CZECH POINTS: Could Tkachuk end up in Belleville?

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It’s a longshot, but Ottawa Senators first-round draft pick Brady Tkachuk could wind up here next season.

Opting to sign with the Sens after just one season at Boston University, the six-foot-three son of former NHL star Keith Tkachuk has three possible destinations for the 2018-19 shinny season: 1. Ottawa; 2. Belleville; 3. London.

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CZECH POINTS: Could Tkachuk end up in Belleville? Back to video

With a youth movement underway in Ottawa, the fourth overall selection at the 2018 NHL draft in Dallas could find an immediate home in the nation’s capital with a Senators club that is looking for some bounce-back after a mostly forgettable 2017-18 campaign. If the big club decides the 196-pound teenager isn’t quite ready for The Show, they could farm him out to the AHL B-Sens or assign him to the London Knights who hold his OHL rights.

The betting in Ottawa is that Tkachuk, who turns 19 in mid-September, will get at least a 10-game trial with the NHL club before they make any hard decisions on his immediate future. If he doesn’t stick, the parent Sens will have to determine whether it is in Tkachuk’s — and their — best interests for him to turn pro in the AHL with Belleville or play a year of top-level junior in London, where he could dominate on a team which might be poised for a serious run at an OHL title.

In London, Tkachuk would be under the tutelage of the Hunter brothers — Mark, who has just returned as GM after a stint as player personnel director with the Toronto Maple Leafs — and his co-owner brother, Dale. Those guys have a habit of producing champions and the Sens could opt to hope that some of that winning touch rubs off on their top prospect.

Belleville?

Making the jump to the pros is tough for any teen. The B-Sens are expected to be equally young next season and are excited about their new coach, Troy Mann, who comes from a winning program in Hershey where the Bears fed the Washington Capitals’ Stanley-Cup winning roster this year. Fourteen of Mann’s former players appear on Washington’s championship roster.

London?

Tkachuk would get miles more ice time in London and could wind up on a potentially prolific line with fellow Senators prospect Alex Formenton. Formenton, one of the fastest kids in junior hockey, spent the end of last season here with the B-Sens but must be returned to London if he fails to crack the Ottawa lineup in September.

If and when the Senators decide to send Tkachuk down for more seasoning, they’ll have to decide which is the better option. Belleville AHL fans and their OHL counterparts in London will both be hoping they win that argument.

• Need to know: Tkachuk’s father, Keith, played more than 1,200 career games in the NHL from 1992-2010, scoring 538 goals and totalling 1,065 points while logging 2,219 penalty minutes. He also spent just one season at BU prior to turning pro. The elder Tkachuk was chosen 19th overall in the 1990 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets (now Arizona Coyotes).