SCARY MOMENT: Senators top defenceman Thomas Chabot 'is fine' after big collision

Coach Travis Green says defenceman Thomas Chabot is "fine" after colliding with Jacob Bernard-Docker

Published Oct 16, 2024  •  4 minute read

Ottawa Senators' Thomas Chabot (72) celebrates his goal with teammates Nick Jensen (3) and Tim Stutzle (18) against the Los Angeles Kings. The Canadian Press

The Ottawa Senators blue line took another hit Wednesday.

Already without top-four defenceman Artem Zub after he left Monday’s 8-7 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings with a concussion, there was a scary moment late in practice Wednesday when Jacob Bernard-Docker collided with alternate captain Thomas Chabot near centre ice.

Chabot fell hard to the ice and took the worst of the hit, as he headed to the bench grimacing in pain and he appeared to be holding his wrist.

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He spent a few minutes on the bench with a member of the club’s training staff before retreating to the dressing room for the rest of the skate.

That’s not exactly what anybody wanted to see with the Senators preparing to host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre and coach Travis Green confirming that Zub will be out at least a week with the head injury he suffered on a hit from Tanner Jeannot.

Green didn’t appear to be concerned about Chabot.

“He’s fine. He’s perfectly fine,” Green said.

The Senators and their faithful hope that’s the case, but Chabot had off-season surgery to fix a wrist issue that had been bothering him for a couple of seasons and the club can’t afford to be without him again.

Before Chabot went to see the doctors, Bernard-Docker skated over to the Ottawa bench to check on Chabot’s status. Accidents happen, there’s nothing anyone can do about it, but this was a fairly big collision.

“It’s just an accident,” Bernard-Docker said. “We’re battling and we just ran into each other crossing the ice. Hopefully, he’s all good. It’s a battle drill, so it’s going to happen now and then.”

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The issue is it couldn’t have come at a worse time, which is why there was so much concern when Chabot originally headed for the room.

The status of starting goalie Linus Ullmark is unknown after he didn’t take part in the club’s 37-minute skate and winger Ridly Greig is out two weeks with an undisclosed upper-body injury he suffered Saturday in Montreal.

Bernard-Docker, a healthy scratch for the club’s first three games, skated alongside Tyler Kleven in the third pairing in practice and that’s likely how they’ll start on Thursday against the Devils.

They played together briefly in college, so they’re familiar with each other, but Bernard-Docker is champing at the bit to get into the lineup.

“It sucks that Zub gets injured,” Bernard-Docker said. “It’s an opportunity for me to hopefully come in and do my thing to help the team.”

Two of the defensive pairings were shifted because of Zub’s injury. Travis Hamonic skated on the right side of Jake Sanderson while Chabot stayed with Nick Jensen.

“Zub went down early in the last game and for the five guys that played, we had to fill in some pretty big shoes,” Hamonic said. “Zub is a really important player for our group and he plays some hard minutes. We know that and we know the kind of player that he is.

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“When you see him go down like that, you have to have the mentality that unfortunately injuries are going to happen and everyone has to pull together collectively to fill the void while he’s out.”

Bernard-Docker, who has played 102 games in his National Hockey League career, is heading into his second full season with the Senators. He suited up for 72 games last season and has been a capable blueliner.

He’s not afraid to put his body on the line to block shots and that’s what makes him a valuable commodity. Bernard-Docker won’t be putting any extra pressure on himself.

“I just want to play my game,” he said. “I’ve been out for the last (three games) so I’ve been staying in good shape, doing lots of workouts and some bag skates so I’m ready to go.

“I think (they just want) consistency and for me to be hard to play against, being mean in the corners and not making it easy on opponents to get to the net. Last year, helped me out. Whether it’s injuries or you just get in, you’ve just got to do your thing.”

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Green said he has been trying to find a way to give Bernard-Docker an opportunity. There was some thinking he might play Monday against the Kings after the club’s ugly loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, but there were no changes on defence after the warmup.

“I’m excited to see him play and he’s excited to play,” Green said. “I’ve been throwing it back and forth to get him in the lineup a few times. You don’t like to see someone get hurt, but when someone does it’s a new opportunity for someone else.

“He’ll go in and he’ll get the job done.”

The Senators have to hope that’s the case because the Devils are one of the teams the club will be battling with for a playoff spot in the East.

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