Drake Batherson and Filip Chlapik will play big minutes this season after the Ottawa Senators sent them back down to the Belleville Senators in the AHL.
After back-to-back losses to start the 2019/20 NHL season, head coach D.J. Smith needed to make some changes and that appears to start with Batherson and Chlapik’s ‘demotion’.
Both of the young forwards will be familiar faces on the B-Sens roster, with 168 AHL regular-season appearances between them.
Chlapik was a surprise choice to start the season with the Senators, with just 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in the AHL last season, while Batherson was expected to stick around after dominating in the minors with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists).