Ottawa Senators Prospect of the Week – Angus Crookshank

But the former point leader was the most impactful player in Belleville last weekend. On Jan. 24, the Senators hosted the Hershey Bears, welcoming the Washington Capitals’ affiliate after losing to them 4-1 on the road the previous game. The game got off to a bad start for the Senators with Hershey scoring the first two goals, but Belleville clawed back, and by the end of the first period, they were only down 3-2.

Then, on a delay-of-game power play, Crookshank fired home the game-tying goal on a beautiful feed from Halliday and Sam Gagner. The game remained tied when the final buzzer sounded, pushing the two teams into overtime. Once again, Halliday connected with Crookshank to score, giving Belleville the win. This time, though, the roles were reversed and Crookshank collected an assist, giving him a team-leading two points on the night.

The next night, Hershey was back and they hit the ice at the CAA Arena with a vengeance. After Bongiovanni’s opening goal, the Bears surged to a 5-3 win, always staying just ahead of the Senators. But on every goal Belleville scored, Crookshank was right there, collecting secondary assists on the first two goals and the primary helper on the third. “He was a Cy Young candidate there for a while with the goals and assists,” said head coach Dave Bell after the frustrating loss. “But he’s rounding out his game so it’s good to see.”

With Ottawa still dealing with several injuries, the NHL’s management group will take note of Crookshank’s development. The team’s top forwards are starting to find their scoring touch again – both Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk broke pointless streaks over the last few days – but the bottom of the lineup is still in some disarray. Should the Senators need an offensive boost, Crookshank could return to the NHL for the first time this season after playing 13 games in 2023-24. He certainly deserves a second look after last week.

Senators Honourable Mentions & Check-Ins

Vladimir Nikitin is back in British Columbia after the World Junior Championship, joining the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) Nanaimo Clippers after playing 25 games with the Chilliwack Chiefs last season before returning to his native Kazakhstan. However, after just 12 appearances in Russia’s MHL, he decided to return to Canada. In his first start with the Clippers, he faced 25 shots and turned away 23 for the overtime win. Although he doesn’t always have the greatest numbers, the 6-foot-4 Kazakh is a great high-volume goaltender and shone for the struggling Kazakhs at the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa.

Last week’s Prospect of the Week, Nikolas Matinpalo, didn’t have quite as strong of a follow-up to his strong debut. The Finnish defender is still looking for his first NHL point while dipping to 2.2 goals against per 60 minutes compared to his previous 1.6 average. However, his ice time is steadily increasing, showing that the team trusts him to play tougher minutes despite his inexperience.

Blake Montgomery remained the most dangerous Senators’ prospect with the puck, scoring another two goals and adding four points to his already impressive total with the London Knights. He now has 19 goals and 38 points in 29 games. Only Easton Cowan, Denver Barkey, and Sam Dickinson have put up points at a higher pace with the Knights this season, but no one has scored more goals in a shorter period. There’s a bright future for Montgomery in Ottawa if he can keep this up.

Tune in next week to see which prospect stands above the rest.