Prospect Info: 2024-2025 Ottawa Senators In the system

[Bileur]

I’ve never understood this kind of logic. How do you know they don’t think he can be more?

For context, some quotes in an article about him.

David Bell said “He loves to work, he’s a great kid, he’s got a great attitude, and I’m not worried. First year, big guy like that coming over here, his ceiling’s really, really high.”

And:

What makes the Senators’ Gabriel Eliasson, hockey’s meanest prospect, tick? His critics

In 36 games at Sweden's J20 level last year, Gabriel Eliasson had 103 penalty minutes. He also had plenty of NHL interest.

www.nytimes.com

Half of Hjalmarsson would be a home run.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

As opposed to the long term top pairing guy? I've never heard of that. At time of draft I think the slow cook prospects are generally viewed as lower ceiling players. That's not a knock I just can't think of how you can be really high potential, but 8 years out. Thats a daft oxymoron if you ask me.

Anyway, my point was who cares about the long term aspect.

Also a bit moot as it pertains to Eliasson seeing as he isn't projected as your average bottom pairing guy. If he hits there are some interesting intangibles and that's what he was drafted for. It was more boom or bust in that sense and sens fans have wanted that draft philosophy for a while after drafting conservatively under Murray and Dorion.

It was a second round pick which has about a 15% chance. This isn't a Boris Valabik situation.

Yeah boom or bust. With the boom being a very small boom.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Eliasson being compared to Hjalmarsson is insane.

He's legitimately one of the dumbest highly drafted players I have ever watched. Makes Cowen look like a genius in comparison.

If he has any path to the NHL as a defenseman it's probably as a Xhekaj-type bruiser, but that's only if he can develop a fighting ability and develop his game to the point where he's not a complete liability when he's on he ice (unlikely IMO).

It wouldn't shock me if he eventually transitions to forward to play a Rempe-type role where he just runs around the ice trying to throw big hits and intimidate guys.

Goes without saying that's not exactly an ideal upside from a high 2nd round pick, but I'm sure our scouts would be thrilled with that outcome knowing them.

 

[PlayOn]

Eliasson being compared to Hjalmarsson is insane.

He's legitimately one of the dumbest highly drafted players I have ever watched. Makes Cowen look like a genius in comparison.

If he has any path to the NHL as a defenseman it's probably as a Xhekaj-type bruiser, but that's only if he can develop a fighting ability and develop his game to the point where he's not a complete liability when he's on he ice (unlikely IMO).

It wouldn't shock me if he eventually transitions to forward to play a Rempe-type role where he just runs around the ice trying to throw big hits and intimidate guys.

Goes without saying that's not exactly an ideal upside from a high 2nd round pick, but I'm sure our scouts would be thrilled with that outcome knowing them.

I mean it was Hjalmarsson who made the comparison lol. And without seeing Eliasson play, I highly doubt he will ever touch him because Hjalmarsson was incredible - but the point was just because some here don’t see the upside to be anything but a bottom pairing guy, doesn’t mean the Sens took him thinking it’s not there.

But Staios did mention Xhekaj in the same piece.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

We needed a forward with our 2nd anyways, drafting our 785th bottom pair D wasn't the right choice.

 

[Xspyrit]

Eliasson being compared to Hjalmarsson is insane.

He's legitimately one of the dumbest highly drafted players I have ever watched. Makes Cowen look like a genius in comparison.

If he has any path to the NHL as a defenseman it's probably as a Xhekaj-type bruiser, but that's only if he can develop a fighting ability and develop his game to the point where he's not a complete liability when he's on he ice (unlikely IMO).

It wouldn't shock me if he eventually transitions to forward to play a Rempe-type role where he just runs around the ice trying to throw big hits and intimidate guys.

Goes without saying that's not exactly an ideal upside from a high 2nd round pick, but I'm sure our scouts would be thrilled with that outcome knowing them.

Yeah Xhekaj was becoming such a liability I think he was asked to simplify his game even if he was to become more quiet, less intimidating. Not a very good player but can Eliasson really reach that level? Cowen was a very highly touted prospect, he was dominating in Junior. I haven't read/heard anything similar regarding Eliasson. Although injuries played a big factor in Cowen's case, odds are not in Eliasson's favor to become better or even just as good.

I haven't been a fan of our drafting recently (but mainly 2021, 2022 and 2023)

These are the 2nd rounders we drafted when Murray was GM :

Patrick Wiercioch
Jakob Silfverberg
Robin Lehner
Shane Prince
Andreas Englund
Gabriel Gagne
Filip Chlapik

Only Gagne was a real bust and he was probably a prospect as good as Tyler Boucher, but was taken 36th OA, not 10th OA lol. All the other guys had a career or at least a good chance to become NHL regulars. I can't conclude about Eliasson yet but I don't know, not the type of prospect that gets me "hopeful"

This is the 2nd rounders we drafted since Dorion took over in 2016. Outside of Pinto who was the first pick of the 2nd round in 2019, it is a very underwhelming list. Formenton was pretty good at hockey though. Kleven looks like a decent 3rd pairing guy (but not convinced he'll be more, his advanced metrics are pretty bad, like Hamonic's territory). Jarventie could be something but injuries...

