Ottawa Senators
A Deep Dive into the Senators Top Defensemen Prospects

Having already discussed the Ottawa Senators’ young goalies, it’s time to look into their defensemen. Although the Senators have a weak prospect pool, their strength lies in their defensemen. It helps to have just drafted one in the top 10 of the 2024 draft, but they have several other D-men worth keeping an eye on as well. Let’s dive into Ottawa’s best defensemen prospects.
Read More: Senators Prospects, The Goalies.
Carter Yakemchuk
Recently drafted seventh overall in the 2024 draft, Yakemchuk had a monster season with the Calgary Hitmen. He scored 30 goals, 71 points, and registered 120 penalty minutes in 66 games. Amongst WHL defensemen, he ranked first in goals, fifth in points, third in power-play goals, and third in penalty minutes. He also ranked first in shots with 275. At 6-foot-3, 203 pounds, Yakemchuk uses his size to his advantage and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves, either. His highlight reel is also filled with incredible plays with the puck, whether it’s on the rush, as a shooter, at the point, or as a passer. With regards to his skating, while his initial burst is a bit of a work in progress, once he gets moving he has the ability to keep up just fine. His defensive play is lacking at times, with some poor decisions with the puck and inconsistency in his own zone.
Yakemchuk will be back with the Hitmen for his 4th season in the WHL. If Calgary is not competitive, you can expect him to be traded to a contender. Yakemchuk was recently a part of Canada’s Summer Showcase team, which gives him a good chance of being on the 2025 World Junior Team. Working on his skating, as well as his defensive play, will be important factors for Yakemchuk going forward. Given his offensive and physical talent, he is most definitely Ottawa’s top prospect right now. Having him on Team Canada for the World Juniors in Ottawa would be a treat.
Tyler Kleven
Kleven was drafted 44th overall in 2020. He then spent three years with the University of North Dakota, and his goal and point total increased every year, ending with a final season stat line of 35 games, eight goals, and 18 points. Of course, at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Kleven is known for physicality and defensive play much more than his offensive ability. Last season, he scored five goals and 21 points in 53 games for Belleville in the AHL while also registering 51 penalty minutes.
The Senators let Erik Brannstrom leave, and they traded away Jakob Chychrun. This gives Kleven a great opportunity to make the NHL as a bottom-pairing defenseman this year. He skates well for his size, he plays a very physical brand of hockey, and he has enough skill with the puck to warrant a look as a potential third left-shot defenseman for Ottawa behind Sanderson and Chabot. Toughness and physicality are two elements that were lacking from Ottawa’s defense last season. Kleven can help change that, as those are his strengths.
Jorian Donovan
Donovan was drafted in the fifth round, 136th overall in 2022. Since then, he has progressed very well. He spent last season split between the Brantford Bulldogs and the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL. He scored 13 goals and 46 points in 64 total games. In the playoffs, he scored nine points in 17 games. Then he helped Saginaw win the Memorial Cup with 4 points in 5 games. He was also a late addition to Canada’s World Junior Team, being held pointless in five games. While Donovan doesn’t necessarily wow you with any of his individual traits, he is a hard-working defenseman who skates well and can handle himself at both ends of the rink.
Donovan will join the Belleville Senators in the AHL this season. Hopefully, he can adjust to the pro game and establish himself as a key part of Belleville’s defense. With Kleven likely playing in the NHL and Lassi Thomson going back to Europe, there is an opportunity for Donovan to play decent minutes in Belleville as a rookie. As a left-shot defenseman, it’s tough to crack Ottawa’s group, given that they have Sanderson, Chabot, and Kleven there, but that’s not Donovan’s current concern. Look for him to spend the next couple of years rounding out his game in Belleville.
Matthew Andonovski
Andonovski was selected in the fifth round, 140th overall in the 2023 draft. He had a great season last year in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. In 65 games, he scored 7 goals and 32 points. He also registered 124 penalty minutes, which ranked fourth in the league, and he was a league-best plus 58. At 6 foot 2, 200 lbs, Andonovski has good size, and he plays a very physical game.
He will be back with the Kitchener Rangers for his fourth season. During his first two seasons, he did not score a goal in 110 regular-season games. Needless to say, his offensive game improved dramatically last season. The hope is that he can continue to progress in his ability with the puck. Since he is only 19 years old, he is eligible for the Canadian World Junior Team. However, given that he was not invited to the Summer Showcase, he seems like a longshot.
Gabriel Eliasson
Recently selected 39th overall in the 2024 draft, Eliasson is massive and violent. A left-shot, 6-foot-7 defenseman, he is known for his physicality. He spent most of last season in Sweden’s J20 Nationell League, scoring just one goal and six points in 36 games, but also led the league with 103 penalty minutes. He played for Sweden at the Under 18 Tournament, scoring one point in seven games and helping Sweden to the Bronze Medal.
