Thomas Chabot's impact on Ottawa Senators' brass appears to have taken a turn for the better.
After disappointing management with an underwhelming development camp, Chabot has opened the eyes of head coach Guy Boucher over the course of a strong preseason.
While he remains on the roster with one preseason game to go, Boucher is still looking for a few key things from the 19-year-old defenseman before he cements a spot on the Senators blueline.
"He still needs to show us defensively that he can be thrown on the ice. We don’t want to be closing our eyes every time he goes on the ice. That's the thing. He's a great player, very smart, great speed, he can transition the puck exactly the way you want in the NHL," Boucher told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.
"With him, and you saw it again this morning, I’m pushing him. We're not treating him like a kid. We don't want kids. We want players who are ready. So if he's young, he needs to be ready. Right now, he's shown us a lot of good stuff and that's why he's still here, but camp's not over."
Boucher praises Chabot's offensive vision, but urges the need for intensity while defending against NHLers.
Chabot will have one more chance to prove his worth, as the Senators wrap up their preseason docket Friday versus Buffalo.
