2024 NHL Draft Profiles: Cole Eiserman and Beckett Sennecke

As we prepare for the NHL Draft at the end of the month, Silver Seven will be profiling players that the Ottawa Senators could take in the first two rounds. Ary has taken a closer look at Anton Silayev, and Ross has penned pieces on European forwards and NCAA Defensemen that migt be available when the Sens are picking at #7. T4rwefoday I'll be looking at two North American forwards: Cole Eiserman, who is an option at 7th overall, and Beckett Sennecke, who is an option at 25th overall.

Cole Eiserman, LW, USNTDP

6'0, 196 lbs, shoots left

Background:

Cole Eiserman, brother of 2014 Senators draft pick Shane Eiserman, has been lighting up lower leagues for years. He played for the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary's team where he clearly found it too easy. He had an astounding 154 points in 50 games as a 14-year-old and then moved to playing against 17-year-olds when he was 15 and he still had 86 points in 53 games. He transitioned to playing in the US National Development Program, where he didn't slow down at all.

He notced 72 points in 42 games with the U17 team, 32 points in 20 games with the U18 team, and 44 points in 32 games with the USNTDP team in the USHL. Combining that with his games at the World Championships for the U17 and U18 levels that season, he had 179 points in 107 games, which, we should also note, is a mind-boggling number of games to play. Coming into the 2023-24 season, Craig Button even had him not far behind Macklin Celebrini for the top-ranked prospect in the 2024 class, noting that he could break Cole Caufield's US NTDP goal record of 126.

He did just that, breaking the record by just one goal, and ending his US NTDP career with 127. By breaking the record, you'd think he would have been able to take another leap forward after an astonishing 2022-23 season, but it was somewhat stagnated. Eiserman's 2023-24 was a great one in a goal-scoring sense, but his 89 points in 57 NTDP games was a tad worse (1.6 points per game vs. 1.56) compared to 2022-23. His 34 points in 24 USHL games were barely higher (1.41 vs. 1.375), and while he lit up the U18 World Juniors with nine goals and one assist in seven games, although most people expected him to have even better numbers overall. Some of this is undoubtedly the curse of high expectations

His stock is still very high as he's expected to go in the 4-16 range, but he's not viewed as a "can't miss" guy anymore like Celebrini is, for the reasons outlined below.

Scouting Report:

If Eiserman makes the NHL, it'll be largely because of one thing: his elite shot. He has consistently had more goals than assists, and he is a player that wants to create offense by himself.

Here is what Josh Tessler of Smaht Scouting has to say about his overall play:

In the offensive zone, he is a good forechecker, will fight for pucks down low and in the corners. Eiserman will rely on his reach to stick lift attackers and force a disruption in oppositional puck possession. He has good puck manipulation and will use it to draw in attackers and then quickly pass underneath the stick to an open teammate. Eiserman has an excellent shot especially from range. He does play with a bit of a physical edge in all three zones. If he isn’t the one shutting down play, he isn’t far behind and will scoop up pucks below the red line. When in transition, if Eiserman is driving the puck up ice, he does struggle to get separation around attackers.

While his elite offensive mindset and shot that could be NHL-ready make him an intriguing prospect, he still has a lot of work to do to become a complete player. David Saad of Dobber Prospects says that there are many question marks surrounding his profile:

"While his shot, offensive routes, and ability to release in tight space continue to be top-of-the-class strengths, it’s simply not enough. A lack of overall engagement, poor decision-making, a lack of explosive skating, and an overall passivity have regularly marred viewings."

Having said that, it's very hard to coach the ability to score at an elite level, whereas it is much easier to coach defensive responsibility and skating—just look at someone like Mark Stone. Eiserman's profile has some risk, but it'd hard to pass up on somebody with 40+ goal potential. It's not very often that the Sens have had the chance to take someone with his profile.

Stats:

Eiserman's goal totals are eye-popping when compared to his peers. His 58 goals in 57 games this season was 19 more than James Hagens in 2nd place in the league. He didn't play nearly as many games in the USHL, but his 25 goals in 24 games was by far the best pace, ahead of 2nd place Noah Powell who had 43 goals in 61 games. As mentioned before, Eiserman beat Caufield's all-time goal record with 127 with the USNTDP, and he also finished 2nd in points with 193, behind Jack Hughes who had 228.

