While the Ottawa Senators have had far from a perfect season so far, head coach DJ Smith said Monday that one of the bright spots of this season for the Senators has been the growth of Tim Stützle and what that growth means for the team and the players around him.

Smith was full of praise for the 19-year-old after recently moving to centre from playing on the wing in his rookie season.

“With Timmy at centre he’s given us a lot more depth there I think," Smith said.

"I think with that they’re accustomed to their linemates and they’re working significantly harder in practice knowing that it makes you better in games, and it really does and I think we’ve put a lot of focus in on that." 

Stützle has three goals and 13 assists in 25 games this season after posting 12 goals and 29 points in 53 games last season. Smith noted that the move to centre has allowed Stützle, who has an assists in each of his past two games, to have more possession. 

“He has the puck way more, and he’s not getting beat up in his own zone, he’s able to break out with speed," Smith said.  

Like all young players there are still things that need to be worked on, and for Stützle, Smith believes one of those things is faceoffs. 

"The biggest thing probably for us is, his next part is his faceoffs," Smith added. "That’s hard, a young guy going against veterans every night, but he’ll continue to get better and he’ll continue to work at it but where he is right now, we couldn’t be happier.”

After attending the world juniors last year, Stützle will be staying put in Ottawa this year. The Senators will, however, be reprsented by prospect Ridly Greig who was named to Team Canada on Sunday.

“He’s another young guy that’s pushing from underneath, this guy plays real hard, he’s going to be a good player in the NHL," Smith said of Greig, the 28th overall draft pick in 2020.

"You don’t make the World Juniors if you’re not an elite prospect. Certainly there’s lots of work to be done for him to be a full time NHL player,"

While the Senators are struggling this season with a 8-16-1 record, Smith believes the team's wealth of young talent will pay off in the not-so-distant future.

"There's more and more guys coming from underneath and that’s what’s going to make it great, is when your top line now is 26 or 27, and Timmy is 22 and you’ve got guys pushing from underneath, that’s how you have what, I believe, the Red Wings had for 20 years of making the playoffs," Smith said.

"That’s how it starts, and I think we’re in that spot, certainly we have more growth to go here but the organization is setup really well and like I’ve said over, and over, it’s an exciting time to be an Ottawa Senators fan."