Ottawa Senators Prospect Update: Let’s talk about Jakov Novak

While some of the team’s prospects in the junior ranks and overseas have quieted down, the pros playing in Belleville and Ottawa have ramped their game up. It’s part of what makes covering such a deep system fun — there’s something to talk about every week, and a new player to highlight that many may not have read about before! Onwards to your weekly update of standout performances, prospect news, and tidbits of relevant information.

Pro (NHL, AHL, ECHL)

• Rudolfs Balcers had three goals and six shots in two games to start his season.
• Josh Norris and Drake Batherson continued on their hot-streak, with four point weeks for both.
• Alex Formenton continued his point-per-game pace, and is now tied for sixth in AHL rookie scoring with eight points.
• After slow offensive stars, the duo of Christian Jaros and Max Lajoie both picked up two assists in three games this past week.
• Vitaly Abramov continues to showcase his skill, scoring two goals — including this highlight reel one from a Jaros’ stretch pass: /

Amazing goal from #VitalyAbramov

-Josh Brook RIP

3-2 Belleville@SensProspects pic.twitter.com/hiWcLbl0dE

— Yannick St-Pierre (@DraftDynasty1) November 14, 2019

Canadian Hockey League

• A ho-hum week for this trio, with Kastelic and Gruden continuing to put up points (two each) on strong teams. /

NCAA

• Angus Crookshank is averaging 4.3 shots a game, and scored again this week.
• Christopher Wilkie raises Crookshank 0.2 shots, and is up to 4.5 a game.
• Another quiet week for Shane Pinto, who started hot, but is experiencing his first (and not his last!) dry spell of his collegiate career. /

European Leagues

• Interesting note: since Lassi Thomson was injured on October 19th, his team has won seven straight. Hopefully it isn’t too hard to get him back into the lineup once he’s 100% healthy..
• Olle Alsing returned from the Karjala Cup and continues to lead Djurgårdens in scoring. He also did this in the Champions League:/

🚨! What a stretch pass by Olle Alsing! Armalis 🇱🇹 stopped the first chance, but he couldn't stop the second. @DIFHockeyse have tied it up!#ChampionsGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/Kazu8vNntj

— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) November 12, 2019

Goalies

• After a solid start to the year, Filip Gustavsson was pulled again this past week.
• Joey Daccord hasn’t had a good run of things either, posting an 0.860 sv% while facing 59 shots this week.
• The one goalie who rebounded? Mads Søgaard, who stopped 32 of 33 shots to hem his wounds. With 7th rounder Dustin Wolf (CGY) improving his save percentage up to a 0.939%, he’ll be a constant comparison to the high-second rounder the Sens used on the Dane. /

Biggest Standouts

Jakov Novak

Colin highlighted Novak’s play in the stats sheet last week as the team’s first collegiate prospect to hit double-digit points this season. With a group that includes Pinto, Bernard-Docker, Crookshank, and more, Novak has been a forgotten prospect. We even rated him as such in our end-of-season prospect tiers list after he put up a modest 15 points in 37 games during his freshman year.

Part of the reason why we’ve been so down on Novak in the past is due to his age — he’s only in his sophomore (‘second’) season, but just turned 21 — whereas the other three prospects mentioned above are turning 20 this season. Novak has scoring pedigree after leading the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in scoring as a 19-year-old, but if you remove the years that the USNTP played there in the 00s, the league only has 29 alumni who have played in the NHL over 43 seasons of operating.

(Interestingly, there are multiple current or former Senators on the list, including: Craig Anderson, Ben Bishop, Erik Condra, David Legwand (!), and Chris Wideman)

However, is there something here that we’ve been missing? Our draft day post on him was bare because there was so little information about a player in a lower-tier league, but more has emerged over the last two years.

Playing his midget hockey in Windsor, Novak was passed over twice in the OHL Draft:

“My draft year, I was five-foot-eight and 155 pounds,” said Novak, who had two goals and 11 points in 32 games that season. “A year later, I was six-foot-two and 185 pounds.” Not that his jump in size and 25 goals and 46 points in 34 games for Windsor major midget team got him anymore attention. “I never talked to anyone (from the OHL),” Novak said. “I talked to Halifax in the Q(MJHL), but I always wanted to go the college route.”

He was drafted in the 19th round of the USHL Draft (Muskegon), but opted to play his prep hockey at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, scoring close to a goal-a-game with 37 (along with 21 assists) in 40 games. His performance got him listed on Central Scouting’s “prospects to watch” list for his first draft-eligible year, 2017, where he ultimately went undrafted by an NHL team. He was, however, made a first round pick — 8th overall by the Janesville Jets.

