Ottawa Senators 1st Round Pick Knockout Tournament: Round Four

In preparation for the NHL Draft on June 27-28 in Philadelphia and in part because the Senators don't have a first round pick this year, we've decided to have a knockout tournament to determine Ottawa's best-ever first round pick.

To determine which player should take the honour, there are a lot of different factors to keep in mind:

• longevity
• point totals
• single-season excellence
• First overall pick? Top-3? Top-5? Top-10? Late rounder?
• draft expectations
• Which players did the Senators pass on to draft any given first rounder
• individual awards/hardware
• success with the Senators
• success with other teams
• championships
• international success
• trade returns
• current potential

To keep things interesting, the above factors aren't ranked. Vote according to what you value most.

Since selecting Alexei Yashin second overall in 1992, the Ottawa Senators have drafted 24 players in the first round of the NHL Draft. Each player has been ranked (1-24) by me (Amelia). How Does this work? It's easy. Simply vote for your preferred player in each poll listed below. The poll will close at 11:59 pm on Sunday night (June 29). The winning players will advance to the next round of voting.

Round Four

1. Erik Karlsson vs. 4. Marian Hossa

Karlsson was drafted 15th overall in 2008. He has played five seasons for the Senators. Karlsson is a two-time All-Star and was named a First Team All-Star in 2012. He won the Norris Trophy and the Viking Award in 2012. He's represented Sweden on five occasions, winning silver at the 2014 Olympics in addition to being named to the Olympic All-Star team and being named the tournament's best defender.

Karlsson beat Cody Ceci in the second round with 61.5% of the vote.

Karlsson beat Anton Volchenkov in the third round with 97% of the vote.

NHL totals: 315 GP, 63 G, 174 A, 237 P, 160 PIM

Hossa was drafted 12th overall by the Senators in 1997. He spent seven seasons with Ottawa before being traded to Atlanta as part of the Dany Heatley deal. Hossa has represented Slovakia 14 times internationally, including at three Olympics and the World Cup. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1999 and to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2009. A five-time All-Star, Hossa won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013 and played in three consecutive finals (four total). He has played 16 seasons in the NHL.

Hossa beat Tim Gleason in the second round with 99.1% of the vote. Sorry Tim.

Hossa beat Chris Phillips in the third round with 85.2% of the vote.

NHL totals: 1090 GP, 464 G, 531 A, 995 P, 564 PIM

2. Alexei Yashin vs. 3. Jason Spezza

Yashin was drafted second overall in 1992. He spent seven seasons with the Senators before being traded to the New York Islanders. Yashin represented his country on 16 occasions. He was the runner-up in Calder voting and Hart voting. Yashin was a three-time All-Star and was named a Second Team All-Star in 1999. He won World Junior gold in 1992 with CIS and World Championship gold in 1993. He represented Russia at two World Cups and three Olympic Games, winning silver in 1998 and bronze in 2002. He spent 13 seasons in the NHL.

Alexei Yashin managed to topple Curtis Lazar with 68.6% of the vote.

Yashin beat Radek Bonk with 69.4% of the vote in the third round.

NHL totals: 850 GP, 337 G, 444 A, 781 P, 401 PIM

Spezza was drafted second overall in 2001. He has spent 11 seasons with the Senators. Spezza represented Canada at the World Juniors on three occasions, winning three medals, and has won two silver medals at the Worlds.

Spezza beat Andrej Meszaros in the second round with 97.8% of the vote.

He beat Martin Havlat in the third round with 96.1% of the vote.

NHL totals: 686 GP, 251 G, 436 A, 687 P, 434 PIM