Senators flash early pace and skill on first day of camp

The first sessions of NHL training camp aren’t much different from the first day of school.

A lot of howdy-dos, fresh faces and classmates competing for attention.

Maybe it’s the aerial view from the second floor of the Sensplex arenas, but the Ottawa Senators were flying in their opening camp sessions.

“I’m exhausted just watching them,” quipped Dave Poulin, Senators senior vice president of hockey operations as the first group, led by Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and Drake Batherson, finished up an hour of drills on one sheet of ice before moving to a fresh sheet next door. In their wake at rink one, they left behind a two-inch buildup of snow from 20 skaters and three goaltenders ripping into it.

One of the highlights of the second session was watching Sanderson and Stutzle in the corner fiercely contesting a one-on-one drill. Arguably Ottawa’s two best players, neither yielding an inch.

“He’s one of the best Ds in the league,” Stutzle said. “We’re just trying to set the tone, push the pace.

I think on the whole with a lot of young guys coming in, we’re just trying to do the right things.”

The maturing Stutzle is suddenly one of the veterans trying to help the kids along. He spent some time watching rookie camp and came away impressed with what he saw, from newly drafted forward Jaxon Cover among others.

A veteran head coach isn’t going to get overly excited about anything related to the first drills of main camp. Still, Travis Green felt it was an auspicious start for his group.

“It was a good first day,” Green said. “I thought the guys looked good.

I thought our pace was high. Execution was pretty good.

There’s going to be some rust, that’s expected. But all in all, a good Day 1.”

Among the notable line and defence combinations at the outset: Stutzle with wingers Drake Batherson and Andre Burakovsky; Dylan Cozens between the Swedes Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund. And on the defence - Sanderson with rookie Carter Yakemchuk and Thomas Chabot alongside Jordan Spence.

Green joked that he read somewhere that the newly arrived Eklund should play with his former San Jose Sharks teammate Zetterlund.

The coach tipped a cap to Eklund’s speed and abilities.

“You can see he has high-end skill,” Green said.

One veteran who earned praise from Green was Claude Giroux, who is clearly in top shape and enjoyed a battle drill against young Eklund.

“Everybody was pairing up and I’m like, I want to see what this kid can do,” Giroux said. “He’s definitely quicker than me, but you know, we had a few good battles.”

Burakovsky in dad’s steps

It’s been a while since the Senators have had a Burakovsky in training camp. But Andre Burakovsky, acquired by Ottawa in the off-season, is here where his father, Robert, once played for the 1993-94 Senators.

Son told father via telephone back in June.

“I called him and told him that I’m walking in his footsteps now,” Burakovsky said after Thursday’s morning session.

’ I said, I’m playing for your old team now. My mom got more excited, she’s like I gotta go (to Ottawa) and see where we lived, you know, all that kind of stuff.

She’s excited.”

Ottawa represents a huge opportunity for Burakovsky, acquired during draft week from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a sixth-round 2027 pick.

Skating alongside Stutzle and Batherson on Day 1 illustrates a door open to a top-six spot, if not the top line opening left by the departure of Brady Tkachuk. Fellow Swede Eklund might have something to say about that.

Green feels that Burakovsky can play up and down the lineup.

“Two really skilled, hardworking guys, unbelievable players,” Burakovsky said of being with Stutzle and Batherson. “It was fun to play with both of them.

I think we found some chemistry on the three-on-twos, we found each other pretty good, scored a couple of goals.”

It’s only the first day and a first look. Burakovsky is aware that he is not a lock to stay on that line.

“It’s a great opportunity but at the same time, you gotta deliver,” Burakovsky said. “I mean, if you look at Ottawa’s roster, it’s a lot of competition and there’s a lot of really good players.

So you’ve got to fight hard and not take anything for granted.”

In Chicago, the 31-year-old was off to a great start (7 goals, 15 points, 17 games) before being sidelined by a concussion in late November. And though he managed to play 75 games, he didn’t recover his early-season scoring touch.

He finished with 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points, a far cry from the 61 he produced with Colorado in 2021-22.

He wants to be closer to that type of player as he settles into a Senators dressing room with more Swedes than he’s ever encountered in a training camp.

“The other day I came out of the shower and a guy that was here for development camp, and is still here, said hello in Swedish,” Burakovsky said. “Then four more guys came up and said hello (in Swedish) and I’m like, what’s going on here?

It’s fun.”

First day linemate Batherson likes what he sees in Burakovsky.

“Great skater, lots of skill, can shoot the puck,” Batherson said. “He’s a guy I’ve watched for a long time.

Obviously, two Stanley Cups, so when you can add a guy like that, it’s good, for sure.”

The well-traveled Burakovsky won those Cups with Washington and Colorado.

Though he’s technically still a rookie, Carter Yakemchuk has already had brief NHL regular season and playoff experience with the Senators.

Now the goal is to earn a full-time spot with Ottawa out of camp. It doesn’t hurt to start camp with Sanderson as a partner.

“It felt pretty good, I mean he’s a great player,” Yakemchuk said. “So being able to play with him is pretty special.

He helps me a lot.”

Yakemchuk says he learns a host of things from Sanderson, “the way he possesses the puck, his ability to skate and defend. He makes it pretty easy when guys are coming down on us.”

Learning to defend will be key for Yakemchuk to earn trust on a team coached by Green.

Over the summer, Yakemchuk worked on his skating most of all, he said.

‘Weird’ with no fitness test

Giroux, who broke into the NHL with Philadelphia in 2008, admitted it felt very “weird” not having camp fitness tests, as per the new CBA.

“I feel like, in the summer, that’s one of your motivations is getting ready for the testing,” Giroux said. “You don’t want to embarrass yourself.

You want to show that you’ve put in the work.

“But I mean, you look at practice today, you can tell right away who came in good shape, in great shape – there’s nobody who comes to camp in bad shape anymore, so it’s not like the testing is necessary. You can tell by how well everybody was skating today.”

Defenceman Ben Hutton, who grew up and played minor and junior hockey in the Ottawa region, was added to camp on a professional tryout. Hutton, 33, has 575 games of NHL experience, including time with a Vancouver Canucks team coached by Green.

He also played for Green in AHL Utica.

Hutton played with the Vegas Golden Knights for the past five seasons and could be added insurance if Artem Zub’s injury lingers past camp.

Hutton joked that he recognized some of Green’s drills “and the nice bag skate at the end.”

It’s comfortable for Hutton to try to earn a spot while in his home environment and with a few veterans he knows, including Giroux and Michael Amadio.

“I just want to showcase myself, show the Sens I deserve a spot and that I belong in this league,” Hutton said. “And hopefully gain a contract.”

If it doesn’t happen with the Senators, Hutton has to hope another team sees something during this short pre-season.

Coach Travis Green sees bright future for Tkachuk-less Senators