As I was writing this the baffling signing of Nick Cousins (3-68/11; 68-7-8-15; 1 year, 800k) came in, which means someone like Highmore is headed to Belleville, which is great for the BSens (cf my early roster speculation). Cousins was an irrelevant bit player in the Panthers Cup win (12-0-1-1), but Staios has shown a strong affinity for older players with Cup experience, so while it doesn’t move the needle at all, it does fit the mold (and also suggests the org thinks the team is on the verge when I think they have taken a small step back).

We’ll start off listing out the players by position arranged by points-per-game last season. Those still on their ELC’s are in green, veterans are in are blue (as per the AHL rules), and AHL contracts are in italics. For the prospects I’ll briefly go through their potential.

Gaudette, C, 28, 67-44-27-71 1.05 (0.91, 220 NHL games) FA Stl
Vancouver pick (5-149/15) is coming into his eighth professional season, having already had one (disappointing) tour with Ottawa in 21-22 (as a waiver claim from Chicago). He’s a productive AHL player (leading Springfield by a wide margin), whose NHL upside appears to be non-existent.
Crookshank, LW, 25, 50-24-22-46 0.92 (0.78, 13 NHL games) 5-126/18
Has fully recovered from missing the entire 21-22 season; there’s a chance he makes the Sens lineup out of camp, as his abrasive style of play makes him viable as a plugger (he and Greig have a similar approach to the game, but the latter is more talented). In terms of past Sens picks, the only comparables that fit (undersized collegian) are Ryan Dzingel (2011) and Erik Condra (2006)–he doesn’t have the blazing speed of the former, but is a bit more offensively talented than the latter, so a split between the two is the upside to envision.
Pilon, C, 26, 62-18-29-47 0.76 (0.63) FA Phi 23
One of the veterans signed the previous season, the BSens have made a commitment to him (two years) and it’s a reasonable investment for the former Washington pick (3-87/16). He’s not an elite talent at this level, but can serve as a solid #2 and was one of the better players in the playoffs for the BSens.
Highmore, C, 28-29, 43-9-22-31 0.72 (0.75, 146 NHL games) FA Stl 23
Also signed the previous season, the undrafted center (like Gaudette) has wound his way through the Vancouver, Chicago, and St. Louis’ systems before joining the Sens. He had an atrocious playoff with the BSens, but is a solid AHLer and can perform spot duty at the NHL-level.
Jenik, RW, 24, 55-16-20-36 0.65 (0.73, 22 NHL games) t-Utah
Acquired in the Sokolov trade, the Czech (3-65/18) is coming off a down season and struggled to make the porous Arizona (now Utah) lineup. The Sens are hoping a change of scenery helps; from a (dated) interview with Arizona’s development folks (here) he’s described as a very emotional player (something the Sens overvalue) who needs a lot of work defensively. What I take from that is there’s a hope he can become a bottom-nine player who can agitate while adding a little offense, but without seeing him it’s difficult to know how feasible that is.
Bongiovanni, C, 25, 48-16-9-25 0.52 (0.40) t-Win
The undrafted Collegian was given away by the Jets for nothing and he did well in his short time in Belleville. Is he the inconsistent defensive disaster that he was in Manitoba, or has he found his place with the BSens? We’ll find out this season.
Halliday, C, 22, 10-0-5-5 0.50 4-104/22
I’ve been a fan of his since the Sens drafted him, as the pick is one of their few attempts at looking for talent in later rounds. He was by far the best player during the BSens playoff run and there’s no doubt that he can dominate at this level (the NHL remains uncertain). For those with good memories, he reminded me of Chabot in his debut with the BSens back in 2017 as a ‘man among boys’ during the playoffs. Maybe that was a fluke, but if it’s representative, he won’t be in the AHL for long.
Daoust, C, 22-23, 4-0-2-2 0.50 (0.50) 6-158/20
He’s had catastrophic injuries in both of the last two season, so we simply don’t know what he is after that. This is the final year of his ELC, so he’ll have to be healthy to establish himself. He has talent, but to what extent and what else he can do remains unknown at the pro level.
Reinhardt, LW, 24-25, 56-8-15-23 0.41 (0.44) 6-181/20
This will be his fifth season for the BSens and he’s established himself as a speedy third-liner who can do spot duty up the lineup and has some edge. I don’t think there’s NHL potential, but at the AHL-level he’s a useful player.
Ostapchuk, C, 21, 69-17-11-28 0.41 (7 NHL games) 2-39/21
He had a solid rookie season and I’m waiting to see if he’s anything more than a tough plugger at this level (the Sens’ hope is as a top-nine PKer with a bit of scoring).
Bourgault, C, 22, 55-8-12-20 0.36 (0.46) t-Edm
An unremarkable late first-round pick (cf) coming off a bad year who represents the primary return from the Jarventie deal; it’s not clear he has much to give at this level and there’s no sign of NHL-potential. He was drafted while Staios was with the Oilers, so presumably he believes there’s something to get out of him (I need to see it to believe it).
Hodgson, RW, 28-29, 49-6-10-16 0.32 (0.34, 7 NHL games) FA LA
Undrafted player who has used physical play to create a minor league career for himself–he showed some talent in his AHL rookie year with Philadelphia (21-22), but seems to have settled into being a fourth-line banger (6 fights last year, which is a lot in the modern day).
Pettersson, C, 20-21, 29-3-4-7 0.24 3-72/22
Didn’t accomplish much in his pro debut. Drafted as a top-nine, PK type of player (if that sounds familiar, it’s because the Sens have drafted for this incessantly), I’m not sure how much production we should expect. There are questions not just about his hands (non-existent thus far), but his speed, and I don’t think there’s room for a slow plugger.
Boucher, RW, 21-22, 21-2-3-5 0.24 1-10/21
Injuries injuries injuries and when he did play he was unremarkable. I think he’s going to go down as Brian Lee-levels of stupidity as a first-round pick, but I won’t revisit his limitations as they are understood. His lack of footspeed makes his style of play almost impossible to pull off.
Rees, C, 23-24, 21-0-5-5 0.23 (0.43) t-Car
Was terrible when acquired, but the Sens must believe that the good season he had prior to that (22-23) is the version of him they will be getting.
Betts, C, 27, 56-5-4-9 0.16 (0.12) FA ECHL 22
Undrafted ECHLer has played his way into being a useful spare part for the org (they signed him to a two-year extension).
Washkaruk, C, 23, 63-4-6-10 0.16 (0.26) FA LA
Blues pick (5-155/19) flamed out with that org and is on an AHL-deal; hasn’t scored much and is poor defensively, so I’m not sure what they want from him (pims are high, so maybe agitation).
Chiasson, RW, 21, ECHL 68-9-11-20 0.29 t-Edm
Forced upon the team in the Jarventie trade; these are abysmal ECHL numbers (sub Vincent Dunn, for Sens fans with long memories), so I expect him to be buried in that league for the rest of his ELC.

