Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - February 2nd

It was a quiet week for the Ottawa Senators prospect pool, especially in Belleville — the AHL squad played only one game last week and it was a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies. Fortunately, we can always count on Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson, and give a shout-out to another player for making his NHL debut.

Forwards:

Ridly Greig

Despite his overall points per game remaining stagnant, Greig has improved greatly in terms of both goals (19 in 25 games as opposed to 10 in 21), and shots (4.56 per game as opposed to 3.95) with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings this season. This past week, the 28th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft had a goal and two assists in two games, including a Gordie Howe hat-trick on Sunday.

⭐️Ridly Greig was named first star on Sunday after recoding his second Gordie Howe hat trick of the season in a 3-0 win over Saskatoon

Greig now has 19G & 19A in 25GP with the @bdnwheatkings #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/mixyBHuQ5h

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) January 31, 2022

Oliver Johansson

A third-round pick from the recent 2021 draft, Johansson recently returned to Timra IK’s U20 team after going pointless in 13 SHL games. He’s now up to 21 points in 19 games with the junior squad after a two-assist performance this past week.

Mark Kastelic

Playing in your first NHL game is a great achievement for any hockey player, let alone a 5th-round pick who was previously passed on in two drafts, before being selected by the Senators in 2019. Kastelic skated on the team’s fourth line against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, logging 6:22 of ice-time.

"I’ve been looking forward to this moment my whole life ... it’s just a dream come true."

Hear from Mark Kastelic after he made his NHL debut this afternoon. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/V5B9Bb3iGF

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 29, 2022

Defensemen:

Jake Sanderson

In his last game with the University of North Dakota prior to suiting up for Team USA at the Olympics (!!!), the 5th-overall pick from 2020 scored a highlight-reel goal against St. Cloud State, in which he dangles an opposing player before moving quickly from backhand to forehand and beating David Hrenak below the blocker.

O-L-Y-M-P-I-A-N 🤩 #NoDakSens pic.twitter.com/jXDORCLXyt

— Locked On Senators (@SensCentral) January 30, 2022

Lassi Thomson

Thomson is looking like he’ll soon be the lone remaining piece from the Matt Duchene trade, as the player selected with the 19th pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft which originally belonged to the Columbus Blue Jackets. So far, the pick is turning out to be a success, as he’s looked much better in his second NHL stint. A pair of assists in games against Buffalo and Anaheim this week brings him up to a respectable 5 assists in 16 games. His pass to Tyler Ennis here is a nice one in particular — it’s obviously a difficult pass to receive, but it’s still on target, which gives Ennis a chance to knock the puck down.

BEAUTIFUL spin-o-rama goal 🚨 Tyler Ennis!

Great outlet feed from Lassi Thomson pic.twitter.com/ZPy9jpJRUh

— Lalime's Martian (@LalimesMartian) January 29, 2022

Goaltending:

Mads Søgaard

Søgaard stopped 29 of 33 shots against the Marlies, bringing his save percentage down to .911, which is still pretty good for a goaltender in his first AHL season. The latter of two 2019 second-round picks, the 6’7 Dane has cemented himself as Belleville’s number-one goalie, and will likely continue to do so for the next few seasons.

Silver Linings

• Erik Brännström drew an assist on Nick Paul’s go-ahead powerplay goal in Ottawa’s thrilling 3-2 overtime win against Edmonton on Monday. He stood out in a big way a couple of games ago, and now he’s settled into a full-time role with the big club, consistently logging around 20 minutes a night.
• Since being drafted in the second round in 2018, Jonny Tychonick, a longtime friend and defense partner of Jacob Bernard-Docker, hasn’t been able to take the necessary steps forward to earn an entry-level deal. With his rights set to expire after this season, he’s only played in 13 games with Omaha this year, scoring two assists — one of which he had over the past week. Although he hasn’t panned out, I’d expect the Senators to sign him to an AHL contract — he’s currently projected to be an ECHL-caliber player in the long term, but I’m thinking his draft pedigree will allow him to play at least a few games at the pro level.
• Lastly, regardless of your expectations of recent 10th-overall pick Tyler Boucher’s OHL debut with the Ottawa 67s, you have to feel for him here. After battling through injuries and COVID-19 throughout the last year, he left in the first period with a shoulder injury, on Friday against the Sudbury Wolves. He will be out week-to-week./

Stats

Pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL)

NCAA

CHL

Europe

Goalies