3 Senators Prospects to Watch in 2025-26

Senators amateur scout Andrew Gordon was specifically looking for Yakemchuk’s defensive abilities. “A lot of the areas we wanted Yakemchuk’s game to evolve, it doesn’t show up on the scoresheet,” he said. “When the puck’s on (his) stick, there’s no question what he can do, and I think that’s always going to be a strength, so we were trying to shore up the other areas of his game and make sure he’s able to compete in the corners, defensively, off the rush, improve his feet and just gap control, things like that, where he’s going to have to face some pretty quick guys at the next level. We think he’s more ready for that now than he was a year ago.”

Will it be enough to secure a roster spot in October? Last year’s preseason performance had many arguing he should have been on the team in 2024-25, at least for a seven-game trial, and with another season of growth under his belt, he’ll be tough to turn away. Nick Jensen’s injury could open a spot for him on the bottom pair, but he’ll need to get past Nikolas Matinpalo, who was surprisingly solid during the Senators’ first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. There’s also newcomer Jordan Spence and returnee Lassi Thomson, who further clog up the right side and push Yakemchuk to the minors. Still, he’ll be one to watch with the Belleville Senators, as he’s shown that he’s willing to work to make his ultimate dream come true.

Stephen Halliday

While it’s no surprise that Yakemchuk will be one to watch in 2025-26, few could have seen Stephen Halliday’s emergence as one of Ottawa’s top prospects. Selected 104th overall in 2022, Halliday was dominant at Ohio State, leading the team in points as a freshman and sophomore before signing a pro contract with the Senators at the end of the 2023-24 NCAA season. He put up five points in his first 10 pro games in Belleville, then led the team with nine points in seven playoff games to close out the American Hockey League (AHL) season. Last season, he improved on his impressive debut with a team-leading 51 points in 71 games, the 11th highest point total from a U23 player in the league.

Already, Halliday has proven he’s on the precipice of making the Senators. Belleville’s head coach already believes the 23-year-old can play in the NHL, and although he didn’t play in any NHL games, he learned a lot from practicing a few times with Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. But Halliday believes that he can take his game to new levels next season. “I think in making progress, I want to have more of an attack mindset,” he said in his Belleville exit interview. “Get a little bit faster and play with pace. I definitely want to get a lot stronger this summer. In past summers, I’ve done a lot of on-ice work and skating, but I think getting stronger will help me win a lot more battles in the AHL. And faceoffs, I think I got a lot better in the last 15 games, and talking with Sam Ganger when he came on and took a bit of a mentorship role with me. So that’s stuff I want to work on.”

Halliday has improved every single season, and 2025-26 won’t be any different. There’s no question that he’ll appear in at least a couple of NHL games with the Senators; it’s just a debate of how high the 2022 fourth-round pick will climb.

Blake Vanek

If anyone can follow Montgomery’s path as the most surprising breakout star, it’s Blake Vanek. He spent most of last season at Stillwater High School, where he had 22 goals and 53 points in 29 games and helped his team reach the Class AA State Championship game. He then made his USHL debut with the Chicago Steel, where he scored four goals in just nine games as a 17-year-old. Now, he’s off to the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Wenatchee Wild, which acquired his rights from the Vancouver Giants before signing him to a standard player agreement. In the official release, Wild director of scouting Leigh Mendelson said, “(Vanek) was a player we wanted to have in our organization due to his innate athleticism, game sense, and ability to produce offensively. We think he will flourish under Coach (Don) Nachbaur and his staff as he rounds out his game and becomes a more complete player.”

Helping Vanek fine-tune his game is his dad, Thomas Vanek, a veteran of over 1,000 NHL games and nearly 800 points. “We talk a ton,” he said during the Senators’ development camp. “Obviously, he’s played a long career, so he’s always guiding me through that path that he took and just giving me tips along the way.” The two play similar styles, too, which isn’t a coincidence, as the elder Vanek was a key mentor in Blake’s development of an “In the front mentality, tipping pucks…I’ve taken that from him.”

There are also some similarities between Vanek and Montgomery, as the former Knight was also a high school star in his draft year, but was passed over until 2024. Both players use their size, speed, and mobility to create openings for a strong shot. Like the OHL, the WHL is a great place for a player who has those elements in his game already, especially as the league is trending to a younger demographic following the NCAA rule change. Although Wenatchee isn’t nearly as strong a program as London, Vanek promises to be a player to keep an eye on in 2025-26.

Senators Have Plenty of Breakout Potential

After Michael Andlauer took over the Senators, there has been a much stronger commitment to development within the organization. Making the playoffs has remained the primary goal, but not at the expense of a well-rounded farm system. That’s led the team to have much better draft classes with plenty of breakout potential, and the AHL squad has a better approach to getting players ready for the NHL instead of holding veterans for eventual NHL call-ups. Just look at Halliday, who was called up multiple times last season but didn’t see any NHL action. Instead, he just practiced with the Senators, letting him see what it takes to get to the next level. That means more players will get opportunities to play NHL games, not because they’re high-profile targets, but because they’re truly ready for the big show. So, who will be the next breakout star? We’ll just have to wait and see.