Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - January 26th

This past week, the future of the Ottawa Senators was on full display, among other things that we thankfully don’t need to discuss in this piece. Long story short, it was a great week for any Senators fans with an NCHC.tv subscription package, and for the rest of you unfortunate souls, I offer my condolences. Let’s find out who made the latest edition of the Senators Prospect Team of the Week!

Forwards:

Shane Pinto

Pinto’s play was the highlight of the Ottawa Senators’ organization this week, as he scored two goals and two assists in a two-game series against Colorado College while firing 10 shots on goal. The cherry on top was a fantastic power move to the net leading to the opening goal in the second game against CC:

Pinto FLIES in for the 🚨#UNDproud | @UNDmhockey pic.twitter.com/E3s0IDfDpm

— UND Insider (@UNDinsider) January 25, 2021

The sophomore’s now up to 19 points in 16 games, leading UND. They ought to hope someone can fill the void he’ll leave once he turns pro and joins the Senators in either Ottawa or Belleville.

Josh Norris

It’s always a good week when you score your first NHL goal, and Josh Norris did just that against Winnipeg last Tuesday. He also added an assist against the Jets on Saturday and had 11 shots on goal across four games, clearly benefitting from Brady Tkachuk’s near-unmatched ability to generate offense. He’s looked like a decent NHL player between Brady and Drake Batherson, and whenever the Senators were gaining momentum in a game, it involved either Nick Paul, or that top line. Still only 21 years old, Norris has plenty of room to refine his game at both ends of the ice, and a bit more strength and confidence with the puck will go a long way towards him being able to produce on a consistent basis.

First NHL goal for Josh Norris! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/pjWYVSeYKf

— NHL (@NHL) January 20, 2021

Viktor Lodin

The Senators’ fourth-round selection from 2018 had a strong stretch of games this week with Timra of the Allsvenskan, the Swedish league one tier below the SHL. Playing on the second line, he tallied 1 goal and 2 assists in 4 games. Lodin now has 20 points in 33 games on the year, and considering the Senators will lose his signing rights after this season, he’ll need to put together multiple strings of solid hockey in order to earn an entry-level deal from the organization.

🇸🇪🚨Viktor Lodin scored his 6th goal of the season on Tuesday

Lodin, who has spent most of the season on the 2nd or 3rd line, has 19 points in 31GP with 1st-place Timra #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/MNE9MJCST0

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 21, 2021

Defensemen:

Jake Sanderson

One of three Sens prospects on the UND blueline, Sanderson has continued his strong freshman season, with a two-assist performance against CC on Sunday, including one on a 5-on-3:

🍎🍎 2nd assist of the night for Jake Sanderson off a nice backdoor feed during a 5-on-3 #NoDakSens #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/9Imvqhwzks

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 25, 2021

While his stat line of 5 points in 9 games doesn’t scream “fifth-overall pick”, Sanderson’s true value is reflected in his ability to facilitate scoring chances for his team while limiting those of his opponents; he helped UND outshoot CC by a margin of 32-15 during the aforementioned Sunday game.

Tyler Kleven

He scored one assist in two games this week, but Kleven, as usual, didn’t make his biggest impact on the scoresheet:

Tyler Kleven Smash 💥 pic.twitter.com/IEIsx8r9Lw

— Lalime's Martiän (@LalimesMartian) January 24, 2021

Kleven may not have been ranked in our Top 25 Under 25 in 2020, but he’s already changing perceptions of him as a player, he’s clearly improved his play with the puck since the end of last season:

Here it is. Bit more stick handling from TK after carrying the puck into the zone. pic.twitter.com/UqkkdKnj7X

— Lalime's Martiän (@LalimesMartian) January 24, 2021

Goaltending:

Mads Søgaard

With so many of our goalie prospects waiting to see action in North America, this last spot on the team has been a two-horse race between Leevi Merilainen and Mads Søgaard. This time, the honor goes to the 2019 2nd-rounder from Denmark.

🇩🇰Mads Søgaard stood on his head Friday night, stopping 38/40 shots in a 4-2 win for the 2nd-place Esbjerg Energy

Søgaard has been nothing short of fantastic in the Danish league, posting a .935 SV% in 11GP #SensInEuropehttps://t.co/M4S7k84D6I pic.twitter.com/AhM3PPDoBV

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 23, 2021

Søgaard didn’t have a great D+1 season with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers last season, so a strong season in the Metal Liagen will be a nice stepping stone with respect to his transition to professional hockey.

Silver Linings:

• Not much else happened around the lower leagues. Todd Burgess (Minnesota State) and Luke Loheit (Minnesota-Duluth) both had one assist this past week. Burgess, a senior, now has 6 points in 11 games, and Loheit, a sophomore, has 4 in 15.
• Drake Batherson looks to have shed his prospect label and has blossomed into an NHL player. Only 1 assist with Ottawa this week, but twelve shots on goal, and contributing to the team’s most dangerous trio by far./

Stats:

Pro (NHL, AHL)

NCAA

Europe

Goalies