Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - February 19th

On the one hand, I look forward to the Ottawa Senators and their inevitable dismantling of Montreal at home in Kanata on Saturday. At the same time, the rumours regarding certain forwards' health give me pause looking at this team's chances down the stretch. Anyway, no pressure, but if the rest of the team could just hold down the fort until Josh Norris and Shane Pinto get healthy then that would be cool.

Anyways, let’s talk prospects!

Updates

Matthew Andonovski has really confounded me this season. He has regressed in terms of generating points despite an expanded role as a veteran and team captain in Kitchener. Also he leads the OHL in penalty minutes. I would hope this has more to do with playing against other teams' best players and sheltering the younger, dynamic players on Kitchener's roster. It’s hard to know what to make of his future at this stage.

Owen Beckner continues to show flashes of prospect legitimacy. I felt cautiously optimistic about Beckner after a good year in the USHL and so far he has followed it up with some decent stretches in his freshman season at Colorado College. He has five points in his last four games (probably a bit of luck as he had just two shots over that same span). I still don't want to get my hopes up but he's worth keeping an eye on.

Tyson Dyck had a modest singular point in his last four games but more importantly accumulated 14 shots over that same span. He set a pretty low bar last season but it's still good to see him clearing it. Does this count as optimism?

Gabriel Eliasson somehow doesn't lead the OHL in penalty minutes (thanks to Andonovski and a couple of other guys) and he kept up his pace with a dozen more penalty minutes since our last update. I chalk this one up to defensive drafting. Maybe Eliasson never amounts to anything, but if he does become a beast in the NHL, you won't want him playing for a rival team. He continues To be very large.

Luke Ellinas remains sidelined with injury for Kitchener so nothing to update there.

Tomas Hamara had six more points in his last six games as Brantford clinched a playoff spot and added 16 shots along the way. I look forward to seeing if Hamara can keep up the pace in the postseason against better opponents. If nothing else, this detour back to the CHL has let Hamara showcase his offensive upside.

Oliver Johansson and Eerik Wallenius have both done some stuff since the last update but nothing worth elaborating on. Sorry, it’s just not that exciting!

Blake Montgomery got back up to cool stuff with two goals, four assists, and seven shots in his last five games. He has a really good shot at Ottawa's most valuable prospect this year. His 44 points in 36 games rank fifth on the powerhouse London Knights. It’s nice to see a high upside prospect seem to hit.

Javon Moore also had a badass couple of weeks with four goals, two assists, and 20 shots in his last five games. It's a shame he got off to a slow start because it belies his better stretches. I still look forward to good things next year when Moore makes his NCAA debut.

Filip Norberg randomly had a really good stretch of five games alongside Moore with Sioux Falls accumulating three assists and eight shots since we last checked in. Only a couple years too late but oh well.

Vladimir Nikitin has thoroughly enjoyed his return to North America as he now has five wins in five games in the BCHL. He had added a shutout to his statline this year just for good measure.

Cameron O'Neill still exists. O'Neill's teammate Nicholas Van Tassell also still exists.

Kevin Reidler had one appearance (in relief) since our last update. He made 20 saves on 22 shots against Western Michigan. Hampton Slukynsky got the win for the Broncos. For those who followed last year's coverage, Reidler finished second to Slukynsky in most counting stats atop the USHL leaderboards.

Hoyt Stanley had one of his best weeks or two since Ottawa drafted him, with three assists and four shots in his last four games. He hasn't had the most consistent season but every now and then he shows his potential.

Theo Wallberg must have heard me talking smack because he had two assists in his last two games. He had such a good freshman season that it seems impossible for him to finish this year with less than ten points.

Carter Yakemchuk had some seriously rotten luck over his past five games with just one assist and no goals despite registering 15 shots. Slumps happen. As long as he stays healthy then he'll start converting again soon and continue to compete among the WHL's leading defenders.

Stats