Prospect Info: Zack Ostapchuk

[Cosmix]

Most said Pinto was a 3rd line centre & now he is centering the top line between Tkachuk & Batherson. I also prefer Ostapchuk at LW with Greig in the middle, but Ostapchuk can play either psosition effectively & can move up when their are injuries & not look out of place. While he can chip in offensively, he is mostly know for being a very good defensive forward & a pain in the ass to play against which is exactly what this team lacks, players that are hard to play against.

Kleven on defence will be another guy who will be a pain in the ass to play against on defence. I expect him to be in Ottawa's lineup next season too & he should help reduce their goals against. It will be interesting to see what happens with Ottawa's goalies next season. Will they move out Korpisalo or will they wait next season to move out Forsberg who will be in his last yr, trade him for a pick or something & let Sogaard take the backup spot? These are the three prospects I think should be on the team full time at some point next season Kleven, Pstapchuk & Sogaard. Jarventie is another interesting prospect if he too can stay healthy.

Pinto is entering the top line because Norris is injured on LTIR. I like Pinto but I am not convinced that he will be a high scoring top 6 center; however, I hope he will be.

I have not watched Kleven in the AHL; how is he doing?

Same Q with Ostapchuk?

 

[Cosmix]

Not sure he will be as good as Dobson although that would be great, but he is big, offensive defenceman with great range & tools. He seems good in transition, aggressive, makes good decisions with the puck, can carry the puck & is a decent passer. He struggles at times defenisvely something Dobson is very good at, but with his size, reach & strength can at times recover quickly. He can also play a more physical game, even drop them if necessary, he just looks & plays like a pro player IMO. Both are good skaters, both good in transition, both about the same size, both can be more physical & use their size to their advantage to screen off smaller players. This is what I think is missing on Ottawa's backend is size & physicality.

MacKenzie's list, which I trust more than others, has Silayev, Levshunov, Dickinson and Parekh ahead of Yakemchuk.

If we draft in the top 6, it's likely we would have a chance at selecting one of those 5 at the #6 position.

 

[dumbdick]

I think Crooked is ahead on the depth chart compared to Ostapchuk. Better point producer and I like Crookshank's forecheck/motor. But I could be wrong and only watch occasional highlights from belleville.

Any bsens fans got thoughts on how close those two are?

 

[DrEasy]

I think Crooked is ahead on the depth chart compared to Ostapchuk. Better point producer and I like Crookshank's forecheck/motor. But I could be wrong and only watch occasional highlights from belleville.

Any bsens fans got thoughts on how close those two are?

I don't follow the BSens as closely as others, but at least superficially speaking Crookshank is 3-4 years older than Ostapchuk, so one of them is more physically developed with not much ceiling left, so it's a bit of an apple to orange comparison. Ostapchuk was drafted higher (although with Dorion drafting it's hard to place too much importance on this), was good enough to make Team Canada at the juniors and do well there. Having said that, Crookshank did lose a lot of time to injury (this makes him a true Senator!), missing an entire year, which has affected his development and timelines significantly.

In the long run it seems obvious to me that Ostapchuk is going to overtake Crookshank on the depth chart, if it isn't the case already, since he's in Ottawa now. I think Ostapchuk's ceiling in on the 3rd line in Ottawa, while Crookshank needs to battle the likes of Kelly and Kastelic to make room for himself on the 4th line. Having said that, like you I like Crookshank's play and tenacity, and would like for him to get a proper chance in Ottawa.

 

[Ice-Tray]

My gut is that Ostapchuk is a solid NHLer and Crookshank is not.

Despite his good AHL numbers he wasn’t great in the bigs.

The one thing that seals it for me is that Ostapchuk comes as advertised all the way from juniors; extremely coachable, hard working, and basically willing to do whatever it takes.

The fact that he has enough talent to look good in his first two games because of his defensive skills and hockey IQ speaks volumes.

Like others I’ve been stoked on this kid since the draft and he has failed to disappoint so far.

My hot take (like anyone cares); makes the team now, and never looks back. 3rd line shut down centre.

 

[JD1]

I don't follow the BSens as closely as others, but at least superficially speaking Crookshank is 3-4 years older than Ostapchuk, so one of them is more physically developed with not much ceiling left, so it's a bit of an apple to orange comparison. Ostapchuk was drafted higher (although with Dorion drafting it's hard to place too much importance on this), was good enough to make Team Canada at the juniors and do well there. Having said that, Crookshank did lose a lot of time to injury (this makes him a true Senator!), missing an entire year, which has affected his development and timelines significantly.

In the long run it seems obvious to me that Ostapchuk is going to overtake Crookshank on the depth chart, if it isn't the case already, since he's in Ottawa now. I think Ostapchuk's ceiling in on the 3rd line in Ottawa, while Crookshank needs to battle the likes of Kelly and Kastelic to make room for himself on the 4th line. Having said that, like you I like Crookshank's play and tenacity, and would like for him to get a proper chance in Ottawa.