Gabriel Eliasson
Filip Nordberg
Zack Ostapchuk
Benjamin Roger
Roby Jarventie
Tyler Kleven
Egor Sokolov
Shane Pinto
Mads Sogaard
Jonny Tychonick
Alex Formenton
Jonathan Dahlen

 

[BondraTime]

I don't see the Eliasson/Hjalmarsson comparisson, but I'll be damned if I try and say I'd know better than Hjalmarsson himself.

I can only assume he means that they are similar as they are/were offensively inept guys who can make it to the league despite not having any offense as a junior. What I've seen from Eliasson thus far (2 games, very small sample size), I don't see much similarity in playstyle

Elaisson has almost as many PIMS in his past 70 games as Hjalmarsson had in his 820 game career

Eliasson can absloutey carve out a career in the NHL. I don't think the upside is very high, but a big physical guy who can move is always someone who can carve out a career on a bottom pair.

For him to become a guy who can be more than a bottom 6/pressbox, he needs to develop some offense like a Brandon Carlo/Radko Gudas did in the WHL, ~0.6 ppg in their 19 year old season

As of right now he has the lowest ppg in the entire CHL among NHL drafted players from 2022-2024, and funny enough one of the guys closest was taken a few picks before him in Chalrie Elick at 36th

The worst ppg in the entire CHL with guys over 20 games among drafted players are:
Eliasson 39th 2024 - 44gp 5 points
Dylan Mackinnon 83rd 2023 - 43gp 5 points
Basile Sansonnes 221st 2024 - 38 gp 7 points
Vojtech Port 161st 2023 - 38gp 8 points
Charlie Elick 36th 2024 - 47gp 10 points

In the OHL, the bottom are:
Stevie Leskovar in his overage season - 14 gp 1 point - 0.07ppg
Gabe Eliasson - 44gp 5 points - 0.11ppg
Matthew Andonovski - 50gp 14 points - 0.28ppg

In the QMJHL the bottom are:
Dylan Mackinnon 83rd 2023 - 43gp 5 points - 0.12ppg
Basile Sansonnes 221st 2024 - 38 gp - 7 points - 0.18 ppg
Matteo Mann 199th 2023 - 40gp 11p - 0.28ppg
Antoine Dorion 209th 2024 - 42gp 12p - 0.29ppg

In the WHL the bottom are:
Vojtech Port 161st 2023 - 38gp 8 points - 0.21ppg
Charlie Elick 36th 2024 - 47gp 10 points - 0.21ppg
Nillopekken Mulhola 158th 2024 - 44gp 10 points - 0.23pg

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I mean it was Hjalmarsson who made the comparison lol. And without seeing Eliasson play, I highly doubt he will ever touch him because Hjalmarsson was incredible - but the point was just because some here don’t see the upside to be anything but a bottom pairing guy, doesn’t mean the Sens took him thinking it’s not there.

But Staios did mention Xhekaj in the same piece.

XheKaj in the second round.

I don't see the Eliasson/Hjalmarsson comparisson, but I'll be damned if I try and say I'd know better than Hjalmarsson himself.

I can only assume he means that they are similar as they are/were offensively inept guys who can make it to the league despite not having any offense as a junior. What I've seen from Eliasson thus far (2 games, very small sample size), I don't see much similarity in playstyle

Elaisson has almost as many PIMS in his past 70 games as Hjalmarsson had in his 820 game career

Eliasson can absloutey carve out a career in the NHL. I don't think the upside is very high, but a big physical guy who can move is always someone who can carve out a career on a bottom pair.

For him to become a guy who can be more than a bottom 6/pressbox, he needs to develop some offense like a Brandon Carlo/Radko Gudas did in the WHL, ~0.6 ppg in their 19 year old season

As of right now he has the lowest ppg in the entire CHL among NHL drafted players from 2022-2024, and funny enough one of the guys closest was taken a few picks before him in Chalrie Elick at 36th

The worst ppg in the entire CHL with guys over 20 games among drafted players are:
Eliasson 39th 2024 - 44gp 5 points
Dylan Mackinnon 83rd 2023 - 43gp 5 points
Basile Sansonnes 221st 2024 - 38 gp 7 points
Vojtech Port 161st 2023 - 38gp 8 points
Charlie Elick 36th 2024 - 47gp 10 points

