Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - May 18th

You may already be missing the Ottawa Senators not even one week after their season ended, but there are plenty of sources of excitement to tide you over, at least in the immediate future. For instance, there’s the return of the World Championships, featuring Artem Zub, Connor Brown, Nick Paul, and Jacob Bernard-Docker.

Additionally, you could cheer for a solid crop of former Senators in the playoffs, such as Craig Anderson, Mark Borowiecki, Craig Anderson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Craig Anderson, and last but not least, Curtis McElhinney. Those are the only acceptable names as far as I’m concerned.

Third, and most pertinent to this piece, you’re most likely keeping up with the organization’s many prospects still playing hockey, including the Belleville Senators, winners of seven in a row. Expect many of them to feature on today’s Prospect Team of the Week.

Forwards:

Parker Kelly

Not only did Kelly earn a call-up for the last game of the Senators’ season, but he scored a goal in his debut in the most on-brand way possible; shrugging off a nasty hit from Morgan Rielly, before jumping on a loose puck to catch Frederik Andersen off guard:

PARKER KELLY’S FIRST CAREER GOAL! pic.twitter.com/PW0jzRld14

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) May 13, 2021

Riding that momentum, he headed back to Belleville, scoring three points in three games against the Moose, while racking up sixteen penalty minutes.

Kelly’s got the basic components of a quality fourth-liner; he’s quick on pucks, he throws opponents off their game, and he works extremely hard every single shift. He’s built those skills throughout his journey to the NHL, starting from when he went undrafted in 2017, to earning a development camp invite, a training camp invite, and an entry-level deal from Ottawa, all in the span of a few months.

Roby Järventie

Like with other Sens prospects, Järventie struggled to make an impact in his first few AHL games, but he rose to the occasion in his fourth outing with Belleville, scoring his first two professional goals, along with an assist en route to a 6-1 victory.

🇫🇮🚨Roby Järventie ripped his first career AHL goal on Sunday in his fourth game with Belleville #TheOldIrishPub #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/DYzIVgXJr9

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) May 16, 2021

🇫🇮🚨Roby Järventie's second of the afternoon!

Egor Sokolov picks up his 9th assist of the season–if he gets one more helper, he'll become the first BSens player to hit double digits in goals & assists this year#TheOldIrishPub #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/z1oic5VLD1

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) May 16, 2021

What’s especially encouraging about the 32nd pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is that he doesn’t turn 19 for another few months. I had originally thought he’d need at least two full seasons in the Liiga under his belt before turning pro, but if he can keep up with the likes of Egor Sokolov and Angus Crookshank already, that bodes extremely well for both his and the Senators’ future.

Egor Sokolov

Speaking of, Sokolov continued to lead the way offensively for Belleville, with three assists in four games, bringing him up to 23 in 33. Already known for being one of the many likable personalities on the team, fans have also taken notice of his skating and two-way game, demonstrated by the takeaway you’ll see here:

👀Just a couple Egor Sokolov highlights from the 2nd period#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/L1IgfQyBt1

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) May 16, 2021

Defense:

Jonathan Aspirot

Once again, the undrafted forward-turned-defenseman finds his way onto one of these pieces. Not only did he lead his team in scoring this week with three goals and an assist in three games, he now has a very impressive 13 points in 25 games, as Belleville’s highest-scoring defenseman. One such goal saw him make a nice drop pass to Logan Brown, who weaved through multiple defenders before finding the former in a high-danger area. Aspirot made no mistake on the finish:

Logan Brown and Jonathan Aspirot combine for a beauty goal🔥#GoSensGo #FortheB pic.twitter.com/US88hlmQuD

— Temporary Panthers fan (@Sensupdates_) May 15, 2021

Erik Brännström

Brännström had one assist in the final game of the season, bringing his final total to 13 points in 30 games. That’s an impressive 35 points in a full 82-game season, but Brännström will need to take additional steps at both ends of the ice and find some consistency in breaking the puck out effectively in order to truly become a Top-4 defenseman. It’s worth remembering that he’s still just twenty-one years old, and the Senators have insurance in the form of Jake Sanderson and Victor Mete.

Goaltending:

Mads Søgaard

The Sens’ pool of young goaltenders is turning into an embarrassment of riches. The big Dane stopped 87 of 93 pucks in three consecutive victories, meaning he’s started his AHL career 6-0. Or, 6-ø as some have put it.

LET'S GOOOOO!

What a save here from Mads Sogaard to clinch the shootout win over the Manitoba Moose.

4-3 SO #BSens #FortheB pic.twitter.com/qRiwhe3fud

— Pesky Sickos (@PeskySickos) May 12, 2021

Søgaard is looking to buck the trend of prospects not panning out after Ottawa moved up to draft them, and these six games are a major step in the right direction. It’s no surprise he’s adjusted to the pro game this quickly, he played in the Metal Liagen this year, obviously the hardest league in the world.

Silver Linings:

• Järventie wasn’t the only 2020 draftee to score his first AHL goal this week, as Ridly Greig managed to complete the milestone last Tuesday. He’ll look to build on that success next season in his fourth season in the WHL, barring a massive performance in training camp.
• Viktor Lodin’s season in the Allsvenskan ended on Wednesday, with a 5-0 win against Björklöven, earning Timrå the championship as well as a promotion to the SHL. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Lodin will likely sign his ELC with Ottawa soon, otherwise, he’ll return to Sweden.
• While Søgaard’s taken over the crease in Belleville, 2018 sixth-round pick Kevin Mandolese had a strong outing as well, posting a fantastic .938 in the one game he played this week.
• Filip Gustavsson continued to shine in the NHL, stopping 30 of 33 in a 4-3 win over Toronto to close out Ottawa’s NHL season on a high note. He’ll have a chance next year to cement himself as a full-time NHL goalie next year, but Ottawa can certainly afford to keep him in the AHL if he begins to struggle.
• Outside of the organization, the only prospect currently participating in postseason hockey is 2019 seventh-rounder Maxence Guenette, who had four shots on goal in two games this week, and currently has over four shots per game in this year’s playoffs with the Val d'Or Fourers, who are up 1-0 in their semifinal series against Chicoutimi./

Stats:

Pro (NHL, AHL)

NCAA

CHL

Europe

Goalies