For quite some time, the Ottawa Senators have struggled to truly become contenders.
After back-to-back playoff berths, now-former captain Brady Tkachuk requested and received a trade to the Florida Panthers. In return, the Senators acquired draft capital.
What they did with those picks was admirable. The Senators acquired William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks for the ninth overall pick and then made some really solid selections late in the first round. They have typically struggled to draft for upside, and that didn't seem to be a problem this year, which has injected some much-needed juice into their pipeline.
It's Ottawa's turn for a closer look in our NHL prospect pool overview series.
In our annual series, Tony Ferrari's digging into each team's top prospects, the strengths and weaknesses of its pipeline, an overview of its latest draft class and positional depth chart, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance.
Aside from some exceptions, a player who no longer holds NHL rookie eligibility is considered graduated and no longer a prospect for the purposes of these exercises.
INITIAL OVERVIEW OF TOP PROSPECTS
We're entering a new era of Sens hockey.
Tkachuk is gone, and the core of Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and William Eklund will be the focus moving forward. Everyone in the Sens organization seems intent on moving on and not dwelling on the past.
Ottawa hasn't done a good job in recent years of finding high-end draft prospects. Much of their youth came from an incredible 2020 draft class, but now that the group is turning 24, they need to add more young talent.
This year's draft class presents plenty of upside and looks like potentially their most interesting draft class of the last few years, but they do have a few players already in their system who have some intriguing potential.
Now 23, Tyler Boucher was drafted much higher than he should have gone. That said, he showed a few flashes of the hard skill everyone was so interested in when he was drafted 10th overall in 2021. Last year, he seemed to finally get up to the pace at the AHL level, which allowed him to put up 26 points in 47 games.
Although Boucher did still deal with injuries, something that's become far too common in his young career, it was a nice sign of growth for him. He may not have a role as a top-six power forward as once thought, but he could still find a way to be a useful bottom-six grinder.
Kasper Halttunen was acquired alongside Eklund in the deal with the Sharks ahead of the draft and became one of the Senators' most interesting prospects immediately. He is a heavy shooter and loves to lay the body. Halttunen was part of two championship squads in the OHL with the London Knights, helping them win the Memorial Cup in 2025.
He's been a big part of a winning team before, and the Sens hope he can do the same for them sooner rather than later.
Javon Moore's coming off a very solid freshman season with the University of Minnesota, where he put up 21 points in 36 games. He'll try to earn a bigger role at the college level. Moore can put on a show in open ice, using his blend of speed and power along with some nifty hands.
Moore is a slick passer as well, finding teammates all over the ice. He was just scratching the surface last year.
Blake Montgomery is also coming off a decent freshman season in the NCAA, putting up 17 points in 38 games in a depth role for the University of Wisconsin. He signed his entry-level contract and joined AHL Belleville for three games to end this past season, scoring once. Montgomery is a raw but impressive player with the tools to be a speedy, power winger with dual-threat scoring ability.
He thrives when the game gets tight. It will be interesting to see how he looks in his first full AHL season at 21.
Carter Yakemchuk is the big name on the back end. The 2024 seventh overall selection plays a loud game. He unleashes clap bombs from the blueline, explodes into his hits and loves to get in the face of his opponents.
He is the embodiment of what the Senators have been at their best. He has some gaps in his defensive game at times, but there is a lot to like for the Sens' top prospect, and we should see plenty of him this season.
The Senators' 2025 first-round pick, Logan Hensler, has had a bit of an up-and-down last couple of years. He has flashes of the mobile, slick-passing defender we saw at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, but they've faded as he's more often looked a bit overwhelmed at the college level. He was better and played a more composed game this past year, but he still looks a bit lost.
Just 19, Hensler has plenty of room to improve and get back on track. His raw tools are still intriguing.
The Senators love a player who brings a violent streak, and that's Gabriel Eliasson. The big Swedish defender isn't a puck-mover in any sense, and that may hold him back from reaching or sticking in the NHL, but his desire to inflict pain is something NHL teams are looking for. He's a beast of a human, and he isn't afraid to use any of his 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame.
