Ottawa Senators
Takeaways From the Prospects Challenge
The Prospects Challenge is officially over. The Ottawa Senators finished with no wins and three losses. They were outscored 17 to 4 in those games. Needless to say, there weren’t a ton of positives to come out of this for the Senators. Their 9-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils started the Prospects Challenge on the wrong foot. From there, the last two games were an improvement, but still left a lot to be desired. Let’s dive into a few takeaways from the Challenge.
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Carter Yakemchuk
Yakemchuk managed to score a goal in the third game, a 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored the goal from the low slot, showing off his offensive instincts and goal scoring ability. Yakemchuk displayed his ability with the puck, as well as his physicality during the three games. It is those elements that made him the seventh overall pick. He did have his share of inconsistencies as well. He had a few bad turnovers and will need to work on his skating and defensive play to become the player the Senators are hoping for.
Stephen Halliday
Halliday had the nicest of the four goals by the Senators. It was a snipe in their 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Halliday will be looking to earn some NHL games this season with the Senators. This was a nice start to his year. He didn’t have a ton of support as Ottawa’s forward group was the weakest of any of the teams at the Prospects Challenge. Halliday has good offensive instincts and he competes hard. It won’t be easy for him to make the Senators out of camp, but even some time in the AHL could serve him well to continue to grow as a young player.
Gabriel Eliasson
Eliasson, selected in the second round of the 2024 draft, came as advertised. He is big (standing at 6-foot-7), and he is extremely physical. He wants to inflict pain on the opposition. His style of game will certainly excite anyone cheering for him, just as it will frustrate those cheering against him. For such a tall player, he can still skate well. While he is quite raw as a prospect and will need to improve in a lot of different ways over the next few years, Eliasson’s violent style of play is quite intriguing.
Prospect Pool as a Whole
It’s obvious that the Senators prospect pool is lacking. In trying to stay optimistic, they have graduated a number of prospects who are currently important players in the NHL right now. On the flip side, they still have not made that next step into the playoffs, and they have one of the shallowest prospect pools in the entire NHL. Having no first round picks in 2022 or 2023 really set their prospect pool back, especially since they were traded for Alex Debrincat and Jakob Chychrun, who have both since been traded away. They’ve also missed on quite a few of their picks in recent years, further hurting their prospect pool. Steve Staios has already begun leaving his mark on this franchise as the General Manager. One area he will need to prioritize is the draft. The Senators have never been a preferred destination in free agency. Their success will need to come by good drafting and developing. Of course, losing a first round pick in the Evgenii Dadonov blunder does not help. It will be interesting to see how Staios handles the area of amateur scouting in the upcoming months.
What’s Next for the Senators
Games will start to become more important very soon. The Senators are set to start their first of seven preseason games on September 22nd against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their regular season begins with a home game on October 10th against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Another battle of the Tkachuk’s!