Sens Poll Results Recap – The Defencemen
Written By: Luke Muise
It's hard to believe how quickly defense became a strength for the Sens after years of it being their biggest liability.
Training camp is still ongoing as I write this. But the top four are already set in stone and it looks formidable. Chabot, Sanderson, Chychrun and Zub is as strong a top-four you'll find anywhere, and a bottom pair including any of Brannstrom, Kleven, Bernard-Docker, or Harmonic ranges from serviceable to pretty-damn-good, depending on who is playing.
Remember the years with players on the backend like Gudbranson, Zaitsev, Josh Brown, Olle Alsing, and… UNCLE DELLY?
What I'm trying to say is that I really love where the Sens d-core is at right now. So do most Sens fans according to the poll results asking them to predict their point totals. Let's take a look at the results, shall we?
Thomas Chabot
It's been a tough few years for Chabot from a production standpoint. He has yet to come close to repeating the career-high 55 points in 70 games he achieved in his sophomore season, but did hit his second-highest total with 41 in 68 games this past season.
To be fair, he was being way overused during the course of the rebuild, often logging over 30 minutes a night anchored by suspect partners. In instances where his minutes were reduced we'd typically be treated to Thomas Chabot's best hockey, which is still top-tier.
With the new lineup, Chabot's minutes should come down a bit and allow him to play to his potential. How did the fans feel about his potential this season?
Over half feel he'll fall in the same range (though last year's total is the lowest possible outcome for the majority opinion so I imagine most are expecting a slight increase).
It should also be pointed out that nearly a third of respondents expect a decline in points. Could this be a feeling that his minutes will be affected too much by Sanderson and Chychrun to maintain his points pace?
My prediction: 12 goals, 41 assists, 53 points.
I don't think he matches his career high, but I've got a good feeling about Chabot this season. I do think he'll maintain his spot on PP1, and that will help his totals. DJ won't take him off the first unit unless Chabot gives him a reason to, and I doubt he will give him a reason.
Jakob Chychrun
I can't wait to watch a full season of this guy. He immediately made a strong first impression when the Sens acquired him before he was injured. That goal against Columbus in his first Sens home game was the stuff of legends.
He's a scoring threat whenever he has the puck thanks to that heavy shot - he tucked 18 during the Covid season and hit his career high 41 points in 56 games that year. He didn't quite hit the same pace last season but between Arizona and Ottawa he had 33 points (9 goals, 24 assists) in 48 games, so it was pretty close.
What are Sens fans expecting to see from him this year?
Well over half expect him to match or beat his career high, while over a third expect him to fall in the 31-40 point range. It's a fair assessment given his injury history.
If he stays healthy for most of the season though, he's sure to eclipse that career high, and I think he'll stay healthy enough to do it. How do I know? I don't. I'm just being optimistic.
My prediction: 16 goals, 40 assists, 56 points.
Jake Sanderson
Much like Tim Stützle before him, Sanderson is going to be worth his new contract before he ever plays a game at his new AAV.
He showed he was ready for the NHL immediately after leaving college and instantly improved the Sens blue line. He scored 4-28-32 in 77 games last season and he is going to keep getting better. How much better will he be this season though?
Most fans are expecting an improvement but there's some pretty wild variance in how much they're looking for. It will depend on whether or not he can crack PP1, and as I said earlier, I think Chabot will hold onto that spot for the time being. Who knows, maybe I'll be wrong (I'll probably be wrong, this kid is so good).
My prediction: 8 goals, 41 assists, 49 points.
ZUUUUUB (Artem Zub)
The fan favourite. The golden boy. The one and only: Artem Zub.
He's not much of an offensive threat, which makes it even more electric when he scores at the CTC.
DJ, when are we gonna see him in the shootout? We have to see it at least once. The fans want it. His teammates want it. The NHL needs it. Come on now, make it happen.
His career high is 6-16-22 in 81 games which is pretty good for a guy that plays his style, and in his first NHL season he was actually just over .55 points per game. No wonder he won us all over so quickly.
He took a step back offensively last year posting 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 53 games. I think he has more to offer than that, and it will show playing alongside an improving Sanderson.
My prediction: 7-18-25
Erik Brannstrom
He started to show some flashes of his true potential in the second half of last year, posting 18 points (2 goals, 16 assists). In some of those games he really started to look like the offensive driver he was expected to be, even if the numbers didn't match some of his excellent performances when he was moved up the lineup. Here's the fan consensus for his upcoming season:
The vast majority expect him to fall in that same range while some are expecting a moderate improvement. Some Branny truthers even got in the action and showed him some love for over 30 points, and I respect that.
My prediction: I'm in the moderate improvement crowd. 2 goals, 20 assists, 22 points.
Travis Hamonic
Travis Hamonic has never seen a shot he won't take. Which works out for him sometimes on the score sheet. He had 21 points (6 goals, 15 assists) last season.
People are pretty split on their expectations for him. He could start to lose lots of ice time to a younger defenseman in the system, but on the other hand, DJ and the players love his compete and work ethic. One thing is clear when you look at his career numbers: if he plays most of the games in a season he should easily score more than 10 points.
My prediction: 4 goals, 14 assists, 18 points.
Jacob Bernard-Docker
The last of the guys on a one-way deal on our list today, JBD is almost sure to hit a career high in games played this season. Do fans think it will translate into any significant offensive production?
Not really. He's probably not going to play every game and definitely won't see any power play time. He also hasn't shown much offence at the NHL level to date, posting a total of two assists in 32 games over three seasons. As long as he's playing good defence on the third pair that's fine.
My prediction: 1-3-4.
Likely call ups
Lassi Thomson has shown more offence than JBD, but not a whole lot. He's looked pretty good in preseason so far… and he's gone. He just got claimed on waivers as I write this. Goodbye Lassi, and good luck in Anaheim. He'll likely exceed Sens fans expectations on his new team, because he will actually play some games.
Nevermind. I've come back to edit this piece and the Sens have since reclaimed him off waivers from the Ducks. He's back in Belleville. Life comes at you fast.
Tyler Kleven is an intriguing player and seems to be the heir apparent for the third pair in the coming years. He looked great in his first few games out of college last season. If he plays enough games I can see the fan expectation working out, but a fair few people expect even more than that. I'll agree with the majority here though, as he'll probably spend most of the season in Belleville.
If you participated in the polls, I'd like to thank you for sharing your thoughts, and if you've read this far into the article I'd like to thank you even more. I appreciate you reading and hope you keep coming back for more.
Go Sens go!
