Ottawa Senators Season End Prospect Awards

That decision proved to be the right call. Less than a month after his reassignment, Yakemchuk was again named Prospect of the Week with a four-point performance in three games, then returned to the forefront in December with another point-per-game week. In February, he won his final Prospect of the Week with yet another four points in three games. Although his point total last season wasn’t as impressive as 2023-24’s, he proved that he could be a much more reliable presence on the blueline, which is exactly what the Senators need in their system. Now, he has his sights set on making the Senators’ opening-night roster, and he looks to have all the tools to do so.

Runners Up – Blake Montgomery, Leevi Merilainen

Best Defenceman – Carter Yakemchuk

Yakemchuk is also the easy choice for the Best Defenceman. When he was returned to Calgary, the Senators asked him to continue working on his defensive game. Thomas Chabot took him under his wing in the preseason, which helped him work on the finer points of the game, and with that additional knowledge and experience, the Hitmen trusted him to play in nearly every situation. “I’ve taken a lot of strides on the defensive side of my game,” he said back in April. “It’s been a work in progress, but it’s been improving every day and every practice so far.”

Yakemchuck took his biggest step forward in the playoffs, posting a plus-6 in 11 games, finishing second among the team’s defencemen, eventually falling to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. While Tomas Hamara’s breakout with the Brantford Bulldogs and Nikolas Matinpalo’s steady presence on the Senators’ third pairing were impressive, no one was all that close to the impact that Yakemchuk had with the Hitmen.

Runners Up – Tomas Hamara, Nikolas Matinpalo

Playoff MVP – Tyler Kleven

There were a lot of high notes in the Senators’ first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, but one of the highest came from the team’s third-pairing rookie defender. Although he only put up two assists as Ottawa was eliminated in six games, Tyler Kleven was one of the team’s most reliable defensive presences, tying for sixth on the team with 16 hits, was third in blocked shots, and tied for the most penalty minutes drawn.

Already, that’s an impressive performance from a rookie defenceman, but Kleven’s advanced stats are even better. He had the third-best on-ice expected goals-against per 60 minutes with an average of 1.77, which was just ahead of Tim Stutzle and defensive specialist Michael Amadio. Kleven was also the third-best at creating high-danger shot attempts per 60, finishing the postseason with an average of 2.43. His off-ice expected goals percentage was also surprisingly low, sitting at just 44.1%, meaning that when he was on the bench, the Senators struggled to score as effectively as when he was playing. Only Brady Tkachuk, Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, and Fabian Zetterlund had lower percentages.

For a young team that needed a steady presence on the blueline, Kleven was exactly what the Senators needed, making few mistakes and providing his team with opportunities to score every time he stepped onto the ice. At just 23 years old, he’s proving to be a highly effective depth player. That’s exactly what a competitive playoff team needs, and with him locked up for the next two seasons, they’ll have a much better shot at making a deep run in the spring.

Runners Up – Lucas Ellinas, Nikolas Matinpalo

Top Goalie – Leevi Merilainen

Just like with the Top Defenceman, there wasn’t any serious competition for the Top Goalie. Leevi Merilainen established himself as the team’s best goalie outside the NHL last season, prompting some to argue he deserves to be the Senators’ backup moving forward. His 12-game stint while Linus Ullmark dealt with an injury saw him put up a .925 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.99 goals-against average (GAA), both of which were the highest of any Senators’ goalie, and his three shutouts tied Anton Forsberg, who played 18 more games than the promising rookie. Merilainen was also named the Belleville Senators’ Most Valuable Player at their end-of-season team awards after leading the team in all statistical categories, and his four shutouts were the only four times that Belleville wasn’t scored on.

Merilainen’s performance gave the organization enough confidence to sign him to a one-way deal and let Forsberg walk to free agency, meaning the backup spot is now his to lose. The Senators gave him some competition by adding Jackson Parsons and Hunter Shepard, and Mads Sogaard is still around, but none have been as impressively consistent as Merilainen.

Runners Up – Vladimir Nikitin, Kevin Riedler

Biggest Breakout – Blake Montgomery

It’s safe to say that, before the 2024 NHL Draft, few thought Blake Montgomery would break out as a top prospect. Hailing from Maryland and spending his summers in Bermuda, where his mother is from, hockey wasn’t high on many people’s radar. “Where we’re from, hockey’s definitely not considered a top competitive sport at all,” said Bryce Montgomery, Blake’s older brother and currently signed by the Carolina Hurricanes. “It looked weird for us to even be taking hockey seriously because we kind of had the height and the power for basketball or football” (from “Meet Blake Montgomery, the Senators prospect taking one ‘big step’ after another,” The Athletic – 24/05/2025).

But last season, Montgomery quickly became one of the Senators’ best prospects. After putting up 10 points in 10 games with the Lincoln Stars, he left the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), joining the London Knights. There were a few growing pains, but by his 10th game, he hit his stride and never looked back. In the week of Nov. 26 – Dec. 1, he put up eight points in four games, and three weeks later, he had five points in just two games.

