Coach Travis Green sees bright future for Tkachuk-less Senators

OTTAWA — Welcome to the dawn of NHL training camps, where nowhere can be heard a discouraging word.

Every player is in the best shape ever. Any extra pound is all muscle.

Over the summer, poorer skaters honed their edging. Errant shooters found their mark.

Every team aims to go 84-0 (there’s a new possibility, with two added regular season games).

Every power play is menacing.

Here in Ottawa, the scorched earth of a captain’s departure surely left a mark, but you wouldn’t know it from our first encounter with Senators head coach Travis Green.

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“It seems like a long time ago,” Green said, to a gaggle of reporters, on the topic of the departure of captain Brady Tkachuk.

Given this was Ottawa’s only media availability of the day — no players will speak until the first skates of camp on Thursday — we naturally hung on the coach’s every word. We parsed consonants and vowels for extra context.

Green, who has already spoken publicly about Tkachuk, did repeat that as a coach you are always “disappointed” to lose a key player, especially a captain with whom you’ve had a close relationship.

“He’s a good player and you don’t want to see that,” Green said. “But that happened and here we are today.”

While he declined to frame the details of it, coach and captain held a frank and honest discussion before Brady hit the road to South Florida to play with his brother Matthew on the Panthers.

Green doesn’t feel the loss of Tkachuk will have any bearing on his team’s approach, or as fuel to prove him wrong.

“That’s come and gone, and it’s not a topic at all,” said the coach.

He will leave it to the hockey chat forums where the Tkachuks will burn bright as a topic all season.

Green, wearing an off-season smile, believes his Senators team will be better than a year ago, grown with age and experience like wine in a Bordeaux cellar.

He sees winger William Eklund, acquired from San Jose as part of the Tkachuk transaction, as a nice addition, although clearly a different type than the burly Tkachuk.

Green described him as a “good player” while offering no hints as to where he may line up.

Overall, as he heads up this club for a third season, Green believes the young-ish Senators should rise up together in the same way that a growing tide floats all boats.

“I think they’ve all become better hockey players,” Green said. “And, quite honestly, I expect them to be better again.

Almost to a man it’s a group that can improve still.”

Green offered no hint as to who will be the team's new captain, nor when that might take place, echoing the words of general manager Steve Staios.

“Steve touched on it last week, about making sure we take our time and get it right,” Green said. “And part of that reasoning is that we want to see our team together again.”

A player’s citizenship would not be a factor, Green said, to a question about the recent trend featuring American players wanting out from Canadian cities — including Connor Hellebuyk in Winnipeg and Quinn Hughes from Vancouver, along with Tkachuk here.

Fair enough, but what exactly could Green say if it IS a factor — there will be no Yankee captains in Canada’s capital, friends? Now that would be a story.

Of the three obvious choices as captain, the safe bet and safest choice remains Thomas Chabot.

Jake Sanderson doesn’t need the ‘C’ to be Ottawa’s best player and top defenceman. Tim Stutzle can do his thing wearing an ‘A.’

Chabot, proud Senator, longest-running Senator, would relish the role and it would not weigh him down as though the ‘C’ were made of lead.

Zub, Foegele injured

We knew there was the possibility that defenceman Artem Zub would not be available to start camp due to a lingering injury from last season’s playoffs, but Green tossed in winger Warren Foegele as another not quite ready to join workouts. He offered no hints as to the nature of Foegele’s injury.

Nor Zub’s, for that matter.

“They’re skating,” Green said. “I always tell you guys that when they’re skating, they’re close.

I would expect both of them to be in in the next week, two weeks.”

With a departure in the coaching ranks — franchise icon Daniel Alfredsson leaving for Toronto — Green confirmed that Ben Sexton, son of franchise co-founder Randy Sexton, will take over the power-play coaching duties.

The head coach heaped praise on Sexton as “an exceptional young coach.”

Referring to him as “Sexy” (what else), Green described Sexton as hardworking, bright, and a student of the game.

“He’s more than ready to run a special team,” Green said.

Nothing but clear sailing as far as the eye can see. Of course.

It’s the day before camp starts for real.

Trouble? That is but a speck on the distant horizon.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark, who had a rollercoaster season but finished strong, looks ready and prepared to take on the team’s most important job, we’re told.

Winger Drake Batherson’s massive new contract? Green says he’s always happy to see a fine player get rewarded.

On it goes. Ready for the first drops of the puck and drops of camp sweat on the ice — this time around bereft of NHL training camp fitness tests.

“Every year is fresh,” Green said. “I’m sure there’ll be some white noise somewhere along the line.

I think that’s one of the great things about playing in a Canadian market — passion, excitement — fans love it, you guys love it.

“No team wants adversity. Every team has it.”

The good ones deal with it best.

Travis Green, author of two playoff seasons in his first two years in Ottawa, believes his group is ready to be one of those teams.

Without Brady Tkachuk.

Who’s to doubt him on the first day of camp?