In the OHL, the bottom are:
Stevie Leskovar in his overage season - 14 gp 1 point - 0.07ppg
Gabe Eliasson - 44gp 5 points - 0.11ppg
Matthew Andonovski - 50gp 14 points - 0.28ppg

In the QMJHL the bottom are:
Dylan Mackinnon 83rd 2023 - 43gp 5 points - 0.12ppg
Basile Sansonnes 221st 2024 - 38 gp - 7 points - 0.18 ppg
Matteo Mann 199th 2023 - 40gp 11p - 0.28ppg
Antoine Dorion 209th 2024 - 42gp 12p - 0.29ppg

In the WHL the bottom are:
Vojtech Port 161st 2023 - 38gp 8 points - 0.21ppg
Charlie Elick 36th 2024 - 47gp 10 points - 0.21ppg
Nillopekken Mulhola 158th 2024 - 44gp 10 points - 0.23pg

Nice to see 2 Sens names on this list lol

 

[Xspyrit]

Speaking of Dorion, I heard him say on the BPM radio yesterday that he thinks his worst trade was Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot... (I mean lol it was horrible the moment it was made), then went on to say that he loses sleep when Gus plays well... Uh... if he really loses sleep in that situation and considering all his other moves, when the f*** does he even sleep?

Dylan Mackinnon 83rd 2023 - 43gp 5 points - 0.12ppg
Basile Sansonnes 221st 2024 - 38 gp - 7 points - 0.18 ppg
Matteo Mann 199th 2023 - 40gp 11p - 0.28ppg
Antoine Dorion 209th 2024 - 42gp 12p - 0.29ppg

What did Dorion pay to the Blues for them to take his son in the 7th round last draft?

September 25, 2021

Zach Sanford for 2022 conditional 4th round pick + Logan Brown


Same thing for Mann's son with the Flyers... conspiracy!

 

[Sens in Process]

Yakemchuk was okay last game (Wednesday), finishing with 0 points and a +1. He did hit two posts and sent a guy on a breakaway (again) with a stretch pass. The final score was 3-1 Calgary.

Mynio was benched on Sunday and demoted to the 3rd pairing for the entire game on Wednesday, playing with Aura. I find this rather strange and kind of unwarranted. Yakemchuk played with Dax Williams. Having watched Mynio in the WJC and now with Calgary helps me get a better read on Yakemchuk, providing a little more perspective.

Yakemchuk has a chance tonight to break into the right side of the plus-minus stat. A few pages back, someone asked why Yakemchuk's numbers were so low. While I think he's immensely talented, I think his production thus far is disappointing. I would have liked him to be about a 75 to 80 point player this season, so about a 1.15 ppg pace. He is currently on a 1.08 ppg pace, so he can still get there with a hot finish to the season. I will try to provide some reasons for his low production; most of these were already mentioned in some of my previous posts.

Calgary could not score at all five-on-five early in the season. When Yakemchuk missed the first five games, Calgary was averaging about 2.6 goals per game (gpg). Yakemchuk returned and the gpg jumped to about 3.3(first 20 to 25 games of the season or so). As they are both natural centers, Tulk and Kindl were placed on separate lines, but only really started producing when paired together. If you're not on the ice with these guys, as a defenseman, you're not getting a bump in stats. The second line is the Goryzinski/Hvidston/Wetsch, which is a glorified checking line, with some questionable hockey IQ. They forecheck hard and generate most of their scoring chances by turning over pucks and scoring dirty goals. They don't hold onto pucks to make plays. Hvidston is an overeage player who has been mostly cast as a winger. He's playing center out of necessity, since Kindl was moved up with Tulk. In short, their offensive group lacks depth and creativity.

Yakemchuk has been paired with Hunter Aura for most of the season; he is a 5'10", 17-year-old defenseman (turns 18 in October), who plays a very poised but risk-averse game. Nothing goes cross-ice with him; it all goes forward, with limited creativity. I think Aura is a promising young defenseman, but at this stage in his development, he's the type to drag down a partner's offensive numbers.

As for Yakemchuk's plus-minus stat, for a third of the year, the team couldn't score 5-on-5 and were getting about an .875 goals against average (GAA) from their goaltending duo, who have both been jettisoned. It is not too helpful for the plus-minus stat.

On the power play (PP), I find Yakemchuk is by far their best option as the PPQB and in the Ovechkin role, but he can't play both and and Kindl and Tulk are a little underwhelming at times. Like I said before, when Yakemchuk isn't playing, the PP functions at about 14%..

Mynio had 19 points in 18 games playing for Seattle; he is nowhere as talented as Yakemchuk, despite having decent numbers pre-Calgary. Mynio mostly creates offense with his speed, his feet are more advanced than his offensive instincts. And in the Calgary context, he has 8 points in 12 games. If he continues to play with Aura, his numbers will be very ordinary, despite getting 1st PPunit time. I think he is miscast as a half wall/one-timer guy. Rarely do teams have two D-men on the 1st unit, but I think this also speaks to the lack of depth.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Yakemchuk was okay last game (Wednesday), finishing with 0 points and a +1. He did hit two posts and sent a guy on a breakaway (again) with a stretch pass. The final score was 3-1 Calgary.

