Belleville Senators Prospect Update - March 11th

The past two weeks had the Belleville Senators (26-21-8) win just 3 of 7, while seeing a number of prospects have a big game or two. With their games in hand on the Syracuse Crunch exhausted, they're tied at 60 points apiece, with the Crunch holding the tiebreaker with one more regulation win. They’re in it but they need to get hot.

Leading the way offensively this time around was a pair of defensemen: 2019 7th-rounder Maxence Guenette shone with 2 goals and 5 assists in 7 games, bringing his total to 20 points in 49 games. Despite not taking the step into the NHL that seemed like a real possibility last season, Guenette has proven his worth as a capable two-way defender in Belleville, and will hopefully be brought back next season as a veteran presence.

The other standout blueliner was long overdue for a hot streak. Jorian Donovan has struggled mightily since his Memorial Cup win with Saginaw last year, but he scored his first professional goal in the dying seconds of a 4-1 loss to Laval on March 1st.

Donovan added another goal and a trio of assists since the last update – more than doubling his production in the process – while posting a +1 rating in six consecutive games to boot. It's a major turnaround for the 5th-round pick from the 2022 draft, and evidence that David Bell and co. made the right call in sticking with Donovan through his struggles. Speaking of first career AHL goals, undrafted defenseman Djibril Toure is finally on the board after 16 games this year.

Philippe Daoust and Jamieson Rees have been featured a couple of times in these updates this season, and both had strong performances in the last few games as well, with the former contributing 4 points in 5 games, and the latter going a point-per-game in 3 contests. Both of these prospects had potential, as Daoust was labelled as a potential steal in the 6th round of the 2020 Draft after a breakout with Moncton of the QMJHL, while Rees was a productive OHL player and 2019 2nd-rounder, who actually was taken with the pick the Sens moved up from to select Mads Sogaard. Now, both are looking to maximize their chances of securing two-way deals once again - either in Belleville or elsewhere.

Finally, it was business as usual for the Big Three. Stephen Halliday notched 4 assists in 7 games, Angus Crookshank had a goal and a pair of apples in 5 games, while Cole Reinhardt notched 2 of each in 7 games.

Halliday is still an AHL rookie and has plenty of room to develop, but Crookshank and Reinhardt are both 25 years old and are seasoned AHL pros. The Sens will be looking for a few players to round out their fourth line for next season, and those two will be in the mix if brought back, but considering their pending UFA status, both may seek another opportunity on a rebuilding team with fewer established players.