In the post-Brady Tkachuk era, other players are eager to prove they remain a tenacious, hard-hitting NHL team.

Eyebrows were raised inside Bell Sensplex’s glass-windowed viewing areas on Saturday morning as the intensity at Ottawa Senators training camp escalated.

A cluster of minor-hockey players trying to pick out their favourite NHLers in the Black vs. White scrimmage were exhilarated to see Nick Cousins launch himself into rookie defenceman Hoyt Stanley on the forecheck. Ridly Greig, Stanley’s teammate for the session, returned the favour moments later.

“Just a good, friendly, competitive battle,” Greig said. “(Cousins) is always a lot of fun to play against.

“I thought the physicality definitely took a step today in the scrimmage.”

Tim Stutzle and Fabian Zetterlund exchanged big hits along the walls. Six-seven Gabriel Eliasson took down newcomer Eskild Bakke Olsen in one corner and refused to let him get back up on his skates before delivering a few more shoves.

Over two intra-squad scrimmages, there have been plenty of jawing, staredowns and extra shots. No infighting — just everyone pushing each other.

“Even our top guys like Timmy and Drake (Batherson) are throwing around the body,” defenceman Tyler Kleven said. “They’re playing hard, and that’s leadership. I think that everyone needs to buy into the physical aspect and be a hardworking team.”

Said centre Dylan Cozens: “I think that’s a big part of our identity, wearing teams down and playing hard and playing that physical game. There’s a lot of guys out there laying the body and trying to be physical. I think that’s good. That’s what (the coaches) want from us.”

Even Stephen Halliday has been unusually feisty and aggressive. On Friday, rugged winger Hayden Hodgson looked like he wanted to rip Halliday’s head off after being buried into the end boards by the 24-year-old playmaker. Hodgson proceeded to deal Halliday a few cross-checks to the back and then ran into everything that dared move for the next two shifts.

“The compete’s been great,” Halliday said. “We’ve done a lot of battle drills, just (with) shorter training camp this year, trying to get back in, I guess, game shape quicker.”

Indeed, this two-week camp is one of the shortest in recent memory. In the modern era, only twice have we seen such a sprint to the start line: the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, and when the COVID-19 pandemic forced puck drop in 2020-21 into January.

Under a new collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association, those who have appeared in 50 career NHL games will take part in a maximum of 13 practice days during camp. The Senators are only playing five pre-season games, including two split-squad contests.

There is no time to waste.

“I think the pace has been high,” Cozens said. “The competitiveness has been high and Greener’s pushing us, but he always does.”

Over a dozen players are heading into their third season under head coach Travis Green, who has a well-documented reputation for conducting rigorous camps. Not that he hasn’t had to bark and demand more at times during the first three days, but this is surely the most harmonized Green has been with his squad.

“When I say our team’s grown,” Green said, “I think there’s a certain style or identity that we want to have as a group, and, again, what we know is effective. And there’s certain things that we talk about that are non-negotiable. I think our guys understand that, the guys that have returned, and we openly discuss it with new players.”

The players and staff are done talking about former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, and one day we’ll follow suit. But that day is not today.

Through his eight seasons in the nation’s capital (2018-26) before being traded to Florida, Tkachuk threw 1,921 hits. The player with the second most during that time frame was Drake Batherson with 743.

It’s not like the Senators are left with zero gritty players — Cozens led the team in hits last season — but they must not take a step back in that department.

“I think that there’s a spot on our roster that a physical player needs to fill,” Kleven said. “I like the physical aspect of the game. I think that every team needs a couple guys that can throw around the body.”

Kleven, who landed one of the hardest, cleanest hits you’ll ever see on Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Alexander Nikishin in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series back in April, certainly knows his role, especially in Tkachuk’s absence.

“I mean, I feel like I did a pretty good job last year with the physical aspect,” he said. “There’s a lot of times where I needed to do that in my game. I feel like, if I keep doing that, I’d be someone the other team needs to know that I’m out there.”