SenShot Presents: Ottawa’s Top 40 Prospects (25 – 28)

Over the next ten days, SenShot will release our Top 40 Ottawa Senators Prospects.

Today, we will bring to you another four of Ottawa’s prospects in their system. In our Top 40 Prospects ranking, these four prospects are ranked 25th to 28th.

25. Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Ht: 5’9″  Wt: 163 lbs

Date of Birth: November 11, 1992 (Age 18)

Birthplace: Ottawa, Ont, Canada

Contract: Unsigned

Drafted: 2011 (4/96) by OTT

Last Yrs Stats: GP ~ 67  Goals ~ 32  Assists ~ 47  Total Points ~ 79

Potential: Small shifty center with tons of heart

2011-2012 Team: Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)

How Far Away From The NHL: 4 – 5 yrs

• Pageau is a diminutive scoring center that plays with tons of heart. Never letting his size be a factor, Pageau’s work ethic, drive and offensive talents make him very dangerous in the offensive zone and on the powerplay. With great speed and excellent vision, Pageau can play the role of a playmaking center or a scoring center. With a good shot, Pageau made his name in the QMJHL playoffs as he led his team to the finals with 29 points in 24 games.
• Ottawa drafted Pageau based on his talents and drive to succeed. Despite his stature, Ottawa believes that Pageau is one of those special small forwards that can make it to the NHL and be successful due to his competitiveness. Pageau is a long-term project for Ottawa as he will need to work on honing his skills and building strength if he wants to make it to the show.
• Check out this video of Pageau’s work and here is Pierre Dorion speaking about Pageau.

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26. Wacey Hamilton

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Ht: 5’10”  Wt: 170 lbs

Date of Birth: September 10, 1990 (Age 20)

Birthplace: Calgary, Alta, Canada

Contract: $900,000 (RFA in 2014-2015)

Drafted: Signed as a Free Agent in 2011 by OTT

Last Yrs Stats: GP ~ 67  Goals ~ 20  Assists ~ 53  Total Points ~ 73

Potential: Small gritty two-way center

2011-2012 Team: Binghamton Senators (AHL)

How Far Away From The NHL: 3 – 4 yrs

• Signed as an over-aged junior, Ottawa beat out many teams for Hamilton’s services. As a solid two-way center, Hamilton plays the game with a ton of heart and grit. Along with his toughness, Hamilton mixes in skill as he is a good playmaker and is excellent in the faceoff circle. With 100 assists and 144 total points in his last two junior seasons, Hamilton is capable of putting up points. Playing in all situations, Hamilton is a heart and soul type of hockey player with strong leadership qualities. With speed to burn, Hamilton is a great body checker and has a solid defensive game too.
• Ottawa hopes that Hamilton can develop in the mold of current Sen Zach Smith, but with more scoring upside. A little on the small side, Hamilton does need to add more muscle to his frame as he plays a big man’s game. As captain of the Tigers, Ottawa hopes Hamilton can bring that leadership to a young B-Sens squad this upcoming season and help with the lack of veterans on the team. Hamilton may top out as a third line center, but if he can make it to the NHL, he should become a fan favorite very quickly.
• Check out SenShot’s Prospect Profile of Wacey Hamilton
• Check out this video of Hamilton’s game.

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27. Jakub Culek

Position: Center / Left Winger

Shoots: Left

Ht: 6’4″  Wt: 195 lbs

Date of Birth: September 07, 1992 (Age 18)

Birthplace: Klatovy, Czech. (CZE)

Contract: Unsigned

Drafted: 2010 (3/76) by OTT

Last Yrs Stats: GP ~ 55  Goals ~ 7  Assists ~ 15  Total Points ~ 22

Potential: Top nine playmaking center

2011-2012 Team: Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

How Far Away From The NHL: 4 – 5 yrs

• As the Sens’ top pick from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Culek has tons of talent and great hands. As a playmaking center, Culek has great vision and can also line up as a left winger when need be. With great size, Culek was drafted after his rookie year with Rimouski where he put up 47 points. He is very good in his zone and plays a good two-way game that makes him dangerous at both ends of the ice. He also isn’t afraid to drop the gloves as he had three fights last year, but that’s not to say that fighting is his game.
• With his imposing frame, Culek still needs to add more muscle to take better advantage of his body and dominant games. At only 18 years old, Culek still has a lot of filling out to do which will come as he ages. Culek has a lot of talent but is still a very raw prospect and needs to work on his game. Culek suffered the dreaded sophomore slump as his point total was more than half of his rookie total.  Culek also needs to work on his skating as it should come when he gets used to his body.
• Ottawa sees Culek as a potential dominant, playmaking center that could center the second or third line in the future. With his size and two-way abilities, if Culek adds some more strength to his body, he could be a center in the mold of a Martin Hanzal in the future. He is a long term prospect and Ottawa will give him all the time to develop. However, with other prospects making a name for themselves, Culek has to have a good year this season to re-establish himself as a prospect in the Sens organization.
• Check out these videos of Sens scouts Greg Royce and Vaclav Burda speaking about Culek.

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28. Marcus Sorensen

Position: Right Winger

Shoots: Left

Ht: 5’11”  Wt: 165 lbs

Date of Birth: April 07, 1992 (Age 19)

Birthplace: Sodertalje, Sweden

Contract: Unsigned

Drafted: 2010 (4/106) by OTT

Last Yrs Stats: GP ~ 8  Goals ~ 1  Assists ~ 1  Total Points ~ 2

Potential: Diminutive scoring winger

2011-2012 Team: Skelleftea AIK (SEL)

How Far Away From The NHL: 4 – 5 yrs

• A diminutive scoring forward, Sorensen was drafted after putting up 42 points in 15 games for Sodertalje in the Under-18 Swedish league.  Drafted in the fourth round (106 overall), Sorensen was a little off the board and was considered a risky pick in that round, especially since the Sens only had four total picks in the 2010 draft. Having been able to put up points in every league he’s played in, Sorensen got promoted to the Swedish Elite League last year where he played eight games with Djurgarden.
• After signing a two-year contract with  Skellefteå AIK this past summer, Sorensen hoped to stay with the big club. However, Sörensen didn’t make the Skellefteå SEL team and will be loaned to SEL-2 to start the season. Hopefully he can play well and get promoted back to the SEL and develop further.
• Ottawa drafted Sorensen as a long term project. Not only does he have to work on building strength, he needs to prove that he can handle playing against tougher competition, something that he has not proven yet. Ottawa will let Sorensen play out his current two year deal with Skelleftea and hope to sign him then. If they do, expect Sorensen to spend some time in the AHL. Like Emil Sandin, Sorensen is a bit of a wild card. If all works out, he could be a good scorer in the NHL. If not, Sens fans may never see him in a Sens jersey.

These four prospects all bring an offensive game to the table. With the exception of Culek, the rest will need to overcome size issues to be able to make it to the NHL one day. These four prospects are still long-term projects like the previously ranked prospects, but these four have a better chance of playing in the NHL due to their talents then those previously ranked prospects.

You can check out our 29th to 32nd, 33rd to 36th and 37th to 40th ranked prospects here.

Check back tomorrow when we release our 25th to 28nd ranked Ottawa Senators Prospects.

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