Historically Dorion has not done well with late picks, but has better than average results in the 4th. As one would expect, across the league the 7th-round is a crapshoot (about 1 NHL player per draft) and the fifth is not much better (with 2). All this is to say it would not surprise me if this draft echoes Ottawa’s disastrous 2014 effort where none of the prospects panned out. Here are the picks:
Hoyt Stanley (4-108), DR, DOB 05, 6’3
BCHL 53-4-34-38 1st
Slated to attend Cornell, there’s no rush for Stanley (or any of the other prospects). The Sens have a miserable track record from the BCHL (Tychonick and Loheit from ’18 come to mind, although after that only ’22’s Dyck has been picked from there), but even a stopped clock is right twice a day, so fans can hope (the ‘success’ is Derek Grant in ’08). The Sens say he’s a good, skilled defenseman.
Matthew Andonovski (5-140), DL, DOB 05, 6’2
OHL 67-0-16-16 6th
He’s big, can skate, but with limited offensive tools. Does that sound familiar? It should, as that’s the exact same MO as past OHL-pick Ben Roger (2021 draft); those offensive skills never did develop for Roger and that’s what I’d expect here. The desire for a bruising blueliner goes back to the beginning for Dorion and the only thing that’s changed is skating has been added to the mix–the thing is, if you can’t make a pass, that’s not enough for the current NHL. The org’s take on him (link above) is that they like his hockey smarts.
Owen Beckner (7-204), CL, DOB 05, 6’2
BCHL 53-17-33-50 t-1st
Committed to Colorado College, he’s another player who can marinate in the NCAA for awhile. I referenced Ottawa’s bad luck with the BCHL, so keep that in mind (Grant remains the exception). The Sens rambling (link above) explanation is that they like his penalty killing and he’s competitive.
Vladimir Nikitin (7-207), GL, DOB 05, 6’4 (pick via the Gudbranson trade)
Kazahkstan .921
The Sens are always intrigued by tournament success, which is what made the ‘tender stand out (no scout made the trek to watch the Kazahkstan league); that performance plus being signed by BCHL’s Chilliwack has landed us the prospect. There’s no rush for him, as he’ll presumably move on to the NCAA if he does well. The seventh-round is the place to take chances, so I’m perfectly fine with the shot in the dark. The Sens said they like the package and the path he’s on (link above).
Nicholas VanTassell (7-215), RW, DOB 04, 6’4 (pick via the Motte trade)
USHL 62-19-18-37 6th
Overager is committed to U-Mass; his unimpressive USHL numbers are worrying, so while he’ll have plenty of time to develop I’d set my expectations low as it’s not clear to me what exactly the org is hoping for with him. The Sens said he’s big (link above). Size. Big. Did I mention he’s big? Bigly. Big.
In terms of what happened to their traded picks in the draft:
1-12 (Ari) Danill But (Chychrun trade)
2-44 (Chi) Roman Kantserov (Zaitsev trade)
3-76 (Stl) Juraj Pekarcik (via Tor via the Murray trade)
6-172 (Phi) Ryan MacPherson (via P. Brown trade)
Signings
Re-signing Jacob Larsson (who they did not qualify as an RFA) is a classic Dorion move. What’s the left side in Belleville like? We have big, lumbering Dillon Heatherington signed, so why not retain another big, lumbering player to join him? How did that work last season? It didn’t, so let’s try it again. I think the rationale is less about the BSens than having spare parts for the NHL, but still, not an inspiring choice.
Re-signing JBD was inevitable–I think he’s massively overrated (he’s an adequate if underwhelming AHL defenseman), but his contract is cheap enough (2yrs/805k) that he’s moveable. What I expect we’ll see in the upcoming season is, as his limitations are exposed, the fanbase will turn on him (mid to late season), but right now we’ll just see positives about it.
Brannstrom‘s one year deal (2m) seems like the prelude to a trade–no long term commitment and affordable. I think Dorion lost interest in him a long time ago, but tried very hard to pump his tires at the end of the season to bait other GMs to want him.