Mynio was benched on Sunday and demoted to the 3rd pairing for the entire game on Wednesday, playing with Aura. I find this rather strange and kind of unwarranted. Yakemchuk played with Dax Williams. Having watched Mynio in the WJC and now with Calgary helps me get a better read on Yakemchuk, providing a little more perspective.

Yakemchuk has a chance tonight to break into the right side of the plus-minus stat. A few pages back, someone asked why Yakemchuk's numbers were so low. While I think he's immensely talented, I think his production thus far is disappointing. I would have liked him to be about a 75 to 80 point player this season, so about a 1.15 ppg pace. He is currently on a 1.08 ppg pace, so he can still get there with a hot finish to the season. I will try to provide some reasons for his low production; most of these were already mentioned in some of my previous posts.

Calgary could not score at all five-on-five early in the season. When Yakemchuk missed the first five games, Calgary was averaging about 2.6 goals per game (gpg). Yakemchuk returned and the gpg jumped to about 3.3(first 20 to 25 games of the season or so). As they are both natural centers, Tulk and Kindl were placed on separate lines, but only really started producing when paired together. If you're not on the ice with these guys, as a defenseman, you're not getting a bump in stats. The second line is the Goryzinski/Hvidston/Wetsch, which is a glorified checking line, with some questionable hockey IQ. They forecheck hard and generate most of their scoring chances by turning over pucks and scoring dirty goals. They don't hold onto pucks to make plays. Hvidston is an overeage player who has been mostly cast as a winger. He's playing center out of necessity, since Kindl was moved up with Tulk. In short, their offensive group lacks depth and creativity.

Yakemchuk has been paired with Hunter Aura for most of the season; he is a 5'10", 17-year-old defenseman (turns 18 in October), who plays a very poised but risk-averse game. Nothing goes cross-ice with him; it all goes forward, with limited creativity. I think Aura is a promising young defenseman, but at this stage in his development, he's the type to drag down a partner's offensive numbers.

As for Yakemchuk's plus-minus stat, for a third of the year, the team couldn't score 5-on-5 and were getting about an .875 goals against average (GAA) from their goaltending duo, who have both been jettisoned. It is not too helpful for the plus-minus stat.

On the power play (PP), I find Yakemchuk is by far their best option as the PPQB and in the Ovechkin role, but he can't play both and and Kindl and Tulk are a little underwhelming at times. Like I said before, when Yakemchuk isn't playing, the PP functions at about 14%..

Mynio had 19 points in 18 games playing for Seattle; he is nowhere as talented as Yakemchuk, despite having decent numbers pre-Calgary. Mynio mostly creates offense with his speed, his feet are more advanced than his offensive instincts. And in the Calgary context, he has 8 points in 12 games. If he continues to play with Aura, his numbers will be very ordinary, despite getting 1st PPunit time. I think he is miscast as a half wall/one-timer guy. Rarely do teams have two D-men on the 1st unit, but I think this also speaks to the lack of depth.

Looks like he clearly doesn't have that hunter aura, eh? Okay, I'm going to leave now.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

lol at the Hjalmarsson comparison, one of the smartest defensive dman to play the game vs one of the dumbest prospects I have seen that just chases hits like he's a drop in EASHL scrub.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Yakemchuk is a very good prospect, and I'll admit to eating some crow about him, but seeing the Sens having some scoring issues this year, I can't shake the feeling that passing over Berkley Catton was a mistake, especially since Chabot's resurgence means our defense doesn't look as bad as it once did.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Yakemchuk is a very good prospect, and I'll admit to eating some crow about him, but seeing the Sens having some scoring issues this year, I can't shake the feeling that passing over Berkley Catton was a mistake, especially since Chabot's resurgence means our defense doesn't look as bad as it once did.

Part of our scoring issue is we don't have a shot threat from our Dman. Sanderson has a very elusive and sneaky shot like Quinn Hughes (Obviously not as good), but we also need a powerful and accurate shot which is what Yakemchuk helps with. I do wish we picked Catton of course.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Part of our scoring issue is we don't have a shot threat from our Dman. Sanderson has a very elusive and sneaky shot like Quinn Hughes (Obviously not as good), but we also need a powerful and accurate shot which is what Yakemchuk helps with. I do wish we picked Catton of course.

Maybe but a bigger part is that we don't have another silky, high-IQ forward like Stutzle.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Well yeah it's both needing a Dman that is a threat to score and needing at least one more top 6 skilled forward.

Maybe but a bigger part is that we don't have another silky, high-IQ forward like Stutzle.