Jorian Donovan doesn't get much love publicly, but he always manages to be effective. Primarily a defensive player, Donovan has some cheeky puck-moving ability. He looked good in the AHL last season and even earned a two-game NHL stint.
He's not going to wow you, but he is effective.
The Senators' top goalie prospect is now Lucas Beckman. His dominance in the second half of the QMJHL season, after he was traded to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, was incredible: he posted a .940 save percentage over 15 games and then a .918 SP in 20 playoff games. He's not a very tall goalie at 6-foot-2, but he always finds himself in position because of his skating in net.
Beckman is a candidate to be one of Canada's goalies at the world juniors this year as well, so it could be a big season for him.
U-23 PLAYERS LIKELY TO PLAY IN THE NHL THIS SEASON
Carter Yakemchuk (D)
2026 NHL DRAFT CLASS
Round 1, 25th overall - Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, RW, Leksand Jr. (Swe.)
Round 1, 32nd overall - Jaxon Cover, RW, London (OHL)
Round 3, 72nd overall - Adam Nemec, LW, Sudbury (OHL)
Round 3, 87th overall - Oscar Holmertz, C, Linkoping Jr. (Swe.)
Round 3, 91st overall - Louis-Felix Bourque, RW, Drummondville (QMJHL)
Round 4, 110th overall - Elliot Lennon, G, Deerfield (USHS)
Round 5, 151st overall - Harris Pangretitsch, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
Round 6, 183rd overall - Alexander Grunin, D, Novosibirsk Jr. (Rus.)
The Senators have too often drafted for physicality and passed on skill, which has left their prospect pool with a bunch of players who might be third liners.
This year, they took a new approach, focusing on skill, at least at the top of the class.
Ottawa's first pick is a gamble I loved to see for the squad. Jonas Lagerberg Hoen is a shooter who plays with speed and high-end skill. Before last season, he put up 27 goals in 38 games at Sweden's U-20 level.
Lagerberg Hoen's wrist shot is lethal, picking corners with an explosive release. He can burst through the neutral zone in transition, blending his quick feet and quicker hands to get himself into the offensive zone.
The gamble comes from the fact that Lagerberg Hoen missed most of this past season with an injury. He was clicking at a goal-per-game rate at the junior level, but he only played nine games before a season-ending injury killed what could have been a wickedly fun year. He must get more engaged defensively and work on using his teammates better, but he's an exciting sniper who could be a great fit with the Sens in a couple of years.
Ottawa then added Jaxon Cover, a former roller hockey prodigy, to its pipeline. Cover is a raw player, having only transitioned to ice hockey full-time in his teenage years, but that hasn't stopped his meteoric rise. Cover plays with blazing speed, high-end puckhandling and impressive offensive tools.
He is an excellent shooter and an equally effective playmaker. Cover has a massive ceiling because of the untapped potential in his game. If he can ever put all of the pieces together, he might be the steal of the draft.
Adam Nemec started the year in his native Slovakia before jumping to the OHL mid-season. His physical tools aren't all that impressive, but he is a smart player who makes the most of his touches and understands how to play a mature game. He has solid two-way habits, and when given the chance to be an offensive force in the OHL, he was a play-connecting facilitator.
He brought excellent value in the third round.
A bit later in the third, the Sens took a chance on Oscar Holmertz. His technical skill and skating are among the top of the class. He's truly a fantastically skilled offensive player when he is engaged, showcasing dazzling hands and slick passing ability.
Unfortunately, he's one of the most inconsistent players in the class, and he lacks a physical side to his game. He's a bit of a boom-or-bust prospect who could be a top-six player in the NHL or Swedish League, without much room in between.
At 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, Louis-Felix Bourque is a powerful center who is closer to the typical physical player the Sens have been drafting, but they didn't reach to get him this year. He's one of the younger players in the class, and he shows some really nice flashes of puckhandling and skill, but he's more of a grinding forward with a heavy shot. Bourque is a good skater as well.
