Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun will soon encounter something in the NHL that has never happened in his eight-year career.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Tomorrow night, Chychrun and the Senators face the Arizona Coyotes, the same Coyotes that Chychrun spent six full seasons with prior to be traded at last year’s trade deadline.
When looking back at his time in the valley, the 16th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft became one of the shining stars in Coyotes recent history.
Chychrun’s Time in AZ
Coming out of the OHL after two seasons with the Sarnia Sting, Chychrun made the Coyotes roster out of training camp under former head coach Dave Tippett.
Chychrun would start his first year in 2016-17 as a ‘Yote with seven goals, 13 assists and averaged 16:40 time-on-ice in 68 games.
Right from the get-go, his smooth edge work, speed and offensive mind on the attack were his strong aspects of his game.
Displaying the talent that he possessed, every season from his debut onwards saw him play a crucial role, receive more ice time and one of the faces of the franchise.
As he gained more experience, Chychrun was able to develop his defensive skillset and become a two-way defenseman.
During the shortened 2020-21 season, his stock grew even higher with scoring 18 goals (career high) in just 56 games, including him netting his first professional hat-trick in a 3-2 Coyotes win over the Anaheim Ducks on Apr. 4, 2021.
Chychrun would spend one more full season with Arizona before he was on track to have his best year in the NHL.
Having seven goals and assisting 21 times for 28 points in just 36 games, the Coyotes cornerstone defenseman at the time was catching the eye of not only hockey fans around the league, but other teams became interested in his services.
Then, Chychrun became a healthy scratch towards the 2022-23 NHL Trade Deadline due to “trade related reasons,” creating speculation that he was going to be moved.
A resolution over this saga resulted in him being traded to the Senators for three draft picks.
Chychrun’s run in Arizona was over at that point, ending with 60 goals, 110 assists and 170 points in 373 games.
Trade Aftermath
Since joining the Senators, he was inserted into a defensive core consisting of Thomas Chabot,  Jake Sanderson, and Eric Brännström among others.
With Chabot being their defenseman implanted on their top power play line, Chychrun would slowly, but surely, staple himself into the unit.
In his first game at home, the Florida native scored and assisted en route to a 5-2 win for Ottawa over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Chychrun would round out last season with two goals and three assists in 12 games as well as suffering a hamstring injury.
This year, Chychrun is back healthy and has been inserted on the first line defensive pair and power play.
So far, he has five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 26 games, including nine points in his last nine.
Chychrun will make his return to Mullett Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MST.
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Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