Development Camp
The Sens Development Camp is here and it’s always fun to look at the invitees (keeping in mind it’s a virtual lock that none will become even part of the BSens roster):
Goalies
Riley Mercer, DOB 04, QMJHL, .902
Backup behind the undrafted Jacob Goobie (who had an awful year)
Charlie Schenkel, DOB 04, OHL, .894
6’6 local guy; backup to the undrafted Samuel Ivanov (who had an awful year)
Defensemen
Drew Bavaro (R), DOB 00, NCAA, 37-6-13-19
Second in scoring behind Colorado pick Nick Leivermann (7-187/17)
Caeden Carlisle (L), DOB 04, OHL, 59-5-13-18
Third in scoring; leader and Vancouver pick Kirill Kudryavtsev (7-208/22) had almost three times as many points; no relation to former BSen Chris
Alexis Daviault (L), DOB 05, OHL, 71-4-18-22
Undersized (5’11) local boy a distant third in scoring
Roberto Mancini (L), DOB 03, OHL 66-13-12-25
Local boy was a distant fourth in scoring
Bronson Ride (L), DOB 05, OHL 71-4-12-16
6’6 was a distant fifth in scoring
Djibril Toure (R), DOB 03, OHL 57-5-11-16
6’7 switched from junior-B to the OHL this past season; seventh in scoring
Forwards
Daniil Bourash (RW), DOB 04, QMJHL 66-41-29-70
Belarussian was second in scoring behind the undrafted Tristan Allard (who has signed with Syracuse in the AHL)
Cole Burbidge (CL), DOB 05, QMJHL 68-19-31-50
Finished a distant second to the undrafted Brady Burns
Connor Clattenburg (LW), DOB 05, OHL 56-2-8-10
Local boy who lead his team in PIMs; teammate of Carlisle above
Tarun Fizer (CR), DOB 01, ECHL 62-27-23-50
The former WHLer is an oddity, as you don’t see minor pro players in camps like this very often; he was second in scoring behind the undrafted Cameron Wright
Mitchell Martin (LW), DOB 03, OHL 47-13-21-34
Big winger finished eighth in scoring
Stuart Rolofs (LW), DOB 03, OHL 62-32-29-61
Local boy finished second in scoring behind the undrafted Ryan Gagnier
Tyler Savard (LW), DOB 03, OHL 56-17-30-47
Seventh in scoring on a stacked team
Ty Thorpe (CR), DOB 02, WHL 65-37-34-71
Lead his team in scoring and played a few games in the ECHL; teammate of first-round pick Samuel Honzek (1-16/23 Cgy)
Ethan Whitcomb (LW), DOB 04, USHL 53-24-24-48
Second in scoring on a rebuilding roster (top scorer and Buffalo pick (6-170/22) Jake Richard was traded mid-season)
The Curtis Lazar effect
It’s difficult to imagine a less impressive first-round ‘success’ than Lazar (1-17/13; 453-38-57-95), but the guy must interview well or have a fabulous agent because he keeps getting contracts. I wanted to illustrate that not only is he meaningless statistically, but that he drags down every team he plays for (a bad luck charm, if you will). Let’s look at his season-by-season dance card:
14-15 Ott – wild card loses 2-4 to Mtl
15-16 Ott – missed playoffs
16-17 Cgy (2nd (Alex Formenton) trade; GM Treliving) – wild card loses 0-4 to Ana
17-18 Cgy – missed playoffs
18-19 Cgy – western champs lose 1-4 to Col (spent the year in the minors)
19-20 Buf – missed playoffs
20-21 Bos (Taylor Hall trade; GM Sweeney) – 3rd seed loses in 2nd round 2-4 to lower seed NYI
21-22 Bos – wild card loses 3-4 to Car
22-23 NJ (pick trade; GM Fitzgerald) – 2nd seed loses in 2nd round 1-4 to Car
Inexplicably he’s made the playoffs six times ((30-2-1-3; three by trade), where he’s often a healthy scratch; he cannot help lower seeded teams win and drags down higher seeds–for the love of god stop signing him! Calgary had it right when they buried him in the minors (18-19).
This article was written by Peter Levi
eyeonthesens 