Senators' GM Pierre Dorion was on TSN1200 yesterday giving a state of the summer address, and among the items discussed was the readiness of top defensive prospect Thomas Chabot.

Dorion was very high on Chabot's talent and stated unequivocally that he felt that the rookie would be starting in the NHL this season.

Given the fact that they lost Marc Methot's almost 20 minutes per night and did absolutely nothing to replace him externally, that seems to have been the plan all along.

And that may be true, and he might be good enough to play in the league, but the cautionary tale of rushing prospects to the NHL doesn't seem to be resonating in the front office. The list of players the Senators have moced up to the NHL level before they might have been truly ready is a long one, Curtis Lazar, Cody Ceci, Robin Lehner, Jared Cowen to name a few.

Chabot was dominant at the junior level, there is no doubt about that. But he also played a type of game that will get him in trouble at the NHL level, that of the roving, freewheeling defenseman whose speed made up for any lack of proper positioning or structure. At the CHL level you can get away with that, but the NHL will eat you alive. Maybe Chabot is mature enough to know the difference, maybe he isn't. Perhaps he can play right away in the Guy Boucher system that relies more on everyone pulling in the same direction, and maybe he can't. He seems smart enough and skilled enough to get there eventually, but it was almost a season long learning process for seasoned veterans, let alone a kid who hasn't had to be stifled in his life because he is usually that much better than everyone else on the ice.

The ability of Chabot to pick things up on the fly and fit into the top 4, whether alongside Erik Karlsson or Cody Ceci, will be a big factor in how stable the Senators defense will be as a whole, and there isn't much of a safety net if they stumble.

I hope Dorion is right, not just for the sake of the next season, but also for the career development of a promising prospect.

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