Prospect Update - December 6th

Dec 6, 2022 - 4:00 PM

Forwards

Zack Ostapchuk

He’s been carrying the draft class of 2021 since last year’s playoffs, and with an infestation of injury bugs plaguing the organization, he’s been doing the same for the prospect pool as a whole. On top of a shootout-winning goal on Saturday, Ostapchuk added another goal, along with 6 assists in 4 games, and now has 29 points in 21 games on the year. That’s not an especially dominant pace, but it’s incredibly encouraging to see where he’s at now, compared to a year ago. After an impressive performance in the 2022 World Juniors in a bottom-six role, he’s virtually a lock to make the team this year and has a bigger opportunity to contribute offensively.

Oskar Pettersson

He’s not a lock like Ostapchuk, but Pettersson is definitely a candidate for the World Juniors, as a third-round selection from 2022 who earned a promotion to the SHL a few weeks back, and his performance this past week will certainly raise his profile. He contributed a goal and an assist in three games, which is a strong pace for a D+1 SHL player, at least for a player of his draft position.

Luke Loheit

A seventh-rounder from 2018 and the most obscure of four assets remaining from the Mika Zibanejad trade, Loheit has always been more of a depth player for Minnesota-Duluth, but in his senior year, he’s begun to contribute on the scoresheet more frequently. Three assists this week bring his total to 7 points in 14 games. An entry-level deal with the Senators is not a realistic possibility here, but we could see an amateur tryout in the AHL once his college career ends. Belleville could certainly use some extra muscle with the absurd amount of injuries they’ve had.

Defensemen

Jorian Donovan

Although he saw his 10-game point streak end on Sunday, he was still a point-per-game in three games last week. The Sens have had some success in drafting defensemen in the later rounds, from 2019 seventh-rounder Maxence Guenette, who’s having a good year in Belleville, and Donovan, a 2022 fifth-round selection is looking to follow that trend. Not only do his 20 points in 21 games beat out Guenette’s pace of 40 in 62 from his third year in junior, but the pace is also comparable to *the* Thomas Chabot in his third season with the Sea Dogs. Not to say he’s going to be anywhere as good in the long run, but Chabot was seen as a great pick early on largely because of his D+1 production, and Donovan is currently scoring at a similar pace.

Filip Nordberg

It was definitely a week of firsts for 2022 Sens draftees from Sweden. Second-round defenseman Filip Nordberg added an assist to his first career goal in the Allsvenskan, for a new total of 3 points in 18 games. He’s split time between Södertälje SK’s main roster and U-20 clubs this year, and his first productive stretch of games is a step in the right direction toward leaving the junior team behind for good.

Goaltending

Kevin Reidler

Of the two goalies who played a game, Reidler had by far the better performance. His 4-11-0 record is more a product of his team’s play, as he’s posted a respectable .906 save percentage for AIK. One key advantage of drafting goalies out of Europe (or the USDP) as opposed to the CHL is that you retain their signing rights for 4 years instead of 2, giving you twice as much time to evaluate them without having to commit space on your roster. I’d expect Reidler to play another season in the U-20 league, followed by two years in either the SHL or Allsvenskan before a decision is made.

Silver Linings

• Along with Ostapchuk, Tyler Boucher has also been named to the preliminary rosters for his team, the USA. Tomas Hamara is also a likely candidate for the tournament, as he took part last year with Czechia.
• The usual suspects for Belleville came through once again for the club as Egor Sokolov, Angus Crookshank, and Cole Reinhardt each had a goal and an assist in three games.
• Defenseman Jonny Tychonick added a goal last week for Omaha, for a total of 3 goals and 9 assists in 16 games in his final collegiate season.

Stats