This is a player who has a chance to be amongst the league's best goal-scorers with Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon, although I wouldn't expect many assists. According to Byron Bader's draft model, Eiserman's 2023-24 season gives him a 73% chance of being a "star," a 75% chance of being a full-time NHLer, and his point totals translated to 40 points in an NHL season. The model has his top draft comparables (based purely on data) as Vincent Lecavalier, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and Clayton Keller, so two of those names are encouraging.

Further reading and watching:

• NHL Draft Pros on Youtube breaks down Eiserman's highlight reel
• David St-Louis of Elite Prospects discusses why Eiserman is such an elite goal-scorer
• Draft Prospects Hockey has a full report on Eiserman, with video provided as well
• McKeen's Hockey has an article about Eiserman and others back from the fall

Beckett Sennecke, RW, Oshawa Generals

6'3, 181 lbs, shoots right

Background:

Sennecke was a standout for the Toronto Marlboros two seasons ago, leading the team with 80 points in 45 games. He was still growing at that point, and his transition to the OHL was smooth in 2022-23 with 55 points in 61 games, fourth on the team in scoring. He has always had some pedigree as he ranked 30th on Craig Button's list in September, so he's been viewed as a likely first-rounder for some time.

This season he took a step forward with 68 points in 63 games, although that was not quite as good as some other top prospects. The Generals had a surprise run to the OHL Finals but lost to the London Knights, and Sennecke was a big part of the run. His 10 goals and 12 assists in 16 games was third on the team and second in points per game. If he's able to make moves like this, his stock is only going to rise:

Scouting Report:

Sennecke could be a classic case of a "late" bloomer who grows into his frame and gets more exposure during the OHL playoffs. He was 5'10 just a few years ago and has now grown to 6'3, making him much more intriguing as a potential power forward. The fact that he hasn't been 6'3 for very long is evident when he plays because he can be dominant at times and non-existent at others.

It takes players some time to get used to their bodies when they have sudden growth spurts, so the fact that he has the ability to dominate at times is encouraging. He will need to learn how to use his size to his advantage and also be more engaged without the puck if he wants to succeed, but he is a great puck-handler, passer, and offensive creator.

Here is what Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News has to say about Sennecke:

"So often, when you watch Sennecke, you can see the steady and solid NHL tools and a player who doesn’t overcomplicate the game – most of the time. Every once in a while, you will see Sennecke make a play that leaves you asking where that high level of skill and creativity has been. If he learns to play with a bit more pace and breaks out the highest levels of his skill set more often, he could be worth a much higher pick. If not, he should be at least a steady, intelligent, playmaking forward growing defensively."

That sounds an awful lot like a typical Senators pick—a player who might not be a finished product right now but is a bit of a late bloomer. Brock Otten from McKeen's Hockey talked about Sennecke's upside back in January, although his evaluation might be better since then:

"What you do have in Sennecke is a big winger with skill, a deft passing touch, and a heavy shot who has the potential to be an impact top six forward at the NHL level. As he grows into his frame, I would expect that his play away from the puck does improve to become more consistent. We could even see him develop into a more traditional power forward. The physical tools give him a unique upside, but also make it likely that he can become an NHL player in some capacity."

Sennecke is ranked as high as 12th by Craig Button, and as low as 45th by Recruit Scouting, although he's typically in the 20s for most scouts, so he could be taken with Ottawa's second selection at 25th.

Stats:

Sennecke was third on Oshawa in points with 68, 12 back of team leader Calum Ritchie. He was also 8th in the OHL in playoff scoring with 22 points in 16 games, 12 back of the playoff leader, Easton Cowan. Those 68 points in 63 regular season games don't stand out a ton for a draft-eligible OHL winger, although he did end the season on a hot streak with 22 points in 12 games, showing his ability to carry a team.

Byron Bader's draft model is lower on Sennecke due to his pedestrian point totals. It gives him a 13% chance of being a star and a 49% chance of being an NHLer, with his data comparables being Tom Cavanagh, Dustin Brown, Mikael Backlund, David Beauregard, and Lucas Lessio. Like I said though, don't discount the possibility of a player gaining strength as he matures.

Further reading and watching:

• Video from EliteProspects calling Sennecke a top-10 prospect
• Top highlights from Senneck's season
• A very long breakdown of Senneck from McKeen's Hockey