Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - May 4th

The Ottawa Senators are 6-1-1 in their last eight games, and Belleville just won back-to-back games against the Marlies. Safe to say, things are pretty sweet right now. Let’s find out who stood out from the rest of the prospect pool this week.

Forwards:

Alex Formenton

After scoring his first NHL goal over two years ago, Formenton recorded his first and second career NHL assists in Wednesday’s 6-3 win against Vancouver. He also continues to be trusted by D.J. Smith with a regular shift on the penalty kill, where the Senators have already benefitted from Formenton’s trademark speed. With a set of wheels like that, Formenton naturally can go up and down the lineup, as he can keep up with any of the team’s top offensive threats; although the third line is the ideal spot for him, with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle ahead of him.

Ridly Greig

With the WHL playoffs canceled, the Brandon Wheat Kings finished their 2020-21 campaign as the East division's regular-season champs. In their final game of the year, a 5-2 loss to Saskatoon, Greig tallied two assists, finishing his Draft+1 season with 32 points in 21 games.

Despite some similarity to Brady Tkachuk, Greig plays with even more of an edge, having been suspended multiple times early in his career. Hopefully, Greig can become a player that gets under the skin of his opponents, drawing more penalties than he takes. Look at Tom Wilson and his recent altercation with the New York Rangers as an example of what not to do.

Egor Sokolov

The gentle giant from Russia continues to be the go-to guy for Belleville’s offense, scoring two points in two games, including an empty-netter in the more recent 5-2 victory over Toronto. Not only that, he’s demonstrating he’s more of a two-way player than we initially thought, going after pucks with an intensity that even the one and only Connor Brown would be proud of:

Sokolov now has 19 points in 28 games, not bad for a first-year AHLer. It’s a sign that he could be a real player for Ottawa; with Drake Batherson as the only other notable young right-winger in the system, they need him to be.

Defensemen:

Lassi Thomson

Two more points (both assists) for Thomson this week, bringing his totals up to 12 in 28. The 19th pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft is likely still a couple of years away from the NHL, but it’s nice to see some tangible progress in North America after an unimpressive stretch in the Liiga earlier this season. The Senators just have to continue to be patient with him.

Maxence Guenette

Guenette picked up a pair of assists in Val d'Or's only game this week, a 4-1 win over Baie-Comeau. The 2019 7th-round pick has 4 points in 3 games in the ongoing QMJHL postseason and will be eligible to report to Belleville once the season concludes. Although his production trailed off after starting the year with 16 points in 15 games, Guenette still projects as a useful player at the AHL level, and if he can carve out even a depth role with Ottawa somewhere down the road, consider that a seventh-round pick well-spent.

Goaltending:

Filip Gustavsson

My apologies to Mads Søgaard; although he won both of his first two starts with Belleville and looked great in the process, Filip Gustavsson was just too good. Stopping 64 of 68 shots in his two games was enough to net the Senators three points in those games. I’ve yet to see him let in a bad goal, and he’s made several key saves to bail out his defense, who’ve actually given him a decent amount of support at 5v5.

Silver Linings:

• As alluded to before, Mads Søgaard got his AHL career off to a great start, stopping 53 of 57 shots and earning back-to-back victories. After Saturday's win, coach Troy Mann had some good things to say regarding the Dane’s athleticism and puck-handling ability.
• Logan Brown took a step in the right direction this week, with two assists in two games. I think he’s worth keeping around simply because the chance of him breaking out is more valuable than whatever Ottawa could get in a trade. Brown’s definitely been passed on the depth chart by Shane Pinto at this point, it’s unfortunate that injuries have held the former back.
• J.C. Beaudin was Belleville’s top player this week, with two goals and two assists in two games this week. You’ll be shocked to know he played 22 games with Ottawa last season.

Stats: