Ottawa Senators Prospect Update: Josh Norris Surging in Belleville
Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and Jakov Novak are this week’s biggest standouts.
Welcome back to the weekly Ottawa Senators prospect update! Every Tuesday we’re bringing you news & notes from the Sens’ ever-so-important prospect pipeline, while highlighting some standout performances. The Belleville Senators went 2-1 this week, and a couple top prospects were their leaders.
Pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL)
| - | - | - | - | - | Since | the | last | prospect | update | - | | | - | T | O | T | A | L | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYER | POS | AGE | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% | | | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% |
| Alex Formenton | LW | 20 | AHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 25% | | | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 19 | 16% |
| Drake Batherson | RW | 21 | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0% | | | 9 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 41 | 7% |
| NHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | |||
| Filip Chlapik | C | 22 | AHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 7% |
| NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0% | | | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0% | |||
| Jonathan Davidsson | RW | 22 | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 20% | | | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 11% |
| Josh Norris | C | 20 | AHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 14% | | | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 34 | 9% |
| Logan Brown | C | 21 | AHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 33% |
| NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | #DIV/0! | | | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0% | |||
| Max Veronneau | RW | 23 | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 33% | | | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 8% |
| Michael Carcone | LW | 23 | AHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 14% | | | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 11% |
| Morgan Klimchuk | LW | 24 | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | | | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 17% |
| Parker Kelly | C/RW | 20 | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | | | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 13% |
| Vitaly Abramov | RW/LW | 21 | AHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0% | | | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 7% |
| NHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 33% | |||
| Andreas Englund | LD | 23 | AHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0% |
| Christian Jaros | RD | 23 | AHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 9% |
| Maxime Lajoie | LD | 21 | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | | | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 0% |
| Jean-Christophe Beaudin | C/RW | 22 | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0% | | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0% |
| AHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% | |||
| Rudolfs Balcers | LW | 22 | NHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Erik Brännström | LD | 20 | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | | | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 0% |
- Logan Brown, Jean-Christophe Beaudin and Filip Chlapik were all up in the NHL this week, with Brown notching his first assist of the season.
- Drake Batherson and Josh Norris each had over ten shots on goal in three games.
- Erik Brännström has been silent in his past three NHL games./
Canadian Hockey League
| - | - | - | - | - | - | Since | the | last | prospect | update | - | | | - | T | O | T | A | L | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYER | POS | AGE | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% | | | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% |
| Johnny Gruden | LW | 19 | London Knights | OHL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 40% | | | 14 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 7 | 42 | 17% |
| Maxence Guénette | RD | 18 | Val-d'Or Foreurs | QMJHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 13% | | | 17 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 50 | 6% |
| Mark Kastelic | C | 20 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 7% | | | 10 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 55 | 16% |
- Everyone had a point-per-game!
- Mark Kastelic had 17 shots on goal in three games this week./
NCAA
| - | - | - | - | - | Since | the | last | prospect | update | - | | | - | T | O | T | A | L | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYER | POS | AGE | TEAM | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% | | | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% |
| Angus Crookshank | LW | 20 | Univ. of New Hampshire | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0% | | | 24 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 93 | 13% |
| Chris Wilkie | RW | 23 | Colorado College | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0% | | | 22 | 17 | 8 | 25 | 13 | 122 | 14% |
| Jakov Novak | LW/C | 21 | Bentley Univ. | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0% | | | 26 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 39 | 75 | 19% |
| Luke Loheit | RW | 19 | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0% | | | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 17% |
| Shane Pinto | C | 19 | Univ. of North Dakota | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0% | | | 23 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 27 | 61 | 18% |
| Todd Burgess | C/RW | 23 | RPI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0% | | | 22 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 8% |
| Jacob Bernard-Docker | RD | 19 | Univ. of North Dakota | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% | | | 22 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 39 | 8% |
| Jonny Tychonick | LD | 19 | Univ. of North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0% | | | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 40% |
- Newcomer Christopher Wilkie has six points in four games this season with Colorado College.
- Finally, at long last, Jonny Tychonick scored his first career NCAA goal!/
European Leagues
| - | - | - | - | - | - | Since | the | last | prospect | update | - | | | - | T | O | T | A | L | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYER | POS | AGE | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% | | | GP | G | A | P | PIM | SOG | SH% |
| Markus Nurmi | RW/LW | 21 | TPS | Liiga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | | | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 6% |
| Lassi Thomson | RD | 19 | Ilves | Liiga | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 54 | 6% |
| Viktor Lodin | C/LW | 20 | Örebro HK | SHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0% | | | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0% |
| Olle Alsing | LD | 23 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 13% | | | 14 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 28 | 11% |
- Lassi Thomson missed a week of play due to injury.
