Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - October 11th

While it’s true that the Ottawa Senators have become the objectively best team in the NHL this past offseason, that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop covering the many young players striving to make a name for themselves in the prospect pool. On behalf of the entire team here at Silver Seven, Owen and I are excited to continue to provide these updates on a weekly basis, with today’s piece offering an overview of the changes made to the system, along with a couple of standouts among those who’ve started their seasons.

First off, Erik Brännström isn’t a prospect anymore. He’s secured an NHL roster spot and is on a one-way deal. Same for Parker Kelly, who played literally half of the 2021-22 season. Shane Pinto? Personally, I don’t think he’s been a prospect since 2021. He was set to play every game he was healthy for last year, which would’ve been 82 if not for injuries.

And then there’s Jake Sanderson. The 2020 5th-overall pick is arguably one of the best defensemen in the organization right now, ready to contribute in a Top-4 role, but since he hasn’t played an NHL game yet, and it’s not a sure thing whether or not he’s in Ottawa to stay, he’s a prospect for now. Though I have a suspicion he’ll quickly prove otherwise.

Over the course of the off-season, minor changes have been made to the Sens’ prospect pool beyond the nine selections they made in the 2022 NHL Draft. The lone player from the reserve list (found here on CapFriendly) to leave the organization is 2020 fifth-round overager Eric Engstrand.

Defenseman Jonny Tychonick and forward Jakov Novak, drafted in the second and seventh rounds of the 2018 draft, are entering their fifth year of college. A typical college degree lasts four years, but since both players transferred along the way (Tychonick went from NoDak to Omaha while Novak went from Bentley to Northeastern), they have one more year of eligibility, and by extension, one more year on Ottawa’s reserve list.

Lastly for today, here are a few standouts from early-season action. Coincidentally, all three of these guys are 2022 draftees:

• Forward Oskar Pettersson, selected in the third round, is currently playing with Rögle BK’s junior team in the J20 Nationell. He’s got 8 goals and 5 assists in 13 games this far.

• Stephen Halliday is entering the NCAA two years later than most, as a 20-year-old freshman at Ohio State University. The fourth-round center is off to a strong start with a goal and four assists in his first four games.

• Finally, we have a player with a first name similar to “Dorion” who is also the son of Ottawa alumnus and player development coach Shean Donovan. Something tells me that if Pierre didn’t raise his stock with his acquisition of Alex DeBrincat prior to the draft, Sens Twitter would have been all over this selection, and not in a good way. Thankfully, we now love Dorion, and we are also starting to become fans of Jorian, too. One of four left-shot defensemen taken by the Senators in 2022, Donovan played a small role for the reigning OHL champion and Memorial Cup runner-up Hamilton Bulldogs and is showing early promise, particularly with a three-point night and Gordie Howe hat-trick on Friday against Owen Sound.