Senators return to Ottawa for annual charity golf tournament

The Ottawa Senators are back in town — just south of town, to be exact — gathering at Rideau View Golf Club in Manotick on Tuesday morning for the Senators Charity Open.

Around this time next week, players will gather at Canadian Tire Centre for the beginning of training camp — among them Drake Batherson, who says he would like to sign a contract extension before camp opens.

“I think it'd be nice just to get it done before the season and not have that distraction when the game starts, so I'm not sure what will happen, but hopefully it gets done before then,” said Batherson, who added he wants to stay in Ottawa and remain a Senator.

“I want to get it done before camp, like I just said, but I'm not going to get into it too much here today. I'll let Steve and my agent handle it and hopefully be done soon.”

Batherson said he spent almost the entire summer back home in Nova Scotia, save for a short trip to New Brunswick. One of his highlights came back in early August, when he shot scores of 66 and 71 on his way to his club championship at KenWo Golf Club in New Minas, Nova Scotia. 

Needless to say, his services were in high demand among the corporate sponsors hoping to go low on Tuesday at Rideau View.

Senators will not rush into naming a new captain

Staios echoed Batherson’s comments, saying that he was working to make Batherson an Ottawa Senator for “a long time.” 

While those talks continue, Staios and the rest of the team’s management will also discuss the team’s vacant captaincy, but he wanted to make it clear there were no timelines on any captain being named.

“It's an important decision. Yet, when I look at our group and the potential players that could be our next captain here for the Ottawa Senators, it just comes naturally to all these players that we're talking about,” said Staios. 

“So, I don't think that it's on their minds. I think it's more just something that we'll continue to work through as we're together now and camp picks up. We’re very lucky that we have a number of players that can be our next captain.”

The longest serving Senator, Thomas Chabot, told the media that whatever decision the management group ultimately comes to would be the best for the future of the team.

And if it was him that gets named captain?

“Oh, it’d be a huge honour for sure. Obviously, I felt fortunate enough to be an assistant captain to Brady for so many years, and obviously, this is going to be my 10th season here in Ottawa, feels like home,” said Chabot.

“Been here for a while now, and no, it’d be a very cool thing for sure. But like I said, I don’t control any of that decision, and whatever that decision is going to be is going to be the best for the group and the future of the team.”

Tim Stützle echoed Staios’ and Chabot’s sentiments that the team had many players serving in leadership roles already who will form an important support cast for whoever is named captain.

“Yeah, I think we have a bunch of guys ready. I think we do, but I also said multiple times it's not about the captain; it's also about the leadership around the guys, and I think that's going to be really important,” said Stützle.

“I think we have a lot of great options, and it's just going to help that we have so many great leaders around the captain. And yeah, I'm really excited for the next chapter here for Ottawa too, and I think we're going to do a great job helping whoever gets the ‘C’.”

Senators have been skating together for about a week

Tim Stützle returned to Ottawa in late August and said most of the team also arrived extra early this season. That time has allowed for the team to work new additions like Andre Burakovsky, William Eklund, and Samuel Ersson into the team fabric.

“I think we try and make it easy for everyone to come in, feel comfortable, and the new players to do their job too, and they've been awesome,” said Stützle. 

“So, really excited for them to be here, and yeah, they look really good on the ice. So, really excited for what's ahead, and can't wait to see them start.”

Stützle acknowledged the team will undoubtedly look different in the absence of former captain Brady Tkachuk, but that additions like Eklund will help make it an exciting year for the Sens.

“I think he played great for San Jose. He's still really young, so first when we got him, I was really excited about it. It's unfortunate he was playing in a different time zone. Otherwise, we would have probably seen him a little bit more,” said Stützle. 

“But yeah, I think he's a great player, and he's going to be really good for us, and he's going to keep developing like we all are. And he looks really good on the ice. So I'm really excited for what we have and can't wait.”

As far as internal improvement, both Staios and Stützle said that getting better year-over-year was the goal.

“We've always said that we want to trust the process, and I think we've done a good job so far. I mean, the stuff that happened last season, the adversity and all that stuff, I think we moved past it pretty well,” said Stützle.

“And it was a busy summer, so we're excited to be back all together and yeah, getting ready for next season.”

Visit the Senators website: www.ottawasenators.com

Engage with the Senators on X: @Senators

Like the Senators on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawasenators

Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators