The Ottawa Senators’ 2023 training camp is wrapping up and there were a handful of names on the camp invitation list who were Senators’ first-round draft picks. Given that some of the best players to grace the ice in Bytown are first-rounders, (see Erik Karlsson and Brady Tkachuk to name just two) I thought it would be interesting to take a trip down memory lane to see what has become of Ottawa’s first-round picks since the salary cap era began in 2005.
The most recent picks are young and some are still looking to crack the Senators’ lineup. Several veterans who were first-round picks years ago still play in the NHL.
A few of Ottawa’s first-round picks raise painful questions about what might have been had they stayed with the team. Others are a testament to the skill and foresight of Senators’ general managers (GM) in making draft choices over the years. Even so, Ottawa fans still shake their heads at some picks, wondering what management was thinking in making the choices they did.
Related: The Senators Have Never Been Good at Building Through the Draft
The Senators have made 21 first-round picks in the past 18 years. Whether they had a brief stint in Bytown or became fan favorites, here is where they are today along with a few lessons learned about drafting.
Brian Lee (9th Overall 2005)
Current Status: Retired
NHL games: 209 / Senators games: 167
Brian Lee was regarded as one of the NHL’s top defensive prospects when the Senators drafted him but never lived up to expectations, bouncing back and forth between the Senators’ farm team in Binghamton and the big club.
With some first-round picks, pride goeth before the fall and so it was with Lee whose agent said that Lee was “shocked and surprised that he was not among the Senators’ top-six defencemen” after he was once again assigned to Binghamton following the 2009 training camp. He noted that Erik Karlsson and Matt Carkner remained.
He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 27, 2012. A knee injury pushed him into retirement in 2014 with just five goals and 31 assists over his career.
Nick Foligno (28th Overall 2006)
Current Status: Chicago Blackhawks under a one-year $4 million contract for 2023-24
NHL games: 1,081 / Senators games: 351
The dual Canadian-American left winger notched 61 goals and 87 assists over five seasons with the Senators from 2007 – 2012. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 1, 2012, in exchange for Marc Methot. At the time, the Senators were desperate for a top-four defenceman after losing two to free agency.
At the end of the 2014-15 season, Foligno was named captain of the Blue Jackets. He went on to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, and now the Blackhawks.
Jim O’Brien (29th Overall 2007)
Current Status: Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA)
NHL games: 77 / Senators games: 73
Jim O’Brien was selected by then-Ottawa GM Bryan Murray because “size matters”. The 6-foot-2 centreman who graduated from the University of Minnesota into the pros played just 73 games with the Senators over parts of four seasons after first breaking onto the Senators roster in the 2010-11 season. Most of his career has been spent in the minor leagues.
While now describing himself as UFA, the 34-year-old’s professional career seems over with his last professional contract ending in 2020 after playing one year with Nuremberg’s Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Erik Karlsson (15th Overall 2008)
Current Status: Pittsburgh Penguins Defenceman
NHL games: 920 / Senators games: 627
A three-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenceman, two of which he won in a Senators’ uniform, Erik Karlsson played in a Senators’ sweater over nine seasons from 2009 – 2018 registering 126 goals and 392 assists. He served as the team’s captain over four seasons beginning in 2014-15 before being traded to the San Jose Sharks at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Karlsson was a fan favourite in Ottawa and many fans questioned why the Senators sent him out of town. Even so, there’s no doubt that they hit the proverbial jackpot in the trade by picking up, among others, Josh Norris along with the Sharks’ first-round pick in 2020. That pick brought Tim Stutzle to the nation’s capital. The two are now the Senators’ top two centremen and future NHL stars.
Related: Revisiting the Sharks’ Erik Karlsson Trade
Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion made the tough choice to deal Karlsson in September 2018 recognizing that his team needed to embark on a rebuild and that Karlsson, despite waning points production and personal problems, could still fetch valuable picks and prospects.
Jared Cowen (9th Overall 2009)
Current Status: Retired 2017
NHL games: 249 / Senators games: 249
At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Jared Cowen was often mentioned in the same breath as Zdeno Chara and Derian Hatcher. He never really lived up to those comparisons, struggling with consistency throughout the four seasons he spent in Ottawa. On Feb. 9, 2016, he was sent to Toronto as part of a nine-player blockbuster trade with the Maple Leafs that brought the then-Maple Leafs’ captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa.
Cowen never skated with the Maple Leafs. He retired just before the start of the 2017-18 season after being released by the Colorado Avalanche from a professional tryout contract (PTO) after their 2017 training camp. He was just 26 years old.
Mika Zibanejed (6th Overall 2011)
Current Status: New York Rangers Top Centreman and Alternate Captain
NHL games: 767 / Senators games: 281
The 30-year-old Swedish centreman played four seasons in Ottawa before being traded on July 18, 2016, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Derek Brassard and a seventh-round pick in the 2018 Draft.
