Ostapchuk played for Team Canada in each of the last two World Junior Hockey Championships.

Most NHL championship teams have a solid seven-player profile with two elite centers, an elite power forward, a specialist/shutdown/utility knife forward, an elite offensive and defensive defenseman, and an elite goalie.

Regarding elite power forwards, the Senators clearly have their captain, Brady Tkachuk. However, most NHL championship teams have depth in those positions as well.

The 2021 NHL Entry Draft may not be fondly remembered by Senators fans, with three players from that draft going the way of “Catch and Release.” However, one player who was signed at his first training camp was 6’3", 205-pound power forward Zack Ostapchuk.

Ostapchuk toiled for nearly four full seasons in the WHL. He also represented Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships twice, playing meaningful roles both times.

To suggest that he's another Brady Tkachuk would be unfair to him. To suggest that he's "Tkachuk-ish" would not.

The Sens captain is 6’4”, and Ostapchuk is right behind him at 6’3”. Both are in the 205-210 pound range. Both shoot left.

Ostapchuk was named Captain in Vancouver by Giants' Head Coach Michael Dyck.

“He played so well for us in Vancouver down the stretch,” Dyck said in an interview on Hockey Canada's website. “He did a really, really good job of leading our team.” 

Sound familiar?

They play similar games. Ostapchuk’s goals on highlight reels are typically north/south “traffic” goals. He doesn’t mind going to the front of the net, planting his flag and paying the price to get the job done. 

Sound familiar? See the highlight reel from his draft year.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PORU37wqxfU[/embed]

You don’t see him rushing through the neutral zone and undressing players at will. Yet he somehow manages to regularly find the scoresheet. 

Again, sound familiar?

Finally, he does his best work in the playoffs or when the game is on the line. Tkachuk does his best work with the game on the line, recording two goals against the Penguins in a critical bounce-back road game after the awful events only two days prior.

In the seasons where Ostapchuk’s team made the playoffs in the WHL, his regular season points per game was 0.96. His playoff points per game was 1.27.

Though Ostapchuk has skills, he also has the grit that, based on the most recent NHL playoffs, is still critical to a deep run. The importance of power forwards was never more evident than in this past NHL postseason. The Florida Panthers rode Tkachuk's brother Matthew to the Cup final. They also had secondary help from gritty players like Sam Bennett.

Teams can’t have enough grit, and Ostapchuk knows how to summon it when it matters most.

Early reports on Ostapchuk’s first season in Belleville are positive. He has dressed for every game and had a two-point game against Laval.

Whether at left wing or center, Ostapchuk’s path to a long career in the show will depend on him leveraging his grit and skills to carve a niche for himself.

Is he ready now? No. But don’t be surprised if he's ready soon.