It’s no secret that the Ottawa Senators had a rough draft in 2021. Analysts panned the team’s six selections, giving them the lowest grade among all teams that had a first-round pick. However, most of the criticism was directed at the selection of Tyler Boucher at 10th overall, who was regarded as a late-first-round pick. Although the critics have grown quieter, two suspension-filled seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) didn’t do much to change opinions. Boucher is now set to turn pro this season, and while fans are hoping the top pick will turn things around, it doesn’t seem realistic anymore.
But the 2021 Draft class somehow got even worse when the team announced in May 2023 that they had released three prospects from that draft. It wasn’t surprising to see the organization cut ties with seventh-rounder Chandler Romeo or even their fourth-round selection Carson Latimer, but it was concerning to see Ben Roger, a second-round pick, walk away for nothing. Most would expect a player of his calibre to earn some interest around the league, but that didn’t seem to be the case as he signed with Saint Mary’s University of Canada’s University Sports League (USports).
Three things can make for a bad draft: whiffing on a top pick, failing to find any late-round gems, and releasing most players selected. Every NHL team has had at least one bad draft and can blame it on one or sometimes two of those factors. However, the Senators’ 2021 Draft class looks like it will hit all three. Two years may be a short time to hand out a “franchise-worst” tag, but compared to the organization’s other bad draft years, it isn’t unreasonable.
2016 – Senators Miss on Their Top Pick
The Tampa Bay Lightning paid a heavy price for Tanner Jeannot at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, sending five picks to the Nashville Predators including a first-rounder, although they made sure it was top-10 protected. It seems like a needless stipulation for one of the best teams in the NHL, but that’s simply how valuable those picks are.
So, when the Senators had the 11th pick in 2016, they were determined to make the most of it, drafting 6-foot-6 center Logan Brown. Described as having “all the tools” by scouts, he was a highly coveted prospect and most rankings had him right on the edge of the top 10. But injuries robbed him of most of the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, especially when he gained even a little momentum. He had all the makings of a top center like Kevin Hayes, but his lack of consistency, driven by injury, cost him a spot on the Senators. After four seasons with the team, he was sent to the St. Louis Blues for Zach Sanford; the Blues also cut ties with him before the 2023-24 season.
Brown’s inability to stay healthy during his crucial development years stunted his growth and prevented him from reaching his potential. Now 25, he’s set to make his debut with his third NHL franchise, but will likely spend most of the season in the minors. His journey is eerily similar to Boucher’s, who has lost valuable development time due to injury. While there’s still hope for both players, they no longer have the benefit of the doubt awarded to most top draft picks.
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Despite the miss on their top pick, the Senators at least found a couple of NHL players in the 2016 Draft, selecting Jonathan Dahlen in the second round and Max Lajoie in the fifth. Although Dahlen never played for Ottawa, he was the key piece in the trade for Alex Burrows from the Vancouver Canucks not even a year after he was selected. He went on to score 22 points with the San Jose Sharks before returning home to Sweden. A swift-skating defenceman, Lajoie showed flashes of brilliance early in his career before injuries also slowed him down, leading to his trade to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021-22. It’s not a lot, but it’s better than the Sens did in 2021.
2014 – The Best of the Rest
The Senators entered the 2014 NHL Draft without a first-round pick for just the second time in franchise history. For a team that had just missed the playoffs, that’s not a great sign, but Ottawa’s management didn’t seem concerned. The pick, slated to be 10th overall, was sent to the Anaheim Ducks along with youngster Jakob Silfverberg and former first-rounder Stefan Noesen for Bobby Ryan. It was a steep price, but it worked out for Ottawa. Ryan was selected to the All-Star team in 2014-15, while the Ducks selected Nick Ritchie, who never became the top goal-scorer he was projected to be.
