Prospect Info: 2024-2025 Ottawa Senators In the system

[Cosmix]

would you rather step in dog shit or fall into a steaming pile of rhino shit.,

The former.

 

[Cosmix]

Parekh up to 99 points in 56 games +43
Dickinson up to 78 points in 48 games +56

Impressive stats from those 2. I hope our resident draft genius and the one where the buck stops made the right draft pick.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

i think Chychrun is a much better comp for Yakemchuk than Ceci. I was very impressed with how comfortable he looked in the preseason. I know it was preseason but still.. he instantly looked like he belonged.

Unfortunately the bigger sample size shows more worrying sings than the small one. I remember Magnus Pajaarvi scoring a hat trick at the same age during preseason.

It was great what Yak did during preseason, but it’s not really enough to convince me it’s a good pick, considering all the picks after Yak have shown big progress in junior and are younger. I remember the explanation at the time was that he played on worse teams than Parekh amd Dickenson. Well the Hitmen right now are way better than they were last year.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

How many even strength points does he have? Can’t be that many

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I

Parekh has what I consider to be kryptonite for a skilled player transitioning to the NHL, inconsistent compete levels driven by attitude (and possibly character) deficiencies. The evidence supporting how this may hold him back is a checkered history in excelling against higher competition, namely WJHC camp and Flames training camp and some documented attitude stuff. Small sample size but it's a red flag for me. Players that dominate jr on skill alone get a proceed with caution stamp in my books. Without the right attitude it can manifest itself in the form of lacking perseverance and ability to overcome adversity. The Josh Ho Sang lesson on the extreme end. That said it is really easy to be wrong about this, recently I thought Evan Bouchard had red flags for similar reasons. I don't think I was completely wrong there but he's obviously a good NHLer. Drouin was another one for me and I'm not sure I was wrong there.

Ryan Ellis is a bad example for whoever brought it up. In jr Ellis was universally respected in the league. He had leadership qualities well beyond his years, was a hard worker and generally likeable player. Recall that he didn't even participate in his D+1 all star skills comp because he was too good, instead he filled in as a guest judge over his peers and he made it fun and did it without any ego. He had a completely different kind of character and approach to the game. This, in my opinion, played a huge role in his ability to adapt once the going got tough in the NHL.

Yakemchk is more projectable than Parekh to me because of his character. His is quiet, humble, and has a bit of a lunch pale element to his game. He is willing to get dirty, physical and stick up for his teammates, there is even some old school violence there which tells me something (ostaphuk has the same thing for what it's worth). His offensive elements have more potential to translate to the NHL as well since a lot of it is based on engaging physically, using his frame to create space, beating players in close, coming in from the point and going to the dirty areas. I'm also convinced that Yak is taking his D to heart this year and that explains his point totals. If that is true that speaks volumes about his attitude, professionalism and dedication. I'm not sure Parekh has that same character fibre. Don't know the guy and don't watch as much OHL but I'm suspicious.

On the purely talent side to me Zayne Parekh has a more Erik Karlsson or Quinn Hughes type game whereas Yak is more Brent Burns. And for that my point would be that the former is harder to translate compared to the latter. But yeah, probably bigger returns if it hits. Although I would say the returns on that type of talent tend to be shorter term whereas the bigger offensive guys typically stretch their impact longer into their careers.

Anyway, all told I think Yak has a brighter future and the concern for this years point totals kind of make me laugh, especially juxtaposed to Parekh's continued point totals. Points mean nothing for these guys future, we know they have the talent. It's how they develop a pro game off the puck that will tell the story.

The attitude argument kind of falls flat if you look at how each player has played since getting snubbed from Team Canada. Parekh has turned on another gear while Yakemchuk is playing worse with an improved team.

 

[Hun]

I

The attitude argument kind of falls flat if you look at how each player has played since getting snubbed from Team Canada. Parekh has turned on another gear while Yakemchuk is playing worse with an improved team.

This is not true. He plays well.

 

[OD99]

This is not true. He plays well.

You would think he is a scrub the way this board has turned on him. The wound of Boucher is festering and starting to infect all of our prospects.

Either that or getting Timmy and Sandy, the expectation is that any early pick should be the best pick in the draft.

I am not sure I have seen anything like this before.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

You would think he is a scrub the way this board has turned on him. The wound of Boucher is festering and starting to infect all of our prospects.

Either that or getting Timmy and Sandy, the expectation is that any early pick should be the best pick in the draft.

I am not sure I have seen anything like this before.

Well it happens in every sport with every fanbase so worry not

 

[Gil Gunderson]

You would think he is a scrub the way this board has turned on him. The wound of Boucher is festering and starting to infect all of our prospects.

Either that or getting Timmy and Sandy, the expectation is that any early pick should be the best pick in the draft.

I am not sure I have seen anything like this before.

No, I think it’s because by all accounts he hasn’t really progressed in junior while everyone picked after him has.

That doesn’t mean he’s a bust but don’t pretend that isn’t why people are getting nervous about the pick. This team has been dog shit at drafting for 5 years now too.

 

[OD99]

No, I think it’s because by all accounts he hasn’t really progressed in junior while everyone picked after him has.

That doesn’t mean he’s a bust but don’t pretend that isn’t why people are getting nervous about the pick. This team has been dog shit at drafting for 5 years now too.

I understand completely, but the obsession with posting other team's prospects is a little over the top, particularly in the Senators prospects thread.

Again, I click on this thread to get updates on Senators players.

Create a different thread to focus on Yak's shortcomings and comparison, it's a worthwhile discussion.

 

[Hun]

No, I think it’s because by all accounts he hasn’t really progressed in junior while everyone picked after him has.

