Ottawa Busy on Day 2 – Trade for Filatov, Draft Local Jrs
After a busy and successful day 1 of the NHL Entry Draft, Bryan Murray was equally busy early on day 2. He started off by trading the 66th pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for former 1st rounder Nikita Filatov. Filatov is a talented forward who has bounced around between the KHL, the AHL and the NHL since being drafted 6th overall in 2008. If he can find some consistency, he could be a high scoring top line winger in Ottawa.
Murray then made many Ottawa fans happy with the 61st pick, taking Ottawa 67’s winger Shane Prince. Prince is a smooth skating winger who played on the 67’s top line and was considered a potential late 1st or early 2nd rd pick. For years, many Ottawa fans have wondered why the likes of Logan Couture and Tyler Tofolli were seemingly ignored when they played right in the Sens’ backyard.
The Senators went local again by selecting Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a centre from the Gatineau Olympiques. Pageau is small but skilled, and a bit of a surprise as he was unranked by NHL Central Scouting. The Ottawa native had 79 points in 67 games with the Olympiques this season.
Here is a rundown of the rest of Ottawa’s 2011 draft class:
126th Fredrik Claesson, defenseman from Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League. He is 6′, 200 lbs and was the 27th ranked European Skater
156th Darren Kramer, centre/left winger from the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL. 6’1″, 202 lbs Kramer is not going to put up points, but did have over 300 PIMs in the WHL last season.
171st Max McCormick, a left winger from Sioux City in the USHL. A project who will take time to develop, played in the USHL last season and posted 42 points in 55 games. He is 5’11”, 175 lbs.
186th Jordan Fransoo, a 6’2″ 180 lb defenseman from Brandon in the WHL. He put up 18 points in 63 games with the Wheat Kings.
204th Ryan Dzingel, a 6′, 185 lb centre playing with Lincoln in the USHL. Put up 67 points in 54 games with the Stars at the USHL level.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among this group might be the fact that Shane Prince lasted until the 61st pick. He could be one of the steals of the draft, as he doesn’t do anything spectacular, but does everything well.
The later round picks are always a gamble, and there might be a player to come out of the group, but the job the Senators did this weekend does set them up very well for the future.
I will be interested to see what Nikita Filatov‘s attitude is when he arrives in Ottawa, as his skill level is quality, but he didn’t mesh well personality wise in Columbus.
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