Eliasson has chosen an interesting path as a Swedish player. He will be joining the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL next season. Then, he committed to play for Michigan in the NCAA the following year. This will allow him to become more comfortable with the North American ice. There’s no doubt that Eliasson’s meanness and physicality are his stand-out traits. You can expect to see plenty of bone-crushing hits in his highlight reel. He is a long term prospect, though, as his ability with the puck needs a lot of work.
Hoyt Stanley
Stanley was drafted in the fourth round, 108th overall in 2023. The 6-foot-3, right-shot defenseman played last season for Cornell University. He scored two goals and 10 points in 35 games as a freshman. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Stanley was one of the youngest players on the team and held his own. While he doesn’t necessarily have any standout traits, Stanley has puck moving qualities to his game, he skates well, and he has good size.
Stanley is returning to Cornell for a second season. His team is looking to build off a great season where they lost to Denver, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. The only defenseman who was more productive for Cornell than Stanley was Ben Robertson, who scored 23 points. He will be returning as well, so Stanley’s offensive numbers aren’t likely to jump way up. Even still, Stanley is an important player on a good Cornell team.
Theo Wallberg
Wallberg was a sixth-round pick, 168th overall in 2022. Drafted out of Sweden, the left-shooting, 6-foot-5 defenseman took the path that Eliasson will be taking as well. He made his way over to North America to play in the USHL and then college hockey. In 38 games with Ohio State, he scored 2 goals and 21 points. His point total was 4th best on Ohio State and 2nd amongst their defensemen.
Wallberg will be back with the Buckeyes for a second season. He really burst onto the radar with his play for them last season, so he’ll be looking to build off of that. Ohio State might be in for a rough season. They were not good last season, and they lost their top players, most notably Stephen Halliday, who joined the Belleville Senators. It might be difficult for Wallberg to produce, given the lack of talent there. Having said that, he will have a great opportunity to eat up big minutes and continue to progress as a two-way defenseman.
Max Guenette
Guenette was drafted in the seventh round, 187th overall, in 2019. He will be heading into his fourth season with the Belleville Senators in the AHL. A right-shot, two-way defenseman, Guenette has become one of Belleville’s most important players. He scored seven goals and 34 points in 54 games last season. He also played seven games in the NHL, averaging just under 14 minutes per game. Guenette is another player without a standout trait, but he has progressed nicely as a seventh-round pick.
In all likelihood, Guenette will spend another year in the AHL as one of Belleville’s top defensemen. The contract he signed this summer is a one-year, two-way deal. There is a chance, though, that he could surprise people and be given an opportunity at the NHL level. His competition is Travis Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker, who, as of now, are Ottawa’s best options for the 3rd pairing right defenseman role. Guenette would need to have a big preseason, but even then, he could end up in Belleville. He’d likely be one of the first call-ups if that is the case, though.
Tomas Hamara
Hamara was picked in the third round, 87th overall in 2022. The Czech-born defenseman came over to the OHL after being drafted. His first year with the Kitchener Rangers was a bit of a struggle. That continued into last season. In total, he scored just 2 goals and 20 points in 74 games as a Ranger. He was then traded to The Brantford Bulldogs, and his offensive game came to life. In 26 games, he scored 17 points. He seems to play his best when representing his country, though. He played for Czechia at three straight World Junior Tournaments. In the most recent tournament, he scored seven points in seven games, helping Czechia win a Bronze a year after he helped them win a Silver. He’s another player who plays a well-rounded game, albeit without many standout traits.
Hamara will join the Belleville Senators in the AHL next season. As a left-shot, two way defenseman, there is likely going to be an internal competition between him and Jorian Donovan. They were both drafted in the same year, they’ve both spent the last couple of seasons in the OHL, and now they’ll both be looking to get minutes on the same blueline. It’s not as though there won’t be enough minutes to go around, but it’ll be interesting to see how they compare, much like how Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thomson were often compared as they both tried to work their way into becoming NHL defensemen.
Eerik Wallenius
Wallenius was drafted in the fifth round, 136th overall, at the most recent draft. At 6-foot-4, the left-shooting Wallenius is another big, strong defenseman that the Senators have coveted over the last several drafts. He spent last season playing on 3 different teams: He played one game in Finland’s top league with HPK, 14 games in the U20 league, scoring eight points, and 37 games in U18 league, where he scored 14 points. There is some offense to his game to go with his size.
Wallenius will stay in Finland, trying to earn more games with HPK, but will likely play most of his games in the U20 league. He is obviously a long-term prospect, but these next couple of seasons will be crucial in determining whether he ends up earning that entry-level contract with the Senators.