That meant that the Senators’ first pick didn’t come until 40th overall, and they opted for Swedish defenceman Andreas Englund. Although he wasn’t ranked in the top 50, general manager Pierre Dorion reportedly loved his character and felt he could have been a first-rounder. Making his NHL debut in 2016-17, injuries limited him to just 33 games. He decided to take the full season off in 2020-21 to heal up, but that subsequently resulted in the Senators parting ways with him.
Even though Englund didn’t pan out, he did better than the other prospects selected that year. Miles Gendron, Shane Eiserman, and Kelly Summers were all released to become free agents after they graduated from their college programs. Francis Perron, picked in the seventh round, signed an entry-level contract after putting up 108 points in 62 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s (QMJHL) Rouyn-Noranda Huskies but didn’t stick around long. He was included in the 10-piece Erik Karlsson trade in 2018, then was moved again in 2019 to the Canucks before leaving to try his luck in Europe.
It’s never easy to go into a draft without a first-round pick, but back in 2010, the Senators were in a similar situation and still managed to find Marcus Sorensen in the fourth round and Mark Stone in the sixth. Capitalizing on the picks you have is crucial for a team’s success. Ottawa made the playoffs twice in four years following the 2010 Draft but has had the same number of playoff appearances in the nine seasons since 2014. The one redeeming factor for this draft is that they at least used a few of the prospects in valuable trades that look like they’ll set the team up for success in the future.
2002 – A Whole Lot of Nothing
In 2002, the Senators were in a very different situation, having made the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. However, they ended up with the 16th-overall selection, so they grabbed the 16th-highest-ranked North American forward, Jakub Klepis. Although a Czech native, he made the trek over to Portland to join the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Winterhawks where he put up 64 points and 111 penalty minutes in 70 games, demonstrating strong playmaking skills, and a bit of a mean streak. He returned to Czechia for the next two seasons, during which time the Senators traded his rights to the Buffalo Sabres (2003), who then flipped him to the Washington Capitals a year later. He ended up playing 66 games with the Capitals from 2005-07 before returning to Europe in 2008, where he still plays.
The Senators grabbed another Euro-born forward with their second-round pick, snapping up the second-year-eligible Alexei Kaigorodov, 47th overall. The gritty Russian ranked ninth among European skaters and was already playing in Russia’s top hockey league, but the Senators had to wait five years before he came over to North America. When he finally arrived, he was heralded as the team’s best option as a second-line center, but after just six games, he had one assist and was averaging just over four minutes of ice time, so the team decided to send him to the American Hockey League (AHL). That was unacceptable to Kaigorodov, who refused to report and returned home, which forced the team to suspend him. He never returned to the NHL.
Only one of the next six picks ever earned a contract with the Senators, that being third-round pick Arttu Luttinen. However, he didn’t sign right away, waiting until 2006-07 to make his North American debut. In his rookie season with the Binghamton Senators, he scored 12 goals and 29 points in 74 games but never got a call-up to the NHL, so he returned to Finland the following season. Despite having eight picks in that draft, the Senators ended up with practically nothing; Klepis was traded for Vaclav Varada, while Kaigorodov was flipped for Mike Comrie, neither of whom had much of an impact in their short stints with the team.
2021 Has No Equal
The 2021 NHL Draft was never going to go smoothly. Pandemic-related concerns resulted in several junior leagues ceasing operations for the 2020-21 season, making scouting nearly impossible. But no team struggled as much as the Senators. Not only was their first-round pick barely considered a first-round talent, but they’ve already cut the draft class in half without anything in return, and the players that remain in the organization — Zach Ostapchuk and Oliver Johansson — don’t project to be much more than depth role players.
When looking back at the Senators’ worst draft classes in their 31-year history, it’s painfully clear that none of them can compare to 2021. The 2016 Draft’s first-round selection was at least expected to go in the range he did, two picks from 2014 were used in big trades, and in 2002, Ottawa at least got some NHL games out of their disappointing picks. While there’s still time for things to turn around, it’s a bygone conclusion that the 2021 Draft is the Senators’ worst.