That doesn’t mean he’s a bust but don’t pretend that isn’t why people are getting nervous about the pick. This team has been dog shit at drafting for 5 years now too.

Yak is working on improving his defensive game and he is making progress in this regard.

 

[Xspyrit]

This team has been dog shit at drafting for 5 years now too.

4 years! It made me just check and damn, only ONE player from the last 4 drafts has played NHL games and we just traded him, the guy has 4 pts in 50 NHL GP.

Sure it's early but at the end of the day, these 4 drafts will most likely look very underwhelming. It's normally not something a rebuilding team can afford. You could absolutely fail a rebuild because of that

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Yak is working on improving his defensive game and he is making progress in this regard.

Is this something that people who follow the Hitmen can confirm at least?

 

[Hun]

Is this something that people who follow the Hitmen can confirm at least?

I watch 1 game a week. Is that enough?

 

[BondraTime]

Is this something that people who follow the Hitmen can confirm at least?

Pronman/Wheeler have been disapointed with his defensive/two way game (Hockey Canada as well)

Some games he looks very good, some games he looks completely lost. His skating is going to need a big improvement to bridge the gap.

He's not the guy you'd want out defending a lead late

 

[PlayOn]

4 years! It made me just check and damn, only ONE player from the last 4 drafts has played NHL games and we just traded him, the guy has 4 pts in 50 NHL GP.

Sure it's early but at the end of the day, these 4 drafts will most likely look very underwhelming. It's normally not something a rebuilding team can afford. You could absolutely fail a rebuild because of that

2024 is too early to tell, no one has popped but no one has progressed poorly either so at least there’s that.

As for 2022, Nordberg was our first pick at the end of the second round. A total of 7 players taken after him have seen NHL action and most under 10 games. In 2023, Hoyt Stanley was our first pick in the fourth round and 0 players taken after him have played in the NHL.

We got some good prospects out of those two drafts. By nature of where the picks were we are a) unlikely to produce many actual NHLers and b) if we do, they are gonna take awhile.

I know you didn’t say this but I don’t think our drafting was “dogshit” those years. Blame the guy who traded the picks, nothing wrong with getting prospects like Halliday, Donovan, Reidler, Stanley, Andonovski, Beckner etc where we did. We’ll be lucky if we produce one NHLer per draft but that’s more a reflection of the value of picks we held.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Pronman/Wheeler have been disapointed with his defensive/two way game (Hockey Canada as well)

Some games he looks very good, some games he looks completely lost. His skating is going to need a big improvement to bridge the gap.

He's not the guy you'd want out defending a lead late

Pronman had him ranked 3rd going into the draft, so that's a little disappointing.

 

[Ouroboros]

Filip Nordberg has 10 points in his last 18 games. Seems like he's breaking out.

 

[BondraTime]

Pronman had him ranked 3rd going into the draft, so that's a little disappointing.

He loves him, said he was disapointed He had him as the 3rd best D U23, ahead of Sanderson, in September, and 10th overall.

In Jan he had him as the 8th best D, and 28th overall. "Defensively he uses his big body a lot and engages physically, but his defensive coverage is quite loose. He plays like a forward often and isn't trustworthy defensively"

It's the small things that I've had an issue/worry with. Plays that just seem to show a low learning curve/adaptability that I've seen more than enough this year to be one offs

There are 3 goals here that I watched and said "what are you doing" 5 secomds befor the goal was scored


1:09 - Things like falling below the goal line on the stong side as the D in charge of the net and not being able to gap close because of where he put himself

2:18 - Weak clearing attempt, but that's more on just a weak follow through than decision making

2:45 - Skates behind his D partner, extremely laborded skating and pivots, giving up his side and a free path to their forward.

Every game/other game I watch I'm seeing plays like this where I'm asking what are you doing/thinking

Threre are just as many plays and highlights showcasing why he was ranked where he was, his hands, shot, physicality, meanness, size, offensive ability. But you're not going to see that with his skating, decisionn making and defensive play. His percieved weaknesses on draft day are still weaknesses, which isn't surprising, it's only been a few months.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He loves him, said he was disapointed He had him as the 3rd best D U23, ahead of Sanderson, in September, and 10th overall.

In Jan he had him as the 8th best D, and 28th overall. "Defensively he uses his big body a lot and engages physically, but his defensive coverage is quite loose. He plays like a forward often and isn't trustworthy defensively"

It's the small things that I've had an issue/worry with. Plays that just seem to show a low learning curve/adaptability that I've seen more than enough this year to be one offs

There are 3 goals here that I watched and said "what are you doing" 5 secomds befor the goal was scored


1:09 - Things like falling below the goal line on the stong side as the D in charge of the net and not being able to gap close because of where he put himself

2:18 - Weak clearing attempt, but that's more on just a weak follow through than decision making

2:45 - Skates behind his D partner, extremely laborded skating and pivots, giving up his side and a free path to their forward.

Every game/other game I watch I'm seeing plays like this where I'm asking what are you doing/thinking

Threre are just as many plays and highlights showcasing why he was ranked where he was, his hands, shot, physicality, meanness, size, offensive ability. But you're not going to see that with his skating, decisionn making and defensive play. His percieved weaknesses on draft day are still weaknesses, which isn't surprising, it's only been a few months.

Which were the issues from the get go . The guys on hockeyprospect and nhl scouts had pegged it before the draft. At the summer showcase .. his skating and defense and decision making were visible deficiencies this has continued into what is probably his last year of junior hockey. Its going to take some good coaching , skating instruction to bring those elements up. He has good individual skills offensively but not sure about running a PP .