Revisiting the Ottawa Senators 2023 Draft

That assessment hasn’t changed much after his first season with Cornell University. He played in all 35 games, which is impressive for a freshman, and he put up two goals and 10 points, the third-highest on the team, while his 22 penalty minutes ranked fifth. All those are on par with his play in the BCHL the season before. However, he was able to help Cornell claim an ECAC Championship and defeat their first-round opponent in the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament before losing to the University of Denver in the second round. So, while Stanley hasn’t improved, per se, he hasn’t regressed, which is a promising sign for the future.

5th Round, 140th Overall – Matthew Andonovski, Left Defence

The Senators selected another defenceman with their next pick, taking Matthew Andonovski from the Kitchener Rangers 140th overall. A smart, competitive player, he became more of an enforcer in his third Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season, jumping up from 86 penalty minutes in 2022-23 to 124 this season. However, his toughness didn’t detract from his effectiveness, finishing with seven goals, 35 points, and the highest plus/minus score in the league with a plus-58.

Andonovski’s development into a top junior defenceman gave the Rangers the freedom to trade away fellow Senators’ pick Tomas Hamara early in the season. However, he wasn’t as effective in the playoffs, scoring just one assist and finishing with a minus-2 in 10 games. He is still an NHL longshot, but there may be the potential to be a bottom-pairing defender who can round out the blue line with some toughness and puck skills.

7th Round, 204th Overall – Owen Beckner, Centre

The first of three seventh-round picks, the Senators grabbed 6-foot-2 center Owen Beckner from the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. In 2022-23, he was a point-per-game player, which he continued in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Tri-City Storm. In 61 games, he scored 14 goals and 45 points, placing him third on the team. However, his inconsistent effort and offensive awareness also stuck with him, and he had a team-low minus-15. For a seventh-round pick, that’s about as good as you can expect. He’ll join Colorado College next season.

7th Round, 207th Overall – Vladimir Nikitin, Goaltender

With the pick acquired from the Nashville Predators in the Erik Gudbranson trade, the Senators selected little-known Kazakh goalie Vladimir Nikitin, who had a strong performance at the 2023 U18 D1A World Juniors, helping them earn a promotion to the top group in 2024, but had spent the rest of the season in Kazakhstan’s junior league. However, two weeks before the draft, he had committed to joining the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, which made him worth the risk.

As the team’s backup, Nikitin didn’t play very frequently but remained consistent in his appearances. From Oct 7, 2023, to March 2, 2024, he didn’t lose a single game in regulation, and in his 15 starts, he only dipped below a .900 save percentage (SV%) five times. In 25 total games, he finished with a promising .898 SV% and a 15-6-3 record with a shutout. He also had the 12th lowest goals-against average with a 2.76. Goalies are notoriously difficult to predict, but given his athleticism and 6-foot-4 frame, he could be worth keeping around.

7th Round, 215th Overall – Nicholas Van Tassell, Right Wing

The Senators acquired a third seventh-round pick when they traded Tyler Motte to the New York Rangers, which they used to select Nicholas Van Tassell, a 19-year-old with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. His offensive totals were fine, but his 6-foot-4 frame was impressive and he demonstrated some slick puck skills.

This season, he moved to the University of Massachusetts, where he played 24 games, scored one goal and one assist, and registered 19 penalty minutes. He also followed the pattern of several of the Senators’ picks before him and posted a team-low plus/minus with a minus-4. UMass also qualified for the Frozen Four tournament but lost out in the first round to Denver. So far, he doesn’t look like a future NHLer, which is typical for a late-draft pick, but it’s a bit tougher to stomach when a team makes only five picks.

All the Traded Picks

It’s impossible to review the Senators’ 2023 NHL Draft without looking at the moves that left them with so few picks. Under the opinion that the rebuild was over in Ottawa, general manager Pierre Dorion flipped the team’s first, second, third, and sixth-round picks for immediate help. However, none of them seemed to help.

The 12th overall pick was sent to the Arizona Coyotes for Jakob Chychrun, which was initially seen as a bargain. A top pairing defenceman for just three picks, and only one in the first round? Any team would do that. With the pick, the Coyotes selected Russian forward Daniil But, which was a surprise and certainly helped the trade in Ottawa’s favour. A year later, however, opinions have soured. Chychrun led the Senators’ defence with 14 goals and 41 points, but he also led them with a minus-30 and is now rumoured to be on the trade block. But, on the other hand, But finished fourth among U20 players in the KHL with 10 goals and 21 points in 55 games and looks like a physical top-scoring winger.

Both the 44th and 76th picks were traded to get out of bad contracts. The Senators’ second-round pick was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Nikita Zaitsev, and the third-round pick was sent with Matt Murray to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Zaitsev has continued to struggle, scoring just seven points in 38 games, and spending most of the 2023-24 season on the injured reserve. Murray looked much better in Toronto in his first 26 games there, but this season, he was back to his old self, spending all but three games on the injured reserve.

As for the picks, the Blackhawks selected Roman Kantserov, who was fifth in U20 scoring in the KHL with eight goals and 15 points but broke out in the playoffs with 13 points in 23 games for Magnitogorsk, leading all teenagers by nine points. The Maple Leafs later traded the Senators’ pick to the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O’Reilly deal, who selected Juraj Pekarcik, who played his first season in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The Slovak had a successful rookie season, scoring 59 points in 43 games, and finishing fifth on the team in scoring. But, like Kantserov, he was much better in the playoffs, leading the team with 10 points in 11 games. Both are developing into promising prospects.

The final pick traded before the draft was the Senators’ sixth-round pick, 172nd overall, which was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers for Patrick Brown, who only played 18 games with the Senators before leaving during free agency. The Flyers used their new pick to select Ryan Macpherson, who played with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL and finished his rookie season with 16 goals and 38 points in 54 games and is committed to the University of New Hampshire for 2024-25. Again, a typical late pick, but a little painful in the Senators’ case.

While it’s too early to say that this is the Senators’ worst draft class – there are a couple of players who could emerge as solid contributors in the future – there’s not a lot of potential among the players selected and many of them have some significant defensive concerns. For a team that is in desperate need of a better defensive structure, it certainly won’t go down as one of the better ones. Here’s hoping that 2024 will be different.