Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - April 5th

The Fighting Hawks have fallen, leagues in Europe are wrapping up, and the Ottawa Senators continue to inexplicably keep Erik Brännström from playing hockey. On the bright side, the Belleville Senators came through with a huge win, and the WHL continues to be tormented by one Ridly Greig.

Forwards

Egor Sokolov

The last of three second-round picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft continued to lead the way offensively in Belleville, scoring his first professional hat-trick in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Marlies. Shout-out to Angus Crookshank for the primary assist on the following goal; his first professional point:

🚨🚨🚨Egoro Sokolov hat trick alert!

PS - Angus Crookshank with a perfect feed on the bumper play 👀#Sharkolov #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/Lt1sb4DtcJ

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) April 3, 2021

Sokolov now has 7 goals and 3 assists in 16 games, pretty good for his first pro season. He’s got plenty of time to develop before he attempts to make the jump to the NHL.

Ridly Greig

Greig has been a thorn in the side of opposing players, which is a quality that will serve him well for his entire career. The question is, how much can he contribute offensively? Ten games in, things are pointing towards a potential top-six ceiling.

🍎Ridly Greig set up the GWG on Sunday night, extending his point streak to six games

Greig has at least a point in 8/9 WHL games this season, good for 13 points in total#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/N2SQT3eEbJ

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) April 5, 2021

In four games with the Brandon Wheat Kings this week, he contributed 3 goals and 3 assists, while throwing 15 pucks on net. Expect Greig to be an absolute menace on Ottawa’s third line in a few years.

Vitaly Abramov

After a solid year with Belleville, Abramov’s production has suffered due to the loss of several talented players, but his 9 points in 15 games underwhelming even when taking that into account. Saturday was a step in the right direction, as he tallied one goal and one assist:

🚨Vitaly Abramov put home his 4th of the season after Angus Crookshank was in the mix right out front - goal goes down as an unassisted tally #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/7LJneLOPhM

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) April 3, 2021

Abramov is on the final year of his entry-level deal, and he’ll likely sign a two-way contract in the offseason. From there, he’ll try to crack a roster with few openings on the wing. If he can’t, the team runs the risk of losing him on waivers.

Defensemen

Jonathan Aspirot

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Aspirot, he’s a forward-turned defenseman who went undrafted in 2017. He attended multiple Sens development camps before signing his entry-level deal last season. After a slow start this year, he came up big this week, with a three-point effort against Toronto, and is now up to 4 points in 10 games this season.

Nick Robertson takes a big hit from Jonathan Aspirot and is slow to get to his feet. pic.twitter.com/qwwgeYfpY6

— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) April 3, 2021

Lassi Thomson

Still awaiting his first professional goal, Thomson continues to pick up assists; with one this week, he’s now at 6 in 16. The adjustment to the pro game has been pretty smooth, Thomson most likely benefits from having played with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL during his draft year. Going from the WHL to Europe is an interesting development path to the NHL, but Thomson has begun his career in Belleville with prior experience playing on North American ice, as well as against players much older than him.

🚨Parker Kelly's second of the season

Nice to see him get on the scoreboard, he's been a noticeable presence in almost every game for Belleville this season. Solid outlet from Lassi Thomson to find him, too.#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/Ssue9ndCbV

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) April 3, 2021

Goaltending

Mads Søgaard

Søgaard was injured during playoff action in Denmark this week; he stopped all seven shots he faced before leaving the game, which is still enough to qualify for this week’s team as one of only two goalies who played. Søgaard is expected to come to Belleville, potentially on an amateur tryout contract, once his season with the Esjberg Energy comes to an end.

Silver Linings

• Two Senators prospects, Luke Loheit (Minnesota-Duluth) and Todd Burgess (Minnesota State) will be taking part in this year’s Frozen Four. Minn. State will take on St. Cloud State at 5 pm, while Minn. Duluth play Massachusetts at 9 pm.
• Parker Kelly, another undrafted free agent from the 2017 class, also had a strong game with Belleville, with one goal and assist.
• Viktor Lodin had two assists in two games in Allsvenskan playoff action this week, helping Timra to a 2-0 lead in their ongoing playoff series./

Stats:

Pro (NHL, AHL)

NCAA

CHL

Europe

Goalies