chris Wideman and perhaps spark a sputtering power play.
It will be interesting to see what sort of opportunity Chabot gets this time around. The team has seven defenceman on the roster right now so a return to the 11/7 alignment seems like a possibility. Chabot has been playing both the left and right side in the AHL so Guy Boucher has some options when it comes to deciding the ideal partner for Chabot.
The Ottawa Senators are on the ice for practice later this afternoon. They visit the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.