Mika Zibanejed has thrived in the Big Apple, becoming the Rangers’ alternate captain and top centre. He racked up 91 points last season. In contrast, Brassard, now 36 years old, spent less than two seasons in Ottawa before being unloaded to the Penguins in a Feb. 23, 2019 trade. He lasted a year in Pittsburgh before being traded and embarking on a journey around the league that would eventually see him return to Ottawa last season under a one-year contract.
While sending Zibanejed to the Rangers was part of the Senators’ plan to strengthen their roster for a playoff run, Senators management must sometimes wonder what might have been had they hung on to him.
Stefan Noesen (21st Overall 2011)
Current Status: Carolina Hurricane Right Winger
NHL games: 285 / Senators games: 0
Stefan Noesen was acquired by the Senators with a first-round draft pick the team got from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Mike Fisher. He never suited up with Ottawa and in July 2013 was sent off to the Anaheim Ducks along with Jakob Silfverberg and a first-round pick in exchange for Bobby Ryan.
Matt Puempel (24th Overall, 2011)
Current Status: Augsburger Panther Left Winger, Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL)
NHL games: 87 / Senators games: 52
The Senators wanted Matt Puempel badly and traded a pair of second-round picks (35th and 48th overall) to the Detroit Red Wings in order to obtain the 24th overall spot in the draft.
Puempel signed an entry-level contract with the Senators on Dec. 29, 2011. He made his debut with the Binghamton Senators late in the 2011–12 season and got off to a promising start scoring 30 goals, tying Mike Hoffman as the team’s top scorer.
He made the Senators opening night roster in 2016 but after 13 scoreless games became a healthy scratch. He was placed on waivers by the Senators on Nov. 20, 2016, and claimed the following day by the Rangers.
He played 27 games in New York but after the 2016-17 season has toiled in the minors with the exception of an eight-game stint with the Red Wings in 2019.
Cody Ceci (15th Overall, 2012)
Current Status: Edmonton Oilers Defenceman
NHL games: 707 / Senators games: 492
Bytown-born and bred, Cody Ceci played six seasons in a Senators uniform before being traded to the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2019. He was part of a multiplayer exchange that brought Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown to Ottawa.
Zaitsev seemed to fade away in Ottawa and early last season was put on waivers and sent to Belleville. In February last season, he was sent to Chicago for “future considerations”. Brown spent three seasons in Ottawa before being traded to the Washington Capitals in July 2022.
Senators fans are left to wonder whether trading Ceci to Toronto in exchange for Zaitsev and Brown was worth the bother.
Curtis Lazar (17th Overall, 2013)
Current Status: New Jersey Devils
NHL games: 453 / Senators games: 176
Curtis Lazar made a splash in Ottawa making the opening night roster in 2014-15 at 19 years old. He played alongside Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone on what was dubbed the “Kid Line”. In the end, he struggled with scoring and at the trade deadline in 2017 was sent to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Jyoki Jokipakka and a second-round draft pick in that year’s entry draft. He has subsequently bounced around the league playing for not much more than the league minimum salary.
Thomas Chabot (18th Overall, 2015)
Current Status: Senators #1 Defenceman
NHL games: 381 / Senators games: 381
Thomas Chabot leads the Ottawa defence corps and is a fan favourite. Even so, many say he has yet to live up to the lofty expectations the Senators had for him when he was chosen 18th overall in 2015.
Colin White (21st Overall, 2015)
Current Status: UFA
NHL games: 292 / Senators games: 224
A product of Boston College, Colin White played with the Senators over six seasons beginning in 2016-17 before being placed on unconditional waivers on July 5, 2022. When he cleared waivers, they bought out the three remaining years on his contract – a six-year deal he signed in 2019 paying him $28.5 million. He never lived up to expectations and was hampered by injuries.
He spent last season with the Florida Panthers but with only 15 points over 68 games, the team decided not to extend a qualifying offer to him, making him a UFA on July 1, 2023.
Logan Brown (11th Overall, 2016)
Current Status: Tampa Bay Lightning under a one-year, two-way contract for 2023-24
NHL games: 99 / Senators games: 69
Logan Brown played with the Senators over four seasons, bouncing back and forth between the big club and the Belleville Senators. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in September 2021 for Zack Sanford and a late-round 2022 draft pick. He moved on from the Blues after last season but signed a one-year, two-way contract to play for the Lightning this season.
Shane Bowers (28th Overall, 2017)
Current Status: New Jersey Devils on a one-year, two-way contract for 2023-24
NHL games: 1 / Senators games: 0
Shane Bowers never saw action in Ottawa, having been traded to the Avalanche in a three-way deal in November 2017 that brought Matt Duchene to the Senators. He has played just one game in the NHL and is signed to a one-year, two-way deal for this season with the Devils.
Brady Tkachuk (4th Overall, 2018)
Current Status: Ottawa Senators captain
NHL games: 359 / Senators games: 359
The cornerstone of the Senators franchise, Brady Tkachuk is arguably the team’s best draft pick ever. He is under contract to entertain Ottawa fans for the next six seasons.
