The Ottawa Senators haven’t drawn many rave reviews for their prospect pipeline of late.
With centre Stephen Halliday (4th round pick in 2022) registering his first NHL game and first NHL point last week, let’s see what kernels may be about to pop among Sens prospects 22 and under.
1) CARTER YAKEMCHUK (20 yrs) – RD BELLEVILLE SENATORS
There are already six players picked after Yakemchuk in the 2024 NHL draft who are playing regularly in the NHL, and three of them are defensemen. So, some fans may have already pushed their panic buttons, thinking that the Senators may have missed out.
However, Yakemchuk is playing top-pair minutes with the B-Sens alongside veteran Scott Harrington. He's playing all situations and is logging an average of 22:30 per game this season, and his ice time has been increasing. His 13 points in 18 games lead all defencemen on the team, though his -12 rating (a team low) isn’t aesthetically pleasing. However, it was -8 and improving until the 7-2 loss to the first-place Rocket in Laval.
Clearly, Yakemchuk is being groomed slowly to ensure he plays a meaningful role when he ascends to the NHL. The Senators didn’t miss on anything. Don’t be surprised if he plays his first game at some point this season.
2) JORIAN DONOVAN (21 yrs) – LD BELLEVILLE SENATORS
Even before Thomas Chabot went down with an injury for the first time in recent memory, people had started to wonder about the left shot depth at defence within the Senators organization. Obviously, a trade was made to bring back Dennis Gilbert from the Flyers organization.
This would indicate that Donovan, the Senators' 2022 fifth-round selection, isn’t ready to take on a job in the NHL just yet. However, his stat line would indicate that he is trending in the right direction. He isn’t a top-pair defenseman. However, he has almost eclipsed his point total from the 2024-25 season (12 in 64 games) with nine in the first 18.
His 6’2” 200 lb frame is an asset, and his penalty minutes would suggest he isn’t afraid to use it.
He comes with some pedigree, being the son of former Senator Shean Donovan, representing Canada at the WJHC and winning a Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit in 2024.
Point being, don’t sleep on this guy.
3) OWEN BECKNER (20 yrs) – C COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS
The Senators didn’t pick until the fourth round of the 2023 draft, and Beckner wasn’t chosen until the seventh round.
Beckner has progressed steadily at Colorado College with a respectable freshman campaign of 27 points in 37 games last season. He picked up where he left off and is now leading the Tigers with 15 points in just 14 games.
His performance has earned him a spot on the U.S. Collegiate Selects team that will be playing in the Spengler Cup over the holiday season.
Don’t look for him in an Ottawa uniform in the next couple of years, but don’t rule out seeing him signed early out of college either.
4) LUKE ELLINAS (19 yrs) – LW KITCHENER RANGERS
While a shoulder injury has limited Ellinas to only six games played thus far, his performance since being chosen by the Senators in fourth round in 2024 has been enough to earn himself an entry level contract.
Ellinas appears to do his best work in the post-season, where his points per game increased dramatically in both his draft year and last season. He was instrumental in the Rangers' 3-0 series comeback to defeat the Windsor Spitfires last season.
Again, don’t look for Ellinas in Ottawa next year, but don’t forget about him either.
5) BLAKE MONTGOMERY (20 yrs) – LW UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BADGERS
Montgomery was passed over in his inaugural NHL Draft year in 2023 and still ended up being a later pick in 2024. The Senators took him in the fourth round of the 2024 Draft, and his ascension has been quick. He was enticed to leave Lincoln in the USHL and join the eventual Memorial Cup champion London Knights.
Even with the move to the OHL, Montgomery made it clear he was going to head to Wisconsin and take advantage of the rule change allowing CHL players to play Division I NCAA hockey. After a slow start, he seems to have found the range with nine pts in his last nine games.
This one could be worth waiting for.
6) JACKSON PARSONS (20 yrs) – G ALLEN AMERICANS/BELLEVILLE SENATORS
Normally, when a player is assigned to the ECHL, the team that holds his NHL rights isn't waiting for him with great anticipation. This is not always the case for goaltenders.
Parsons was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Senators, and this means that despite winning the Goaltender of the Year in the CHL in 2024-25 as a member of the Kitchener Rangers, he will have to go through all the rungs on the ladder to get to the NHL.
That said, in his limited time thus far, Parsons has let it be known that last season wasn’t a fluke but rather a sign of things to come. He is 3-1 in his brief AHL tenure in place of the injured Mads Sogaard and even recorded a shutout.
With Sogaard back, Parsons may return to the ECHL at some point. But if he continues to develop at this rate, we'll hear from him again before long.
7) LOGAN HENSLER (19 yrs) – RD UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BADGERS
The 23rd overall pick in the 2025 draft isn’t hard to find on highlight reels on X. With seven points, Hensler should easily eclipse his 12 points in 32 games in his freshman season in 2024-25.
His combination of size at 6’2” and mobility makes him an intriguing prospect to follow as Wisconsin becomes what North Dakota was in the Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Tyler Kleven and Jacob Bernard-Docker era.
Like all of those players, Hensler already has a WJHC appearance under his belt, winning gold in 2025. Like Kleven, he will be playing in his second tourney in his home state of Minnesota this holiday season, where he will be expected to play a more prominent role with the likes of Zeev Buium having graduated to the NHL.
Like Yakemchuk, Hensler represents the future of the right side of the defence in Ottawa. Yakemchuk is the closest thing to a blue-chip prospect in this list, and Hensler has that potential as well.
Does the Cup runneth over in the Senators' prospect pipeline? No. Their former blue-chip prospects – players like Tkachuk, Stutzle, Sanderson, Batherson, and Pinto – graduated to the NHL a long time ago, as have support players like Greig, Kleven, and Merilainen.
There probably aren’t too many more blue-chip seats at the Senators' table. They need players who can support the young core; foot soldiers, if you will. And that's not a bad scenario, because while they're a little shy on future superstars, there are plenty of players in the Senators' system who can fit the foot soldier mould.
Pat Maguire
The Hockey News Ottawa
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