Senators First Round Options at the 2025 NHL Draft

It’s officially the offseason, folks. The Florida Panthers are the Stanley Cup Champions, and teams are now trying to figure out the best way to dethrone them next season. Free agents will be signed, trades will be made, and starting on June 27th, the NHL draft will take place. That’s the focus for today.

The Senators are slated to pick 21st overall in the first round. They have an additional five picks in the following rounds. The NHL draft is hard enough to figure out, especially anything after the first round. So, let’s focus on that 21st overall pick. It’s time to dive into the details on who the Senators will consider selecting in the first round.

READ MORE: Breaking Down the Fabian Zetterlund Contract

Senators Style of Player

First things first, let’s look at the Senators last draft to get a sense of what type of player they coveted. The Senators took three defensemen and three forwards last year. They selected players from the WHL, OHL, USHL, Sweden, Finland and even high school hockey in Minnesota. Well, that doesn’t help us much.

What about size and style of play?  This is where the Senators had more of a type. Their six players were listed at the following heights:

• 6’4″, 6’7″, 6’1″, 6’4″, 6’4″, 6’4″

While it’s only a one year sample size, this is also a team being led by Brady Tkachuk. Steve Staios is clearly looking to build a team that’s tough to play against. Part of that is looking for players with size and toughness. It’s likely part of the reason that the Senators opted to draft Carter Yakemchuk seventh overall in the last NHL draft. Yakemchuk, while offering solid offensive potential, is equally as exciting for what he offers from a toughness and physicality perspective.

Forward Options

First of all, there are a lot of draft lists out there, but the best of the best is Bob McKenzie’s. What makes his list so great is how he talks to ten different NHL scouts, as opposed to just making a list based on his own opinion. So, let’s pair his list with the thought that Staios and company prefer players with a little more size to figure out potential Senators picks at 21st overall:

• Jack Nesbitt: C, 6’4″, 185 lbs (Windsor, OHL)

Nesbitt shoots left, and plays with an edge. He scored 25 goals and 64 points in 65 games last season, with 74 penalty minutes. His two way play and physicality, to go with his growing offensive ability, make him a rising prospect.

• Lynden Lakovic: LW, 6’4″, 190 lbs (Moose Jaw, WHL)

Lakovic shoots left, and he was part of Moose Jaw’s Championship team two seasons ago. Yes, he’s big, but this would be a skilled pick. Craig Button compares him to Drake Batherson. He scored 27 goals and 58 points in 47 games last season, with just 4 penalty minutes. Despite missing a chunk of the season, he led the Warriors in both goals and points.

• Malcolm Spence: LW, 6’1″, 203 lbs (Erie, OHL)

Spence shoots left, and was picked 2nd overall in the 2022 OHL Draft, behind Michael Misa. His draft status has slipped since the start of the season. He was eighth on McKenzie’s Preseason List in September. Spence scored 32 goals and 73 points in 65 games last season. He is known for his skating and well-rounded game.

• Will Horcoff: C/LW, 6’5″, 190 lbs (Michigan, NCAA)

Horcoff shoots left and is the son of former NHL player Shawn Horcoff. Last season, he scored 8 goals and 14 points in 28 games for the United States U-18 Development Team. Then, playing for Michigan, he scored 4 goals and 10 points in 18 games. The lack of production is offset by his competitiveness and physicality. Also, Steve Staios played several seasons with Shawn Horcoff, most notably in 2005 when they helped the Oilers to within one game of the Stanley Cup.

Defense Options

Even though the Sens used both their first and second round picks on defensemen at the last draft, that shouldn’t affect this year. These prospects won’t help at the NHL level for a number of years. Staios should just take the player highest on their list. Here are a few d-men to consider:

• Logan Hensler: RD, 6’2″, 192 lbs (Wisconsin, NCAA)

Hensler shoots right and helped Team USA win Gold at the World Junior Tournament in January. Like Spence, he fell in the draft rankings from the start of the season, where he started at ninth. He scored 2 goals and 12 points in 32 games last season. That was as one of the younger players in the NCAA. Hensler plays a well-rounded, albeit safe style of game.

• Blake Fiddler: RD, 6’4″, 209 lbs (Edmonton, WHL)

Fiddler shoots right and is the son of former NHL player Vernon Fiddler. Last season, he scored 10 goals and 33 points in 64 games. He led Edmonton d-men in both goals and points, but his competitiveness and defensive play stand out just as much

• Sascha Boumedienne: LD, 6’1″, 175 lbs (Boston U, NCAA)
  

Boumedienne shoots left and was the youngest defenseman in the NCAA last season. He plays for Sweden internationally. Last season, he scored 3 goals and 13 points in 40 games. He’s known for his skating ability and should take on a bigger role for Boston University next season.

Final Thoughts

If the Sens were to take a smaller skilled player, Ben Kindel makes sense. He’s just 5’10”, but he scored 99 points in 65 games this year in the WHL. The Senators scouts would’ve seen plenty of him as he was playing on the Calgary Hitmen with Yakemchuk. If familiarity matters, Cameron Reid of the Kitchener Rangers is someone else to consider. The Senators had two of their best prospects, Luke Ellinas and Matthew Andonovski on that same team. Reid is a left shot offensive defenseman at just under 6’0″ that skates very well.

Surely this won’t be the first time since 1998 that the Sens select a goalie in the first round, right? The highest rated goalie is Joshua Ravensbergen out of the WHL. With the NHL draft just a couple of days away, we will soon find out who the newest Ottawa Senator is. Let’s hope I didn’t completely strike out with the numerous players I mentioned.