Ostapchuk played world Junior twice. It's rare that a guy plays world Junior twice for us or the Americans and doesn't go on to a decent NHL career.

I think Crookshank is more of a cup of coffee guy and in Europe at 26.

 

[BondraTime]

I think Crooked is ahead on the depth chart compared to Ostapchuk. Better point producer and I like Crookshank's forecheck/motor. But I could be wrong and only watch occasional highlights from belleville.

Any bsens fans got thoughts on how close those two are?

They aren’t comparable players at all.

They aren’t competing for the same spots in the NHL.

Crookshank is going to be very lucky to find a full time role in the NHL.

 

[dumbdick]

Crookshank is going to be very lucky to find a full time role in the NHL.

I don't get that sentiment. He's seemed fine every time he's played up with the big team, and he's obviously taken a big step offensively this year, mak8ng the all star team and pushing up near point a game. His defense has never looked terrible to me (although i know some others have pointed it out as a weakness) and his game seems well suited to bottom six.

What specifically about his game do you think will keep him from being an NHL regular? Are you watching a lot of the bsens this year?

 

[aragorn]

MacKenzie's list, which I trust more than others, has Silayev, Levshunov, Dickinson and Parekh ahead of Yakemchuk.

If we draft in the top 6, it's likely we would have a chance at selecting one of those 5 at the #6 position.

They don't need any more left hand shots on D & both Dickson & Silayev are left shot D. They need a right shot D & that leaves Levshunov who I think will likely be taken before Ott picks unless the draft lottery moves them up. That would leave Yakemchuk & Parkh & I have already explained why I would take Yakemchuk over Parekh since IMO he is more of the same of what we already have, but if they select him I would be fine with it given we need a top pairing RD. The reason they should take need in this draft is because it will fill a huge hole for them & Yakemchuk is more of the kind of player the Sens need on D more so then another small soft RD.

The perfect draft for me at this point would be the Sens selecting Cayden Lindstrom C/LW with their 1st rd pick & then trading Chabot LD or Chychrun LD for an early 1st rd pick & selecting Yakemchuk RD with that pick. Lindstrom & Yakemchuk are both at least two yrs away from being NHL players unless they make the team out of camp in the next two training camps & can't go to Belleville until they are 20 yrs old. With their second 1st rd pick I would like to see them select future Giroux replacement Terik Parascak RW & select a big mobile RD with their 2nd rd pick. All four of these guys would fill holes. If we were to move up to the second spot after the lottery I would select Leshunov RD, trade one of Chabot or Chychrun for a 1st rd pick & select Chernyshov RW/LW & both guys could go to Belleville immediately, if they agreed where we could call them up once they proved they are NHL ready.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Benched second game in a row. Normal. Not ready. Has to play with Kubalik.

 

[Micklebot]

Benched second game in a row. Normal. Not ready. Has to play with Kubalik.

When was he benched? I mean, he wasn't used in OT, but he didn't miss a shift as far as I could tell, though Greig did get moved onto Stu's line and Joseph took his place.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

When was he benched? I mean, he wasn't used in OT, but he didn't miss a shift as far as I could tell, though Greig did get moved onto Stu's line and Joseph took his place.

I didn’t see very much of him and Kubalik in the third. And last game I don’t know if he got a third period shift

 

[BondraTime]

I didn’t see very much of him and Kubalik in the third. And last game I don’t know if he got a third period shift

He had 6 shifts in the 3rd, last one was with 2.5 minutes left

He had 2 in the 3rd the game before.

His 1st game he had 6 in the 3rd and one in OT.

 

[Loach]

He had 6 shifts in the 3rd, last one was with 2.5 minutes left

He had 2 in the 3rd the game before.

His 1st game he had 6 in the 3rd and one in OT.

He's a big kid. Him, Pinto and Stu at center in nice.

 

[mianjo]

He played a total of 11:22 more than Kastelic and Katchouk

 

[Cosmix]

My gut is that Ostapchuk is a solid NHLer and Crookshank is not.

Despite his good AHL numbers he wasn’t great in the bigs.

The one thing that seals it for me is that Ostapchuk comes as advertised all the way from juniors; extremely coachable, hard working, and basically willing to do whatever it takes.

The fact that he has enough talent to look good in his first two games because of his defensive skills and hockey IQ speaks volumes.

Like others I’ve been stoked on this kid since the draft and he has failed to disappoint so far.

My hot take (like anyone cares); makes the team now, and never looks back. 3rd line shut down centre.

I agree with most of what you said except the hot take; O needs more time to develop in the AHL.

