2025 Belleville Senators Review - Defense + Goaltending

Whereas it was clear that Belleville needed to bring in some reinforcements for the forward corps, the back end appears to have some potential for internal growth.

With defensemen, it's better to be patient, survey all of your options, and not take production at face value. Nikolas Matinpalo's AHL stats don't jump off the page compared to your average AHL defender, but he played games in the NHL playoffs and Four Nations tournament this year. Something tells me he's a bit better than your average AHL defender.

Notable Defensemen:

Jeremy Davies (UFA)

• 72 GP, 11G, 37A, 48P, 171 SOG, 44 PIM

He was signed on to be Belleville's top defenseman this past season, and he certainly was, leading the back end in goals, assists, and shots on goal. I wouldn't be surprised if he's brought back for another year, but with Donovan Sebrango and Jorian Donovan's progress over the year, and Matthew Andonovski and Tomas Hamara turning pro as well, there's likely enough internal options to take over for Davies' workload.

Maxence Guenette (RFA)

• 58 GP, 9G, 14A, 23P, 89 SOG, 34 PIM

Having been vaulted by Nikolas Matinpalo, Guenette's settled into role of a capable veteran AHL defender, in my mind, the perfect partner for someone like Donovan, or perhaps Donovan. There's still an outside opportunity to be an NHLer, but if someone needs to be called up to replace an injured RHD, the club may look to 2024 7th-overall pick Carter Yakemchuk.

Donovan Sebrango (Signed)

• 50 GP, 8G, 12A, 20P, 75 SOG, 79 PIM

He stuck around a bit longer in training camp than he was expected to, which was the first clue to the career year he was about to have. On top of achieving career-highs across the board, Sebrango played in his first two NHL games, and scored this goal early in the AHL season.

I'm comfortable with him being the next man up if one of Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson, and Tyler Kleven suffers an injury.

Sebrango was also named the IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year, awarded for outstanding contributions in the community (specifically, Sebrango spends time during both the season and offseason supporting youth hockey, service animal programs, and other various initiatives in the Bay of Quinte).

Filip Roos (UFA)

• 68 GP, 0G, 17A, 17P, 63 SOG, 49 PIM

While he didn't find the back of the net, 17 points in 68 games isn't bad for a #4-5 defenseman. He won't be back next season, as he's signed a two-year deal with Fãrjestad of the SHL.

Wyatte Wylie (AHL)

• 56 GP, 4G, 9A, 13P, 76 SOG, 22 PIM

Once considered a potential late-round gem in Philadelphia, Wylie competed with Donovan (last name, not first) and Djibril Toure for time on the bottom pair, and statistically was the best of the three across the whole year, with only 22 PIMs.

Jorian Donovan (Signed)

• 64 GP, 3G, 9A, 12P, 60 SOG, 83 PIM

In the end, it was a positive development year for the 2022 5th-rounder, though it didn't seem that way at first. After a tough adjustment consisting of 0 points, 31 PIMs, and a -13 rating in the first 20 games, Donovan rebounded with 12 points and a +4 rating in the final 44. I'd be curious to see how he'll fare in second-pairing minutes next season.

Djibril Toure (Signed)

• 36 GP, 2G, 4A, 6P, 30 SOG, 57 PIM

It's no surprise the Sens were interested in this 6'7 blueliner – the surprise was signing him as an undrafted free agent instead of using a second-round pick on him. Character development! I don't expect much from undrafted free agents, but I'm always rooting for them nonetheless. Parker Kelly had a few decent years in the organization, and I'm somewhat invested in seeing what Toure can do over a full AHL season.

Notable Goaltenders:

Leevi Merilainen (RFA)

• 37 GP, 18-12-4, 0.913 SV%, 4 SO

Correctly named Belleville's most-valuable player, Merlilainen simply was unable to give the club enough starts for them to get that couple of extra points in the standings. But it was worth it. In the absence of Linus Ullmark, he showed this season that he can offer quality goaltending at 22 years old to an NHL team playing it's best hockey, with an 8-3-1 record, a .925 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. Primarily due to a lack of cap space, he should be the backup next year, with a capable veteran taking his spot as Belleville's starter.

Malcolm Subban (AHL)

• 24 GP, 11-6-5, 0.883 SV%, 0 SO

This AHL journeyman and NHL 15 legend was called upon to back up Leevi in Mads Søgaard's absence, and was still able to secure a decent record in spite of the numbers not being as good as you'd hope. He was voted by his teammates as the recipient of the Players' Choice Award, with captain Garret Pilon citing the positive presence he had in the locker room in spite of a tough job.

Not Mentioned: Nikolas Matinpalo, Mads Søgaard

Mock Lineup (Defense + Goaltending):

Donovan Sebrango - Carter Yakemchuk

Jorian Donovan - Maxence Guenette

Matthew Andonovski/Tomas Hamara - Djibril Toure

Phoenix Copley*

Mads Søgaard

• hypothetical UFA signings