What to know about new Senators prospect Donovan Sebrango

After months of speculation, Alex DeBrincat is finally a Detroit Red Wing. They needed an impactful goal-scorer, and they got one.

But it was hard for the Ottawa Senators – who sent a handful of picks to Chicago to acquire DeBrincat 367 days prior – to get full value for DeBrincat. Everyone knew he wasn’t sticking around, and Detroit was able to leverage that.

Detroit sent winger Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Sens in exchange for DeBrincat. On the surface, it’s underwhelming. Kubalik has had his ups and downs, and Detroit gets to choose which of their two 2024 picks they want to keep. That’ll likely be their own, meaning they’d send Boston’s pick instead given they’re a probable playoff team.

You win some, you lose some. In this case, the Sens just need to look on the bright side: they can focus forward.

One interesting piece of the deal was Sebrango, a 21-year-old out of Ottawa. His father, Eduardo, was a former pro soccer player that eventually became a Canadian citizen after playing in cities like Vancouver and Montreal. But internationally, he represented Cuba, where he scored 13 goals and 23 games before moving to Canada in 1999.

It was in that time in Canada when Eduardo and Kim Sebrango had Donovan in 2002. Donavan ended up switching out of the family business, instead taking up Canada’s national sport instead.

Sebrango’s pro career has been quite short. Drafted with the 63rd pick in 2020, much of his recent development has been highly affected by COVID-19. Instead of going back to the OHL for 2020-21, he spent some time in the second-tier Slovakian league before playing 31 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He then stuck with Grand Rapids for the full 2021-22 season, registering seven points and 23 penalty minutes in 65 games. He capped the year off by helping Canada win gold at the 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, one of the biggest accomplishments of his career.

Most 21-year-olds out of Canada don’t have 135 games of AHL experience under their belt, given the NHL-CHL agreement prevents players with major junior eligibility from playing except under extreme circumstances. Turns out, a world-altering pandemic fits the bill.

This year was a bit of a difficult one for Sebrango, splitting the year between the AHL and ECHL. He finished the AHL regular season with Grand Rapids at least, but he just didn’t seem to improve like most were hoping to see. The good news? Sending him down to Toledo to close the season was a chance to get him into more games, and he looked good.

From a playstyle perspective, Sebrango is versatile. He’s a mobile blueliner that can play just about any role, whether it be on the PK, in shutdown situations or in more physical matchups. He’s a stable defenseman that doesn’t get burned easily, and his transition game is good. The offense just hasn’t followed to make Sebrango a more effective defender, and he doesn’t have any specific traits that allow him to stand out just yet.

If Sebrango could improve his shot – from a power and selection standpoint – he’d be much more effective. Right now, he’s a good play-starter that can get things moving from his own zone. From that point, there are times when you’re just begging him to shoot the puck, and he won’t, or he’ll pass it away. A lot of that comes with improved confidence.

In a way, it just feels like we haven’t seen enough improvement in Sebrango from his rookie season. He has just been “fine.” But fine isn’t enough in the cutthroat hockey world.

But, again, he’s still young. He’s still developing. Just months after getting drafted under unusual circumstances in 2020, he was thrown to the wolves. No in-between. That’s difficult for a third-rounder. And if there’s anything we’ve seen out of him, it’s upside. The way he thinks the game, the way he moves the puck, the way he skates – there’s enough to be intrigued about someone who instantly upgrades Ottawa’s defensive depth.

The fact of the matter is Sebrango needed a change of scenery. Now, he has a chance to play a decent role with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. The Sens have done a solid job of developing young talent, so this could be a nice fit. Sebrango’s expansive pro experience already will be a nice addition to Belleville’s lineup next year. He’s gritty, and his teammates appreciate the effort he puts in. And with a fresh opportunity, this could really pay off for Sebrango.

Sebrango is a project player, someone who was lost in the defensive shuffle in Detroit. Now, he’s back home. You don’t need motivation to try and thrive in the NHL, but it doesn’t hurt, right? At the very best, Sebrango looks like a potential bottom-pairing defenseman, but he has work to do. We’ll see what happens.