Earlier this week we posted an article on the many negatives that have plagued the Senators’ season to date. In case you missed it, you can read that here. This post will focus on the opposite, and highlight some of the few bright spots from this awfully dark season. Outlined in this article will be the on ice positives of the team as well as the few off ice positives that have presented themselves.

One of the biggest positives from this Senators’ season so far has been the play of the young players. The Sens’ rookies and younger players have been crucial to any success the team has had so far this season and have been a sign of hope for fans. Max Lajoie displayed this early in the season, scoring a goal in his very first game and setting the bar for the rest of the young players. Lajoie has since found his way into a permanent place in the Sens top 4 on the blueline. This was rewarded to Lajoie due to his extremely hot start to the season which saw him tally 7 points in his first 6 games. Another young player who started the season off on fire was former QMJHL and team Canada phenom, Drake Batherson. Batherson absolutely dominated the AHL to start the season, leading all AHL rookies in points at the time of his call up to the Senators main roster. Batherson continued his dominance in his first 3 games where he would go on to put up 5 points playing alongside Matt Duchene on the first line. Duchene being injured would result in Batherson’s play slipping a tad and see him get sent back to Belleville. However, in his short stint he proved he has the tools to one day be a dominant NHL player.

Another young player who got off to an outstanding start to the season was Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk started the year as a man on a mission and blew away all expectations, tallying 8 points in his first 6 games and 16 in his first 14 games. This incredible start landed the Sens 2018 4th overall pick onto a line with Mark Stone and Colin White. This line has been together ever since and has been one of the Sens best all season long. There has been many games this season where this line has just absolutely dominated teams and has gone on multiple hot streaks.

This is largely do the elite talent and work ethic of Mark Stone who has been the Sens best player on a nightly basis this season. Colin White has also benefited immensely from this as he has re-established himself as a top prospect of the Senators organization. White is currently on pace for 21 goals and 50 points this season which are way above anyone’s expectations coming into this season.

Another player who absolutely must be highlighted is Thomas Chabot. Chabot has been incredible all season long before his injury. At the time of his injury Chabot led all defensemen in points and has been expanding his highlight reel all season long. His play has been so outstanding this season that fans league wide are starting to take notice. As a reward for his efforts this season Chabot was named as a member of the All-Star game and will be the Sens lone representative. Chabot is without a doubt the Sens best defensemen this season and may even be one of the most talented players on the team period. His play has been well worth the price of admission so far this season and the team and fans alike are desperate to see him back in action.

Two other players who also deserve some recognition for their play this season are Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Even though Duchene has had some injury trouble this season, he is currently a point per game player and is earning every dollar of his upcoming contract. Dzingel is currently the Sens leading goal scorer and is on pace for 33 goals this season, a career high. Expect both players to get paaaaiiiidddd this offseason if they keep up this level of play.

As promised, we also found some off-ice positives for the Sens so far this season. The biggest positive so far has been the outstanding work of the Sens media team. The creativity of this group has been amazing so far and without a doubt rank among the best media teams in the league this season. No matter how dark it has looked at times this season, the media team has done a great job of producing great, original content to help humanize the players.

The Senators family is also expanding! We’d like to congratulate the Duchene family on the birth of their first child! While this season hasn’t always been the best, there have been some positives for the fans and players. This season was always expected to have some growing pains with such a young roster. Hopefully the team can rally the second half of the season and put together a strong finish to the year! Let us know what you think and if we missed anything down in the comments or on our Twitter or Facebook. Go Sens Go!