If you have to pick the biggest development of the Senators’ season, it’s probably this one: Move Tim Stutzle to the center of the ice and watch him grow into a future superstar.
In fact, “Timmy Superstar” and “Timmy (Screaming) Superstar” are already appearing on Twitter and Instagram.
Still just 20, Stutzle scored his 21st and 22nd goals of the season on Tuesday night in Ottawa’s wild 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. As usual, Sens get hot, late. This is their first series of four wins this season.
Stutzle scored in the rebound in power play, and then in a better demonstration of his talents, entertained the tables with a beauty with a short arm, skating the hell out before taking down Mackenzie Blackwood and taking home the backhand.
“Unreal,” said winger Drake Butterson, describing the goal. “Everyone thought he was going five holes, and he brought him backhand. His speed – I’ll ask him where he did his skating lessons. “
That is the problem, of course. You can’t learn that speed on Stützle or hanging Timmy Stu.
Just last Saturday, defender Thomas Schabot described Stutzle as “probably the best player on our team” when asked about the young center’s defense.
I found Shabot’s comment fascinating because in the last few seasons, Shabot has been described by coaches and players as the Senators’ best player. So does great captain Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa’s top scorer with 65 points.
Until his injury just before the All Star break, Butterson was Sens’s best player and All Star nominee. Center Josh Norris is the top scorer with 34, including 16 in power play. Stutzle with 57 points in 77 games is second in points.
What we see here is the cream of the Senators’ youths rising to the top, all together. There is work, of course. Head coach DJ Smith complained about the distribution and poor checks in this end-of-season game, including several Stützle blunders.
But this strong five-man unit of Shabot, Tkachuk, Stutzle, Butterson and Norris has all the elements – Tkachuk’s presence in front, Norris’ strike, the puck skills around them – to be one of the best in the NHL. On Tuesday, the group scored twice with the extra man.
If Butterson, who is finally recovering from a nasty flu and severe sprained ankle, was the revelation at the start of the season (he scored two last night, including a gem at OT), second-half development focuses mostly on Anton’s goalkeeping Forsberg and the prosperity of Stützle, the third overall choice for 2020
Spending some time on criminal murder and thriving there is the latest thrill for Timmy.
“I love him,” Stutzle said. “It brings you into the game. If you’re not playing on a PC, you’re just sitting there. “
Asked why he thought he was suitable for killing penalties, as well as for working with force, Stutzle put on his scout hat for a second.
“My skating and my ability to read plays,” he said. “It helps to play the power game, because then you can read their powerful game, help get the puck out.”
Smith likes the idea of giving his best players at least some time to kill, even if Stutzle may never be “first over the board” when Sens takes a penalty.
“With his flair for hockey, it’s hard to get puck through him,” Smith said. “We want to use it in PC, you don’t want your best players to freeze on the bench if we have problems with the penalty.
Obviously, the coach has the ability to step back for a moment and see what we all see in Stutzle – a rare player who can take our breath away with the spinning ice, his sharp turns and his phenomenal hands. Did we mention that he finished the evening 2 + 2 for four points and had four shots on goal?
“He turned a few (puck), but he’s so dynamic in attack and so good at power play – there were chances everywhere,” Smith said.
“If you’re on the other team watching him, you say, ‘Wow, that’s going to be a great hockey player.’ We are happy to have it. ”
Stutzle will defend himself
The hot topic when the Montreal Canadians visited on Saturday was the level of abuse that Stutzle takes on, on and off the ice.
Brendan Gallagher called Stutzle like a diver (hello pot, this is the kettle). The two mixed it up many times in Ottawa’s victory over the Habs. Stutzle received a nasty knee-jerk blow from Nick Suzuki on April 5 in Montreal, and just last week in Vancouver he was sent to fly on a low bridge hit by Travis Dermouth from Canak.
That’s why Shabot was asked if senators needed to do more to protect their young assets.
“You want to help him, he is probably the best player on our team,” said Shabot. “Just to see him play lately, he keeps the puck on his shift for a whole minute, he breaks the puck.
“You want to protect him. He is young and we have all been through this. ”
And then Shabo added something important. About how Stützle can “archive it every time”.
The best players in this league are focused, Shabot said, especially when they are young.
Gordy Howe greeted the recruits with an elbow to the nose, a kind of welcome to the NHL. Tradition lives on. Young players will be physically tested to see how they react.
Stützle showed that he can return it immediately. Not that you want him to fight, but you don’t want him to shrink.
When he gets a little stronger, he will be a force in every way and in every situation – even strength, a game of strength and a short arm.
And we can say that we saw all this in the 2021-22 season.
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