Expect winger Egor Sokolov to be among those pushing for a spot as senators’ camp begins.

Article content

Egor Sokolov garnered attention Monday afternoon in Brossard, Que., By taking his game to another level to wrap up the Ottawa Senators rookie camp.

Article content

After enjoying a day off Tuesday and getting some rest, the 21-year-old rookie winger will be on the ice Thursday for the opening of main camp at the Canadian Tire Center and will be among those young players trying to push for a spot in the club’s roster to open the season.

It’s fair to say that Sokolov didn’t look very good in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at home. But when the time came, that’s exactly what he did in Monday’s win at the Habs’ practice facility by scoring two points and getting on a couple of shots.

Here’s an opportunity for Sokolov to play in the NHL this season, but he has to make a difference and dominating a 4-3 win against the Habs on Monday will help his cause.

Article content

“It’s a good way to end the camp, now I’ll take the day to restart and keep working hard at the main camp and see what happens,” Sokolov said after the victory.

He scored 15 goals and 25 points in 35 games with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville last season. To be on this list, you will have to have offensive success in camp. Sokolov scored his first goal from the door on a backhand rebound and then fired a bullet home to give the club a 2-0 lead.

A second-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft, there’s little chance Sokolov will be here all season if he starts in Ottawa, but a lot of what’s going on in the next three weeks is trying to show general manager Pierre Dorion. and coach DJ Smith. he is the type of player you can trust.

Article content

When the Senators call coach Troy Mann at Belleville because of a forward injury, Sokolov wants to be one of the players on the tip of his tongue.

Spending the past year with Mann helped develop Sokolov and there is a lot of respect between the two.

“Last year it helped me adjust to professional hockey,” Sokolov said. “He spoke to me throughout camp and let me know (Sunday) that he expected a better game from me (Monday). He told me that I was doing the right things, but he told me that he would always see a sense of creativity in me.

“Talking to him helped me to have the right mindset in this game and to show what I have.”

Two other players to keep an eye on in main camp are center Mark Kastelic and defender Lassi Thomson.

They both went to great lengths in both games against the Habs rookies. Thomson is a first-round pick in 2019 who played in North America last season after two years in Finland and was impressive. As for Kastelic, he has a chance to be a third or fourth row player in the league.