He projects as a bottom-six checking forward who has some depth scoring upside.
The Senators took a swing at an incredibly athletic netminder in the fourth round, taking Elliot Lennon. He has excellent size at nearly 6-foot-4 and uses his length quite well as he maneuvers around the crease. Lennon played prep hockey this year, which isn't always the place NHL teams go for goaltending help, but Lennon impressed.
He'll likely play for the Madison Capitals in the United States League this year before heading off to Brown University in the NCAA the following year.
While most people watching the Soo Greyhounds' blueline had their eyes on seventh overall pick Chase Reid, there was another blueliner who was slowly building up his draft stock, albeit in a much less flashy way. Harris Pangretitsch brings a growing defensive game built on his size and physicality. He is the kind of defender a team can trust to make good decisions with the puck most of the time, even if it's typically the safe play.
Pangretitsch is a nice bet late in the draft.
Speaking of excellent swings late in the draft, Alexander Grunin very well could be the steal of the late end of the draft. The 6-foot-4 Russian blueliner is a high-end skater who uses his size to impose himself defensively. If he gets a bit more aggressive and looks to throw bigger hits, that would only add to his strong physical play.
He has shown some solid breakout passing as well. He's a project who's well worth taking at the end of the draft because you could easily justify him going a round or two earlier.
STRENGTHS
Ottawa has done a very good job of building up its wing depth over the last few years, and this year's draft continued that trend.
They don't have a standout superstar, but they have some really interesting players.
Lagerberg Hoen, Cover and Nemec from this year's draft are all incredibly exciting players in their own right.
Halttunen could be a goal-scorer with some power to his game. Moore and Montgomery have had some really intriguing moments over the last couple of years. Boucher had his best year since being drafted and could eventually find a way to the NHL, even if not at the level once hoped.
Ottawa has a diversely skilled group on both wings.
WEAKNESSES
Center depth has been a concern for the Sens for a while. Despite a really encouraging draft class this year, only one player really has a shot at playing center, and even Holmertz is no guarantee.
The Senators will need some centers added to the system over the next couple of years, even if they have a trio of good young centers in Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto at the NHL level.
HIDDEN GEM: KASPER HALTTUNEN, RW
Last year was Halttunen's first full AHL season, and he put up 16 goals and 35 points in 69 games.
The one thing that translated almost immediately was his shot. The Finn has a booming shot, and he could be a major asset on the power play.
Halttunen also brings a bit of a physical edge, making him an ideal fit in the middle six. He's a bit of a power winger who plays with a good deal of finesse when it comes to the offensive side of things.
NEXT MAN UP: CARTER YAKEMCHUK, D
Sens fans were given a small peek at what Yakemchuk could look like at the NHL level last year. In his five-game stint, he had a number of moments that showed why he was such a highly valued player in the draft and a few that had fans wondering if he was in The Show too soon.
Overall, Yakemchuk showed plenty of promise. His shot came as advertised. His physical play showed flashes.
He really seemed to be almost exactly what was expected of him. He's a high-event defender who can bring fans to their feet, and he should get a chance to earn a spot right out of the gate as the team looks to enter a new chapter of Sens hockey.
PROSPECT DEPTH CHART NOTABLES
LW: Javon Moore, Adam Nemec, Blake Montgomery, Dmitri Isayev, Lucas Ellinas, Bruno Idzan
C: Oscar Holmertz, Jake Chiasson, Owen Beckner, Xavier Bourgault
RW: Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, Jaxon Cover, Tyler Boucher, Kasper Halttunen, Blake Vanek, Louis-Felix Bourque, Oskar Pettersson
LD: Jorian Donovan, Gabriel Eliasson, Alexander Grunin, Filip Nordberg, Tomas Hamara, Eerik Wallenius
RD: Carter Yakemchuk, Logan Hensler, Harris Pangretitsch, Hoyt Stanley, Djibril Toure
G: Lucas Beckman, Vladimir Nikitin, Kevin Reidler, Elliot Lennon, Jackson Parsons