Ottawa Senators Prospect Update - May 2nd

This past week, we saw six Ottawa Senators prospects operating in duos. One pair's journey has come to an end, and there now remain only two, as the WHL's Winnipeg ICE and the ECHL's Allen Americans push for league championships.

Zack Ostapchuk + Carson Latimer

At first glance, Ostapchuk's 10 points in 11 playoff games with the ICE don't seem all that impressive, especially when compared to his absurd totals last year with the Vancouver Giants, which were twice as good. However, there's some additional context we need to look at beyond just that.

The Giants were not a major threat last season and had to rely heavily on Ostapchuk's line to hold their own in the playoffs. As for the ICE, there's an extraordinary wealth of forward talent such that Ostapchuk is currently serving as the third-line centre. It's a lineup featuring a pair of 2022 first-round picks in Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie, a projected 2023 Top-10 pick in Zach Benson, and one of the WHL's top overagers in Connor McClennon, none of whom have spent much time with Ostapchuk (who ranks 5th in points-per-game among ICE forwards) at 5-on-5 in the postseason.

Latimer, a fourth-round selection from 2021, currently has 2 points in 7 playoff games with the ICE in a bottom-six role. He was scoreless in both of the team's victories against the Saskatoon Blades this past week, while Ostapchuk scored his eighth of the playoffs on a shorthanded penalty shot goal (the shorthanded breakaway is at the 1:14 mark of the recap) in Game 1 on Friday. Not sure as to why these first two games were scheduled back-to-back, but oh well.

The ICE are up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Final, with Game 3 taking place tonight. Should they advance to the final, they'll have a tough opponent in either the Kamloops Blazers, who match them in offensive talent, or the Seattle Thunderbirds, backstopped by Thomas Milic, who with a .949 save percentage, has been the best goalie in these playoffs by a country mile. Seattle currently leads that series 1-0.

Cameron O'Neill + Theo Wallberg

Both of the organization's USHL prospects saw their seasons come to an end in quarterfinal playoff action over the weekend. O'Neill, a fifth-rounder from 2022, had an assist for the Tri-City Storm in four playoff games, while Wallberg, a defenseman taken in the sixth round of the same draft, had an assist in five with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Both will begin their collegiate careers next season and will be playing with fellow 2022 Sens prospects, with O'Neill joining seventh-rounder Tyson Dyck at UMass, and Wallberg teaming up with fourth-rounder Stephen Halliday at Ohio State.

Jakov Novak + Kevin Mandolese

Novak scored his first and most important ECHL playoff point yesterday, in the form of the game-winning goal for the Americans, who took down the Kansas City Mavericks in a 4-2 series win. Mandolese was stellar in goal, stopping 40 of 41 in the victory, and has a .944 save percentage through six playoff games.

Stats

CHL

USA

Goalies