Jacob Bernard-Docker (26th Overall, 2018)
Current Status: Ottawa Senators defenceman fighting for a roster spot
NHL games: 32 / Senators games: 32
Last season, Jacob Bernard-Docker bounced back and forth between Belleville and Ottawa and at the end of the season signed a two-year extension with the Senators. He is challenging for a spot on the blue line this season, but even if he doesn’t win a regular roster spot, he will likely be a healthy scratch since sending him back to Belleville would mean he must clear waivers. That’s unlikely and he’d be lost to Ottawa for nothing.
Lassi Thomson (19th Overall, 2019)
Current Status: Belleville Senators, American Hockey League (AHL) defenceman
NHL games: 18 / Senators games: 18
The 23-year-old Finn was invited to this year’s training camp. He was placed on waivers on Sept. 30.
Tim Stutzle (3rd Overall, 2020)
Current Status: Ottawa Senators first-line centreman
NHL games: 210 / Senators games: 210
The Senators star centre is entering his fourth season with the club with 73 goals and 104 assists. Like Tkachuk, he will be regaling Sens fans under contract for the next six years.
Tim Stutzle is a feather in Dorion’s cap in that he was a pick that Ottawa acquired in the Karlsson trade in 2018. Few are second-guessing that trade now.
Jake Sanderson (5th Overall, 2020)
Current Status: Ottawa Senators defenceman
NHL games: 77 / Senators games: 77
The 21-year-old dual Canadian-American citizen is a product of the University of North Dakota hockey program. In September, he signed an eight-year, $64.4 million contract with the Senators under which he will patrol the team’s blue line for the next eight seasons.
Ridly Greig (28th Overall, 2020)
Current Status: Belleville Senators AHL
NHL games: 20 / Senators games: 20
Ridly Greig is battling for a spot on this season’s roster. Punters are laying odds on the 21-year-old centreman winning a spot in the team’s bottom six. Much will depend on his performance in the Senators’ remaining preseason games leading up to opening night on Oct. 11.
Tyler Boucher (10th Overall, 2021)
Current Status: Ottawa 67s, Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
NHL Games: 0
Tyler Boucher was invited to this year’s training camp. Since there are so few spots available on the roster, he’s a long shot to see any action with the Senators this season. Even so, he could put himself on the radar with a good camp.
Lessons Learned by Ottawa with First-Round Draft Picks
The round in which a player is selected in the draft can be a very unreliable predictor of his success. A case in point is 2019 first-rounder Thomson who was placed on waivers on Sept 30.
And who could forget Alexandre Daigle, selected first overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft? The young hockey stud eventually turned dud, famously boasting that “he was glad he got drafted first because nobody remembers number two.” He is still swallowing hard on those words.
Yet, a year later the team selected a young Swede in the sixth round, 133rd overall, who became the team’s captain, a Hockey Hall of Famer, and had his sweater retired to hang in the rafters of Canadian Tire Centre. Daniel Alfredsson put the lie to the notion that draft position reliably foretells success in the NHL.
The Senators have never had exceptionally high overall draft picks in the first round. Only three players have been fifth overall or higher since 2005. All of those came in 2018 or later. Contrast that to the Avalanche whose crummy play from 2010-17 positioned them for four top-10 picks during drafts in that period. They now form the core of the team.
While the draft may be difficult to predict, there is no denying that shrewd GMs can lessen a team’s dependence on Lady Luck. Just look at the 2008 Draft, when then-Senators’ GM Bryan Murray traded Ottawa’s first-round pick, 18th overall, and their third-round pick in 2009 to the Predators in exchange for the Predators’ first-round pick, 15th overall, to ensure that no other team would select Karlsson before the Senators.
That’s not the only magic Senators GMs have worked to secure talent. Dorion wasn’t very popular back in 2018 when he sent Karlsson packing to the Golden State to play for the Sharks. Yet, few are questioning his foresight now knowing the terms of the trade brought stars Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle to Bytown.
Arguably, at least until recently, the Senators have been mediocre in hanging on to and developing the talent they acquire through picks in the first round. Zibanajed was shipped out of Ottawa to play under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. While he thrived in New York, Brassard lasted less than two years in Ottawa. As for the Ceci trade, fans are left to wonder what might have been had he remained in Ottawa instead of being exchanged for Zaitsev and Brown.
Still, Dorion has done a stellar job in locking up his most recent first-round picks, signing Tkachuk, Stutzle, and Sanderson to long-term deals. Whatever the mistakes of the past, the Senators have atoned for them with these and other signings.
Any team can make bad first-round picks and the Senators are no exception. Management probably wishes there was an undo button for first-round selections like Lazar, White, and Brown. Even so, that’s all in the past and it’s hard to argue that since 2018 the Senators have chosen poorly. Senators fans can now take some comfort with some of the prospects in the team’s pipeline.
