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Assuming that Clarke MacArthur returns to health on left wing, Zack Smith could be bounced back to centre. Then there’s Nick Paul, who split his first 24 NHL games last season between his natural centre position and right wing — and is aiming to stay here full-time next season.

Photo by Jean Levac / Ottawa Citizen

Look down the road in a year or two (or three) and both Brown and Colin White, the promising 19-year-old Boston College centre, loom as potential fixtures in the lineup. White scored 19 goals and 24 assists in 37 games as an NCAA rookie last season.

For you long-term optimists out there, that potential log-jam could be a very good thing, indeed. Strength down the middle is always a positive.

As general manager Pierre Dorion pointed out while watching the club’s prospects Tuesday, it’s usually easier to move centres to the wing than vice-versa.

Natural born centres also tend to be better with the puck and to make it all work, some of the above will either have to move to the wing permanently or be moved out altogether through trades.

The Senators insist they will practice patience with White, Brown and all their top prospects. While they traded up at the draft to make sure they secured Brown, they insist they won’t make the mistake of rushing him into the NHL too soon.

“He has a training history with (conditioning coach) Chris Schwarz and (player development coach) Sean Donovan, which is really good,” assistant general manager Randy Lee said. “They know the player, they can formulate a really good plan for how to get better, to challenge him every single year. Once you get drafted, that’s just one level. Now, (draft picks) have got to realize this is when they really have to put their foot on the gas and recognize the team wants me to work on this and this and this.”