- Olle Alsing scored a goal this week with eight shots in two games./
Goalies
| - | - | - | - | - | Since | the | last | prospect | update | - | - | | | - | T | O | T | A | L | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYER | AGE | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | SA | GA | SV% | | | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | SA | GA | SV% |
| Filip Gustavsson | 21 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | 90.3% | | | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 12 | 85.5% |
| Marcus Högberg | 24 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 6 | 91.8% | | | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 18 | 89.2% |
| Joey Daccord | 23 | Brampton Beast | ECHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 93.1% | | | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 13 | 89.8% |
| Kevin Mandolese | 19 | Cape Breton Eagles | QMJHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | 90.3% | | | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 250 | 23 | 90.8% |
| Mads Søgaard | 18 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 89.7% | | | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 292 | 25 | 91.4% |
- Joey Daccord picked up his second win of the season, stopping 27 of 29 shots.
- Both Marcus Högberg and Filip Gustavsson still have their overall save percentage below 90%./
Biggest Standouts
Josh Norris
The injuries to Colin White and Artem Anisimov have pushed all of Ottawa’s centres up the lineup. Logan Brown is in the NHL, and Josh Norris, who was previously held back in the bottom six, has moved into a top six role. He’s been excellent in the increased minutes, notching a goal and three assists this week. He’s now riding a four-game scoring streak (2G, 5A), after being scoreless in his first four.
🚨 Josh Norris!
— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) October 23, 2019
🍎 Vitaly Abramov
Great forecheck by Abramov leads to Norris' second goal in as many games. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/pos0DK2ja5
Of all the pro rookies entering Belleville this season, Norris was the most anticipated following his stellar season at the University of Michigan. While I have yet to get a full grasp of the defensive side of the two-way game he’s been lauded for, he’s turned on the offensive half, showing some chemistry with Vitaly Abramov in the last couple games. Maybe a potential call-up could be in store?
Drake Batherson
When Drake Batherson was sent down shortly after the season’s start, the expectation was that he would continue to dominate the AHL like he did last season. He’s done exactly that, with ten points in seven games so far, while averaging nearly five shots on goal per game. This week he recorded a goal and assist against Providence, plus another assist earlier in the week.
With the Senators on a break before picking back up Saturday, they’re likely going to be making a couple more call-ups ahead of their three-game road trip. Batherson was pencilled into the NHL roster by many at the start of the season, myself included, and his quick demotion was a tad surprising. Here’s hoping he gets another chance, and can graduate from the AHL once and for all.
Jakov Novak
The 2018 7th round pick stood out amongst the Sens’ many NCAA prospects this past week, with two goals and an assist for Bentley University. At 21 years old, the forward is only three goals away from matching his total from last season.
🚨🚨 Jakov Novak
— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) October 26, 2019
Novak's hot start continued on Friday night with a couple goals against Army in a 5-0 win. Ottawa's 7th round pick in 2018 has 4G in 4GP to start his sophomore NCAA season. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/sm0FvPGdhX
Given how late Novak was picked in the draft as an overager, it’s tough to set any kind of expectations for him. Bentley isn’t considered an esteemed program, but he’s already turning into their leader in his second season, leading them in scoring and ranking second in shots on goal. He’s a tall player, and from what I’ve seen at development camp he’s still working on filling out his frame and figuring out how to use it effectively. Hopefully he can use this strong week as a stepping stone going forward.
Silver Linings
- New prospect alert! The Sens acquired the rights to Christopher Wilkie from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jack Rodewald. Wilkie’s on a hot start for Colorado College with six points in four games, although he’s a 23-year-old winger in his final NCAA season. He becomes a free agent in the off-season if the Sens don’t sign him.
- As mentioned earlier, the Senators are on a break this week before resuming Saturday. Filip Chlapik and Jean-Christophe Beaudin were sent back down, although Belleville is also on a break with their next game on Friday. This is good news for Logan Brown, who seems to be sticking in the NHL for the time being.
- Five years after drafting him in the third round, Miles Gendron finally made his AHL debut with the Senators after being called up from Brampton. He’s filling in for the injured Andreas Englund, whereas Christian Jaros only had to miss one game.
- Alex Formenton went down with a minor injury this week, but he was back for Belleville’s most recent game on the first line with Jordan Szwarz and Michael Carcone.
- A glaring omission from last week’s prospect news was the injury to Lassi Thomson, which kept him out of action this week. Details on the injury are still unknown, although it’s not believed to not be anything serious.
- More on Lassi: he was named to Finland’s U20 team at the Four Nations Tournament, which starts in under two weeks.
- With Regina hosting the NHL’s outdoor game this past week, Mark Kastelic had the chance to play on the surface as the Calgary Hitmen faced the Regina Pats. He scored a nice shorthanded goal, too./
That's a nice shorthanded goal by Senators prospect Mark Kastelic. #WHL #25Together #Sens pic.twitter.com/rkJxjYJMci
— Eliteprospects (@eliteprospects) October 28, 2019
Stats are from AHL, CollegeHockeyInc, ECHL, EliteProspects, Liiga, OHL, QMJHL, SHL, and WHL.