While the NAHL is a weaker league in terms of competition, Novak made the most of his opportunity. In his second and final season, his 32 goals, 73 points, and +41 led the league in those categories. He finished 13 points up on his next closest teammate, and 30 points up on third place. While he wasn’t rated in any mid-term rankings for the 2018 Draft, he caught the eye of more scouts after a two-game, four-point performance at the 2018 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. By the time the season was over, he was rated 214 among North American skaters on Central Scouting’s Final Rankings.

Novak noted that he had a few interviews with NHL teams, but that Sens’ staff drove down to visit him two weeks before the draft. Now up to 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds, the Sens liked what they saw in Novak.

If you haven’t had a chance to watch him play, here are two scouting reports. The first is from his head coach at Janesville, Joe Dibble:

“The first thing you notice about Novak is his size,” Dibble said. “He’s six foot three, over two hundred pounds, can skate, and can shoot the puck like a pro. What’s amazing is his release. At a young age, he already has the release of a pro hockey player, which a lot of us got to see this weekend on a couple of his goals. Ultimately, though, Jakov is also an extremely professional human...in the way he carries himself and prepares for his games. He’s a kid with an extremely high ceiling.”

The second is from Sens amateur scout, Bob Janecyk, who often surveys the U.S. for the team:

“He can shoot the puck, he scores and he’s got to get a little bit quicker.” “We’ve always really liked him. He’s been around a few years. He’s developed and he’s getting stronger. He’s got great speed, quickness and agility.”

With the size and tools that Novak has, you begin to wonder why he didn’t catch the attention of a bigger program than Bentley, who only has (another ex-Sen) Cory Conacher as a notable alumnus. When you only read scouting reports and watch highlights, you can miss context into a player’s game. In Novak’s case, it sounds like some of it is the Drake Batherson phenomenon, where he grew late into his body. It’s what makes the collegiate option so enticing, and where we’ll be watching him closely over the next couple of seasons to see if he can sustain this level of play.

Note: For a longer profile on Novak and his story, check out this piece from the Janesville Jets.

Jakov Novak has 7G and 13 points in 10GP to start his second NCAA season 🔥

He had 7G and 15 points in 37GP last season. #GoSensGopic.twitter.com/iPq1ywIbYm

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) November 17, 2019

Markus Nurmi

Another sort-of forgotten prospect who will be in tight to earn an entry-level contract, Markus Nurmi has rebounded this season. After a strong 21 point (51GP) rookie season, Nurmi had one-goal and 12 points in 60 games in an expanded role in 2018-19.

In 2019-20, he’s been playing 14:55 a night, and his up to 10 points in 21 games. When he’s at his best, he’s playing a defensively responsible, north-south game — using his size along the boards and putting a hard accurate shot on net.

Ottawa Senators prospect Markus Nurmi scored also today. Forced a zone-entry and finished the play nicely.

Annunen on net not on the greatest position either but it was a nice goal and a great play all in all.

Nurmi has now 10 points in 21 games. pic.twitter.com/iLpnrN43KW

— Juha Rapanen (@jrabane) November 16, 2019

Silver Linings

• Some health updates to start. First, Logan Brown is back, and recorded an assist in the two contests he suited up for this week: /

🍎 another beauty assist by Logan Brown

pic.twitter.com/YlAgv5U0z5

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) November 17, 2019

• Jonathan Davidsson, who had some injury trouble to end his first NHL stint, and JC Beaudin were sent down to Belleville; as was Rudolfs Balcers. It’s Max Veronneau’s turn in the rotation.
• Jonny Tychonick missed one of UND’s two weekend games due to an illness, but should be okay for it’s next match.
• Of the Sens non-pro prospects, the only injuries that remain are Lassi Thomson and Kevin Mandolese, who’s been out since the end of October with a lower-body injury that might last quite some time. Not good news for him in a crucial contract year.
• Viktor Lodin was loaned to the Allsvenskan after putting up two points in 13 contests with SHL-leading Örebro. He was only averaging around six-and-a-half minutes a night, so it’s not the worst thing for him to go down and play more. He continues to be an extremely puzzling pick, especially in the fourth round.
• A nice article on Luke Loheit, who hasn’t produced much for the reigning back-to-back champion Bulldogs. The fact that he’s playing regular minutes can be seen as somewhat of a win, though, as he’ll likely be there for at least two more seasons. /