 

[Cosmix]

They don't need any more left hand shots on D & both Dickson & Silayev are left shot D. They need a right shot D & that leaves Levshunov who I think will likely be taken before Ott picks unless the draft lottery moves them up. That would leave Yakemchuk & Parkh & I have already explained why I would take Yakemchuk over Parekh since IMO he is more of the same of what we already have, but if they select him I would be fine with it given we need a top pairing RD. The reason they should take need in this draft is because it will fill a huge hole for them & Yakemchuk is more of the kind of player the Sens need on D more so then another small soft RD.

The perfect draft for me at this point would be the Sens selecting Cayden Lindstrom C/LW with their 1st rd pick & then trading Chabot LD or Chychrun LD for an early 1st rd pick & selecting Yakemchuk RD with that pick. Lindstrom & Yakemchuk are both at least two yrs away from being NHL players unless they make the team out of camp in the next two training camps & can't go to Belleville until they are 20 yrs old. With their second 1st rd pick I would like to see them select future Giroux replacement Terik Parascak RW & select a big mobile RD with their 2nd rd pick. All four of these guys would fill holes. If we were to move up to the second spot after the lottery I would select Leshunov RD, trade one of Chabot or Chychrun for a 1st rd pick & select Chernyshov RW/LW & both guys could go to Belleville immediately, if they agreed where we could call them up once they proved they are NHL ready.

A perfect draft for me would be getting the top pick in the lottery and taking Celebrini, followed by a second pick in the first round which might allow us to pick a higher rated prospect who drops down to us.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[armani]

Rooting for the Big-O to make the show as Kastelic's replacement as #4C in the opening line-up. I think he is going to be a legit bottom-6 forward with a scoring touch for this team. Still more growth left in his game, so I am excited about his future.

 

[Cosmix]

MacKenzie's list, which I trust more than others, has Silayev, Levshunov, Dickinson and Parekh ahead of Yakemchuk.

If we draft in the top 6, it's likely we would have a chance at selecting one of those 5 at the #6 position.

Results are in: we could have drafted Silayev, Dickinson or Parehk at #7. Time will tell if we made the optimal choice. I don't see Yakemchuk as a big reach so I am not unhappy having him as a prospect; however, we could have had one of the three above instead. We shall see how prescient our scouts are.

 

[MoreGore]

They don't need any more left hand shots on D & both Dickson & Silayev are left shot D. They need a right shot D & that leaves Levshunov who I think will likely be taken before Ott picks unless the draft lottery moves them up.

Any draft pick from this year will not play any substantial roll for at least 3 years. Will they NEED a RHD in 3 years? Who knows. We shall see, but I am not betting on Yakemchuck being the 2nd best defenseman taking in this draft.

 

[Dan Patrick]

Any draft pick from this year will not play any substantial roll for at least 3 years. Will they NEED a RHD in 3 years? Who knows. We shall see, but I am not betting on Yakemchuck being the 2nd best defenseman taking in this draft.

What do you mean by substantial role? Also what do you mean by 3 years (calendar years, seasons?). Seems weird when what is way more likely is that he plays on the bottom or second pair to some degree in the NHL after next year and is a full member of the team by the 2026-2027 season. He certainly has the size to transition quickly. If he isn’t playing in a substantial role before 2027 or the 2027-2028 season he is likely more or less a bust.

 

[Cosmix]

What do you mean by substantial role? Also what do you mean by 3 years (calendar years, seasons?). Seems weird when what is way more likely is that he plays on the bottom or second pair to some degree in the NHL after next year and is a full member of the team by the 2026-2027 season. He certainly has the size to transition quickly. If he isn’t playing in a substantial role before 2027 or the 2027-2028 season he is likely more or less a bust.

I doubt that Yakemchuk plays on the Ottawa Senators during the next 2 seasons; I expect him to arrive for the 2026-27 season after gaining experience playing against men in the AHL prior to that. A "substantial role" will happen sometime after his first season, sometime after the 2026-27 season. He will not be a "bust" then.

 

[PlayOn]

Any draft pick from this year will not play any substantial roll for at least 3 years. Will they NEED a RHD in 3 years? Who knows. We shall see, but I am not betting on Yakemchuck being the 2nd best defenseman taking in this draft.

To be fair, I think the chances we don’t need a RD in three years are slim to none. Jensen is going to age out, Zub will be 32 and JBD probably won’t be around, and if he is, he’ll be a bottom pairing guy.

The likelihood that we’re going to acquire not one but two guys better than Yak (assuming he pans out) is super low given the RD market. Sens are betting on Yakemchuk being a top pair RD. They are virtually never available via trade.

 

[aragorn]

I view Ostapchuk similar to Formenton, he has good size, is a pretty good fast skater (not as fast as Formenton) & can play a rough game. What's better is that he can play either centre or left wing, he hits more & is probably a better fighter. He brings some much needed size to the bottom six & can play the PK & block shots or go to the net & screen the goalie. While he may never score a lot of goals he has powerforward potential. He could be a complimentary player that does all the dirty work on a line with two goal scorers, I think he is going to be a great player for Ott.