Guenette, DR, 23, 58-7-27-34 0.59 (0.52, 8 NHL games) 7-187/19
I’ve always seen him as the second coming of Max Lajoie (5-133/16)–a talented AHLer who can’t quite make the jump to the NHL. He’s solid if unspectacular offensively and decent defensively (the kind of tweener you see a lot in the upper echelons of the AHL). There’s still time for Guenette to prove me wrong, but for Belleville he’ll occupy the #1 slot on the right side.
Davies, DL, 27-28, 66-12-23-35 0.53 (0.49, 23 NHL games) FA Buf
Former Jersey pick (7-192/16) has been a productive point producer at this level, but not talented enough to be pushed into NHL service except in dire emergencies. I’d expect him to be #1 on the left side.
Wylie, DR, 24-25, 45-2-11-13 0.29 (0.27) FA LA
Former Flyer pick (5-127/18) failed out of that org and comes to Ottawa on an AHL-deal to flesh out the depth (so a seventh defenseman).
Roos, DL, 25-26, 59-2-14-16 0.27 (0.28, 21 NHL games) FA Chi
This feels like Kristians Rubins all over again (22-23); the undrafted Swede is big, but not overly skilled and unremarkable defensively; he arrives after two seasons in Chicago’s system. If he is like Rubins, he’ll be moved before the season is out. I expect him on the bottom pair.
Matinpalo, DR, 26, 67-4-10-14 0.21 (4 NHL games) FA Finland 23
I like Matinpalo, although there’s probably not enough puck skills for him to be more than a useful defender at this level. As things stand he’s slotted in as the #2 on the right side.
Sebrango, DL, 22-23, 35-0-7-7 0.20 (0.15) t-Chi
Forced onto Ottawa in the Debrincat trade, he performed at about the same unremarkable level (although he did pick up a lot more pims). He seems set to rotate as the #3 option on the left side.
Donovan, DL, 20, OHL 66-13-33-46 0.69 5-136/22
He’s had a good junior career and it will be interesting to see how well that translates at this level. I’d expect him to be the #2 on the left side as things stand (behind Davies). He’s a good all around player (a bit like his father, despite the different position) and I think that’s what you have to imagine his upside as a pro–a solid #4 who can play on the PK and (maybe) the second PP.
Hamara, DL, 20-21, OHL 44-1-19-20 0.45 3-87/22
I don’t see room for him in Belleville so I expect him to be loaned elsewhere (or moved). He has good speed, but isn’t overly physical (he’s not big) and doesn’t have notable hands, so I have no idea what the Sens expect from him–I think Staios will move him if he gets the chance.
Toure, DR, 21, OHL 45-8-10-18 0.40 FA OHL 23
A likely candidate to spend time in the ECHL. When he does play it would be on the third pairing where the Sens will expect strong defensive play (whether he can do that or not remains to be seen).

Sogaard, GL, 23-24, 18-9-3 2.45 .916 2-37/19
Coming off his best AHL-season, although he struggled with consistency in the playoffs. Consistency has been his major problem, but that’s not uncommon in young goaltenders.
Merilainen, GL, 22, 10-9-1 2.87 .906 3-71/20
Battled with Mandolese to be the backup last season and perhaps not having that pressure will help him this season. There’s a lot of talent, but can he put it together?
Simpson, GL, 21-22, OHL .908 FA OHL 24
A bit of an odd pick-up as a free agent, but he’ll spend the year in the ECHL where the Sens can assess if there’s more value in him.

Last year the BSens were over the veteran limit which caused them all kinds of problems. Now they have space making demotions possible and avoiding having to bench players simply due to numbers. I worry a great deal about the team’s blueline, which only has two proven puck movers. The top of the lineup should be fine with three veteran scorers to balance things out, but in terms of the pipeline, once you get beyond Crookshank and Halliday, there’s not much talent (the Sens just aren’t drafting for it).

I think the BSens will (again) be on the bubble for the playoffs and, since I think the Sens will miss, should get help late in the season to help them out. I’m not sure we’ll get a run like last year, but it’s a possibility.

Speaking of the pipeline, there’s a lazy Corey Pronman article assessing it. Due to his use of age (rather than career stage) as a marker, most of it is copy/pasted from things he’s written in the past with almost no added insight whatsoever. Pronman sticks with his draft assessment until a player has made a mark in the NHL that forces him to adjust it, so the mid-prospect assessments are basically worthless.

This article was written by Peter Levi

September 4, 2024
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens . Comments: 2 Comments