Boucher defends Chabot's demotion: 'He hasn't surpassed our regular guys'

When it was announced that Ottawa Senators rearguard Erik Karlsson could miss the beginning of the 2017-18 regular season, many expected highly touted first-round draft pick Thomas Chabot to make the jump to the NHL.

On Sunday, however, Chabot was sent down to the club's AHL affiliate in Belleville. And on Monday, Senators head coach Guy Boucher provided some direct reasoning for the demotion.

"He hasn't surpassed our regular guys," Boucher said of Chabot, according to TSN's Brent Wallace.

"He was minus-5 last game. Same recurring theme. Professional reads, we call them," Boucher added, according to Don Brennan of The Ottawa Sun.

With Chabot unready to be an NHL regular just yet, and Karlsson expected to miss - at least - the season opener, the Senators will be taking the ice Thursday night with a less-than-ideal defensive lineup.

D-men Johnny Oduya, Cody Ceci, Dion Phaneuf, and Fredrik Claesson stand to see the most significant uptick in minutes until Karlsson returns.