Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - January 10th

Belleville had a hell of a week, as did quite a few prospects from the NCAA.

Sometimes this team loves to remind me of what a great choice I made to sign up for writing about the organization’s prospects every other week. It means I get to cover games like the last two much less often.

Instead, we get a spot of positivity in the form of one of the best weeks for the prospects this year. Belleville won three in a row, a couple of college players had huge weeks, and the World Juniors wrapped up with three medals being awarded to future Ottawa Senators.

Forwards:

Egor Sokolov

A fantastic week for the fan-favourite second-rounder from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft sees a return to above a point-per-game pace. Three goals and three assists in three games, as well as a shootout goal in the win over Syracuse, could be what finally earns him an extended trial run in the NHL. He’s waiver-eligible next season, so it’s a good idea to see what they’ve got in him, even if it’s just in a fourth-line role.

Stephen Halliday

A fourth-rounder from the most recent draft, Halliday’s 4 points in 2 games increase his freshman totals to 6 goals and 15 assists in 22 games with Ohio State University. As an overager he’s at an age more akin to a third-year player, but even then, his production would still be alright for a fourth-rounder. He’s second on Ohio State in team scoring, and the club is currently enjoying a five-game winning streak.

Oliver Johansson

Johansson hasn’t had the most productive year in the Allsvenskan, but he had a goal and an assist in the one game he played last week to bring his total to 9 points in 27 games with IF Björklöven. One advantage to drafting players out of Europe is that you can monitor their development for four years — Johansson had a strong year in Sweden’s U20 league last season and could end up being a late bloomer of sorts. This 2021 third-rounder is still worth keeping an eye on for now.

Defencemen:

Tyler Kleven

While not known for being a prolific goal-scoring defenceman, Kleven can still definitely shoot the puck, and his shot was on full display this past weekend. Another one of three second-round picks from 2020, he scored twice in back-to-back games, going from 1 goal in 18 games to 5 in 20. A big step forward for a big blueliner who we could see in Belleville next season.

Jonathan Aspirot

While not technically a member of Ottawa’s 2017 draft class, Aspirot has been a strong contributor to Belleville’s defense corps over the past three years since signing an amateur tryout as an undrafted prospect. He’s chipped in on the offense since returning from a long-term injury, including a goal and an assist in his last three games.

Goaltending:

Mads Søgaard

Starring in two of Belleville’s three victories this past week, Sogaard stopped 53 of 56 for a sparkling .946 save percentage. It’s turned the 2019 second-rounder’s season around, as he’s up to a 3-4-1 record and a .907 save percentage.

World Juniors Wrap-up:

  • Tyler Boucher had a strong tournament with 3 goals and an assist in 6 games for the bronze-winning Team USA but unfortunately suffered yet another injury during the semi-final against Canada. He’s not expected to be out long-term and will return to the OHL-leading Ottawa 67s once healthy.
  • Zack Ostapchuk took home his second-straight gold medal with 3 points in 7 games while playing on the team’s third line and top penalty-killing unit. He’ll return to the Vancouver Giants on...never, actually. He was traded to the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday, who are tied for first in the WHL. They’re obviously looking beyond the playoffs to the Memorial Cup, and we could see Ostapchuk increase his production even more on a top team.
  • Silver medalist Tomas Hamara only tallied one assist in 7 games, but it was the biggest assist of his hockey career, on the game-tying goal in the gold medal game against Canada. Czechia had a fantastic tourney in spite of losing in heartbreaking fashion, and we could see Hamara in a more prominent role next year.
  • Oskar Pettersson was the only Sens prospect to not earn a medal in the tournament, but in some ways, he was the most impressive of the four. He had more points (5) than the other three and was the only one to score a goal in the final two games of the tournament. To do this from the team’s fourth line makes it especially impressive./

Silver Linings:

  • Along with Ostapchuk, two other Sens prospects have switched teams over the past couple of days. 2021 seventh-rounder Chandler Romeo was dealt from the Sarnia Sting to the Guelph Storm, while 2022 second-rounder Filip Nordberg has been loaned from Södertälje SK of the Allsvenskan to the SHL’s Växjö Lakers HC./

Stats:

Pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL)

