It’s becoming ironic to write about Ottawa’s young players on a weekly basis. While the CHLers and their respective clubs are excelling, Ottawa (15 points out) and Belleville (10 points out) are struggling mightily. There’s some hope — Chlapik, White, and Gagne are putting up respectable numbers and Thomas Chabot is proving himself to be a capable NHL player — but also reason to be concerned. The young players, a group who you’d expect to see a bump in minutes and opportunity when teams are “out of it”, haven’t been receiving that relative to our expectations.

Case in point: although Belleville went 1-1 over the weekend, Danny Taylor started both games of a back-to-back. Now, Filip Chlapik scored a goal and he continues to lead BSens in points-per-game (min. 20 GP); moreover, White has stuck with Ottawa for now and put up his first NHL point after generating numerous scoring chances. As the team gets further and further out, I’d hope that more of these prospects get an extended opportunity to shine.

Filip Chlapik scored Belleville's only goal last night, his 7th of the season



Chlapik has 18 Points (7G, 11A) in 33GP. His 0.55 PTS/G is 1st among #BSens skaters with 20+ GP. pic.twitter.com/jmhJkISkSr — Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 4, 2018

COLIN WHITE FIRST POINT ALERT! #Sens up 1-0 after White passes to Hoffman who gives it to Duchene who BURIES it. pic.twitter.com/p1zNC9QOEu — Alex M (@nhlsensandstuff) February 3, 2018

Stats Sheet

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Biggest Standouts

Aaron Luchuk

Playing on a line with top prospect Andrei Svechnikov has done Aaron Luchuk well. He currently leads all OHLers with 39 goals in 50 games, is third in the lead in shots on goal with 211, and is third in league scoring with 79 points. The OHL annually has an award for “Best Overager” and I’d be surprised if Luchuk isn’t the recipient.

Aaron Luchuk had a big weekend: 6 Points (2G, 4A) in 2GP, including a 4 Point game vs Windsor, his old team pic.twitter.com/csJw9vKpmz — Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) February 4, 2018

Joey Daccord

No highlight pack for this one, but imagine being peppered with 102 shots in 2 games, putting up a .931 sv%, and losing both contests. Daccord’s .909 sv% may not rank among the greats in the NCAA (typically in the .930s) but he’s faced the most rubber among college goaltenders and has a tough job playing in front of no drafted players.

Silver Linings

Although Drake Batherson’s 14-game point streak came to an end, he still put up 5 points in 4 games — including a highlight reel goal (see below). His 2.1 primary points per 60 at 5-on-5 only trails Brown and Luchuk for the most among Sens CHLers.