In this edition of the Senators News & Rumors, we look at the Ottawa Senators signing their top goaltending prospect Mads Sogaard, trading another goaltender prospect in Kevin Mandolese, as well as acquiring Xavier Bourgault from the Edmonton Oilers for Roby Jarventie and a draft pick.
Sogaard is Sticking Around
While it didn’t come as much of a surprise, the Senators inked their top goaltending prospect Sogaard to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $775,000.
Sogaard has had his best professional season this year, and at 23 years of age, there is reason to believe he can take another step. In 32 American Hockey League (AHL) games, Sogaard had a record of 18-9-3 and had a save percentage (SV%) of .916. At the NHL level, Sogaard has 27 games already, and for a goaltender of his age, that is a lot. Most goaltenders, outside of the high-end star prospects, are just starting to get their feet wet at this point in their careers.
Sogaard played six games with the NHL club this season and struggled to make saves. He had a 1-3-0 record, 4.05 goals against average (GAA), and a .859 SV%.
His stats in the rest of his NHL career aren’t strong either, but given the fact that the majority of his opportunities have been when the team is down and out already, dealing with injuries, and not playing well as it is, those stats can be forgiven. It would have been nice to see him take the reigns of an opportunity and thrive but to struggle in those positions, he isn’t to blame.
Mandolese Traded to Avalanche
This was a bit more of a surprising move. General manager Steve Staios traded Mandolese to the Colorado Avalanche along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-round pick. There isn’t much value in this deal, but it is clear that Staios is trying to just move pieces to help allow him to create his own organization and move out as much of the Pierre Dorion era as he can.
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Mandolese likely doesn’t have an NHL future at this point and especially didn’t with the Senators. He has bounced between the AHL and ECHL for the past few years because he is third in line with Sogaard and Leevi Merilainen ahead of him in the goaltending depth and they have taken the AHL jobs.
In three NHL appearances, Mandolese played excellent hockey, but outside of that, he hasn’t shown much in terms of being a strong prospect. His ECHL numbers are good, but in the AHL he is barely cracking the .900 SV% threshold.
Jarventie Traded to Oilers for Bourgault
If Jarventie had been able to stay healthy, this trade might not have happened. The full trade was Jarventie and a fourth-round pick being traded to the Oilers for Bourgault and Jake Chiasson.
Jarventie’s production rates have been growing increasingly better each season in the AHL, but with his inability to stay healthy, his totals have actually dropped in each of the last three seasons. The ability to stay healthy and play close to a full season is an asset in itself. As it stands right now, Jarventie is a fringe NHL player and could be an option to call up. With the current roster construction, his play style isn’t one that fits well into the bottom-six, but he isn’t offensively talented enough to find himself in the top-six.
As for what the Senators are bringing in, Bourgault was selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has struggled with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL since making the jump from Junior.
Bourgault is a fairly one-dimensional, offensive player, and he wasn’t being put in a position to succeed with the Condors, and he wasn’t the only one. There is a lot more talent with Bourgault than was shown over his last two seasons. His final season in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League was his best and he posted 75 points in 43 games.
The swap between Jarventie and Bourgault makes sense for the Senators. They are bringing in a player who isn’t as good as Jarventie is right now, so it is an immediate downgrade, but over the course of the next few years, Bourgault’s much higher ceiling could see him take over as the better player. Both players are 21 years old, so there is more development to be had, but Staios is taking a risk on a player with a higher upside.
As for Chiasson, he likely doesn’t become more than an ECHL player who could be an option in the AHL. He has struggled to produce in the ECHL and doesn’t bring much more to his game.