By the end of the season, Montgomery had 23 goals, 50 points, and three Prospect of the Week awards, then added another 10 points in 17 playoff games. He established himself not only as an offensive threat but as a player who can do a little bit of everything. His confidence skyrocketed throughout his first OHL season, which should serve him well next season as he goes off to the University of Wisconsin.

Runners Up – Tomas Hamara, Cole Reinhardt

Toughest Customer – Matthew Andonovski

The Senators have focused on strong depth contributors over the past several drafts, and while that has created significant gaps in their prospect pool, it’s also added some tough customers to their system. Gabriel Eliasson, last year’s second-round pick, had 116 penalty minutes and two fights. Jorian Donovan, a 2022 fifth-rounder, led all Senators’ prospects with six fights and 83 penalty minutes. Djibril Toure, a 6-foot-7 free agent signing last season, put up 98 penalty minutes and had five fights. All three promise to factor into Ottawa’s future in some capacity.

However, the toughest player in Ottawa’s system is Matthew Andonovski. Selected 140th overall in 2023, he has quickly established himself as one of the OHL’s toughest players to play against. His 132 penalty minutes led all Senators prospects, but he wasn’t just a strong body out on the ice. In the 2024-25 OHL Coaches Poll, he was voted the best defensive defenceman, one of the best penalty killers, and one of the best body checkers in the league, titles he retained from 2023-24, and was named the Kitchener Rangers’ best defensive player. He was even projected to be a potential top defenceman in last season’s OHL Media Poll prediction alongside Sam Dickinson and Zayne Parekh, showing just how impactful he’s been as a junior. He’s set to turn pro next season, where he’ll have an opportunity to play big minutes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and show off his skillset.

Runners Up – Gabriel Eliasson, Djibril Toure

Highest Scorer – Lucas Ellinas

There were a few ways to take this award, but in the end, I awarded it to the player who scored with the highest frequency, and no one was more dangerous than Lucas Ellinas. In 50 games with Kitchener, he scored 20 goals, then added eight more to lead the Rangers in the playoffs. Although Kitchener was swept by the Knights, Ellinas finished with an average of 0.48 goals per game, the highest of any player in the Senators’ system. He’s still not the most highly regarded prospect in Ottawa’s system, but he’s well on his way to developing into a strong secondary scorer. Look for his game to hit another level in 2025-26.

Runners Up – Blake Montgomery, Wyatt Bongiovanni

Leadership Award – Donovan Sebrango

Aside from Garrett Pilon, who can hardly be considered a prospect at 27 years old, the only other player who wore a ‘C’ on his sweater was Andonovski. However, several were named alternate captains, one of whom was Donovan Sebrango, who was given an ‘A’ in his second season with Belleville after coming over from the Detroit Red Wings’ organization. The 23-year-old established himself as one of Belleville’s toughest defencemen with 79 penalty minutes in 50 games and was also a reliable offensive presence, scoring eight goals and 20 points, the third-highest total on the team. His strong performance netted him the final Prospect of the Week for 2024-25.

But what makes Sebrango the recipient of this award is his work off the ice. Belleville awarded Sebrango with the Belleville Community Award, stating, “Donovan has made the community his home year-round. He is incredibly generous with his time away from the rink and never hesitates to help anyone in need.” While it would be nice to know what he did in the community, not knowing is almost better; his charitable work wasn’t broadcast, it was done out of kindness and knowing that doing so was the right thing. Fans already know he’s got a good heart – in his NHL debut in January, he spoke on how incredibly grateful he was for his mom and her support throughout his hockey journey. “I mean, a single mom having to kind of teach me the ways of hockey and bringing me into the sport, I mean that lap was for her,” he said. “Everything tonight was for her.”

Runners Up – Matthew Andonovski, Maxence Guenette

A Much Better Farm System

There were lots of highs for the Senators last season. Yakemchuk proved he could be a well-rounded threat in all situations, including playing strong, defensive hockey, and Montgomery, Merilainen, and Kleven took big steps forward in their development and look much closer to making a significant impact in the NHL. Sebrango, Ellinas, and Hamara all looked very solid throughout the season, as did others not mentioned here, like Javon Moore, Stephen Halliday, and Filip Nordberg. That is a solid group of players who all have NHL upside, even if it’s just in a depth capacity.

While there is still a lot of room for improvement, several players are joining the ranks this season and promise to make some noise. The Senators’ top draft choice for 2025, Logan Hensler, will give Yakemchuk a run for his money as the top defenceman, while fans should keep an eye on Blake Vanek and Bruno Idzan to have similar breakouts to Montgomery and Moore. In the AHL, the departures of Angus Crookshank and Cole Reinhardt will open up some spots for players to fight for, which could result in some more breakouts and NHL call-ups. There may be a lot of questions, but unlike in seasons past, those questions have much more positive potential answers.