Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - January 10th

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.

Egor Sokolov with another big night! He is now 4/4 in the shootout and leads the league in shootout goals 🙌#ForTheB pic.twitter.com/CELbKorRnS

— Belleville Senators (@BellevilleSens) January 7, 2023

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.

Stephen Halliday sniped his sixth of the season on Friday night

Halliday has 5 points in his last 3GP and is second on OSU in scoring #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/OSAMebQQ9M

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 7, 2023

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.

4th goal this weekend for Tyler Kleven#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/J908QXOtw7

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 8, 2023

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)

USA (NCAA, USHL)

CHL

Europe

Goalies

WJC