-----Sincethelastprospectupdate-|-TOTAL-
PLAYERPOSAGELEAGUEGPGAPPIMSOGSH%|GPGAPPIMSOGSH%
Jonathan AspirotLD23AHL31122520%|722441811%
Jacob Bernard-DockerRD22AHL3011440%|1102210120%
Jacob Bernard-DockerRD22NHL0000000%|9011790%
Angus CrookshankLW/C23AHL31010520%|34109191510010%
Philippe DaoustC21AHL0000000%|925701020%
Ridly GreigC/LW20AHL32352633%|23111122324922%
Maxence GuénetteRD21AHL3022540%|342171911703%
Roby JärventieC/LW20AHL0000000%|823521613%
Viktor LodinLW23AHL3134080%|155712122322%
Cole ReinhardtLW22AHL3044480%|345131846668%
Egor SokolovRW/LW22AHL33360743%|34112435307814%
Lassi ThomsonRD22AHL0000000%|243111412476%
Lassi ThomsonRD22NHL0000000%|2000410%

USA (NCAA, USHL)

-----Sincethelastprospectupdate-|-TOTAL-
PLAYERPOSAGETEAMGPGAPPIMSOGSH%|GPGAPPIMSOGSH%
Tyson DyckC/LW18UMass22020450%|1654941436%
Stephen HallidayC20Ohio State Univ.21340520%|226152195611%
Tyler KlevenLD20Univ. of North Dakota240401136%|205611354411%
Luke LoheitRW22Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth11010333%|1836912417%
Jakov NovakLW/C24Northeastern Univ.1000010%|21415162615%
Cameron O'NeillRW18Tri-City (USHL)0000000%|244121610508%
Jonny TychonickLD22Univ. of Omaha0000000%|2051217143714%
Theo WallbergLD19Dubuque (USHL)2022220%|273811123010%

CHL

------Sincethelastprospectupdate-|-TOTAL-
PLAYERPOSAGETEAMLEAGUEGPGAPPIMSOGSH%|GPGAPPIMSOGSH%
Tyler BoucherRW19OttawaOHL0000000%|179615286614%
Jorian DonovanLD18HamiltonOHL3022260%|3482028287910%
Tomas HamaraLD18KitchenerOHL1000020%|25291111435%
Carson LatimerRW19Prince AlbertWHL1000220%|32101828226715%
Zach OstapchukC19VancouverWHL0000000%|21101929208512%
Ben RogerRD20KingstonOHL2000020%|2515616303%
Chandler RomeoLD19SarniaOHL2000020%|2414530176%

Europe

------Sincethelastprospectupdate-|-TOTAL-
PLAYERPOSAGETEAMLEAGUEGPGAPPIMSOGSH%|GPGAPPIMSOGSH%
Vitaly AbramovLW/RW24MoscowKHL0000000%|349514165816%
Oliver JohanssonC/LW19Timrå IKJ20 Nationell0000000%|423501315%
Oliver JohanssonC/LW19IF BjörklövenAllsvenskan11120425%|2763964015%
Oliver JohanssonC/LW19Timrå IKSHL0000000%|6000030%
Filip NordbergLD18Södertälje SKJ20 Nationell0000000%|1627914435%
Filip NordbergLD18Södertälje SKAllsvenskan2000010%|2522461217%
Oskar PetterssonRW18Rögle BKJ20 Nationell0000000%|19151025317520%
Oskar PetterssonRW18Rögle BKSHL0000000%|121126128%

Goalies

-----Sincethelastprospectupdate--|-TOTAL--
PLAYERAGETEAMLEAGUEGPWLOTLSOLSAGASV%|GPWLOTLSOLSAGASV%
Kevin Mandolese22BellevilleAHL1100031196.8%|834102112787.2%
Kevin Mandolese22AllenECHL1100030390.0%|641001921492.7%
Leevi Meriläinen20KärpätLiiga3012065887.7%|1785204433891.4%
Kevin Reidler18AIKJ20 Nationell00000000.0%|19513006105790.7%
Mads Søgaard22BellevilleAHL2200056394.6%|1656104073890.7%

WJC

-----TOTAL-
PLAYERPOSAGETEAMGPGAPPIMSOGSH%
Tyler BoucherRW19USA631481619%
Tomas HamaraLD18Czechia7011870%
Zach OstapchukC19Canada721325825%
Oskar PetterssonRW18Sweden72354729%

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