The first two rounds for the Ottawa Senators were quite busy, as they had four picks overall. However, after that they were only scheduled to pick in the 4th, 5th, and 7th rounds. But by the end of the day they had made four picks along with the four from the first two rounds.
Why was there the extra pick? Because Eric Gryba was traded to Edmonton for a 4th round pick and Travis Ewanyk. Gryba had been on the block for a while, and the Senators finally got rid of one of their defensemen. Ewanyk was just a contract for the Oilers to trade, and he’s an insignificant piece that will play in the AHL.
While it’s nice for Ottawa to get an asset for Gryba, not everything about that is good news:
Murray says he wants Jared Cowen to play and needs to make room for him. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) June 27, 2015
This is a topic for another day, but I really don’t know why they keep holding onto Cowen.
Gryba is out, which means Ottawa had seven defensemen under contract, plus Chris Wideman and Frederik Claesson.
Now onto the four later round picks made by Ottawa:
4th round (107)- Christian Wolanin, D: Muskegon (USHL)
This is the pick that Ottawa acquired for Gryba, and it looks like they may have drafted a similar player. He scored 41 points in 56 games this year in the USHL, but he’s also 20 years old. In his actual draft year he had 8 assists in 54 games, so I’m not sure he has that much upside.
Odd pick because he’s two years older than most players, but obviously the Senators like his defensive skills. He wasn’t ranked on many scouting reports, but his father Craig is a former 3rd overall pick in the NHL so I’m sure that helps his reputation.
I don’t think his ceiling will be too high and if he ever does make it to the NHL he will most likely be a third pairing player. However, it isn’t too big of a deal to take someone like him in the middle rounds.
4th round (109)- Filip Ahl, LW: HV 71 Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)
I think Senators fans liked this pick purely because his father’s name is “Boo,” and that his last name looks the same as the American Hockey League (AHL).
.@ffilipahl Hey man, set your sights higher. You can go by Filip Nhl now.
— Bonk's Mullet (@BonksMullet) June 27, 2015
But in all seriousness, he looks like a good value pick. He was ranked much higher in most places, and the highest I saw him was at #60 for Future Considerations. Getting him at #109 has to feel good for Ottawa, as they have a potential steal.
Ahl was very good in the Swedish Junior league last year, but he needs to work on a few things. The scouting report on him was interesting:
So he probably won’t be a top line player, but if he can become a winger on the second or third line that scores 20 goals that has value. He’s a very big player at just 18 years old, and we know Murray likes the bigger forwards so it’s no surprise to see someone like him taken. Whether or not he actually turns out, the Senators made a good pick here, as he has the potential to break out and be a quality player.
5th round (139)- Christian Jaros, D: Lulea Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)
Jaros is another player that was ranked a bit higher than he was taken, as ISS Hockey had him at #69, and HockeyProspect.com had him at #130. He has some solid defensive skills and has the potential to be better offensively but he has to use his shot more often.
He’s a big player at 6’3″ an 205 lbs that will play a physical brand of hockey. Reading some reports I don’t think I’m too high on him though. Apparently his skating needs a lot of work:
But at the same time, Future Considerations is a bit more bullish on him, as they say he’s quite mobile for his size and that he has a powerful stride. I’m not sure who to believe, but it’s not encouraging to see him be grouped amongst very slow players.
Defensively he sounds solid as he can use his stick effectively, but he is not afraid to take the body and will block shots. He projects as a top-six two-way defenseman, so he may be a high floor low ceiling type player.
7th round (199)- Joey Daccord, G: Cushing Academy (USHS)
Most people’s reaction to this was: Okay. I was pretty surprised with this pick, mostly because Pierre Dorion had said that it’s very unlikely the team drafts a goalie. This is a fine pick and all humour aside my literal reaction to this pick was “okay, not bad.” I’m not sure why he’s listed as “Joel,” because his own twitter account says Joey.
But anyways, he is an over-age goalie but he has had some amazing seasons in the USHS. Here are his numbers from the past five seasons:
He has been very good over the course of his junior career, and picking him in the 7th round isn’t too big of a deal. Ottawa will need more goalies in the AHL if Chris Driedger keeps getting worse, and perhaps Daccord will be able to step into Binghamton in a few years.
His style of play has been compared to Cory Schneider, and perhaps he can be another late gem for Ottawa.
Summary:
So those are the last four picks for the Senators outside of the first two rounds. Overall, I thought this draft was very average for Ottawa. I still want to see them take players with more upside, and also players who are smaller.
For some reason recently Murray has shied away from small players, and I don’t know why. It should be the opposite, as many are proving they can play in this league. I like getting Thomas Chabot and Filip Chlapik a lot, and perhaps Colin White and Filip Ahl can make an impact. I’m really not sure about Gabriel Gagne, but the Senators obviously like him a lot.
I have some faith in the scouting staff considering their track record, but they really need this draft to work out well because the cupboards are getting thin. If nothing good comes out of the 2015 draft then we’ll always look back and question the team. But I’m confident that there will be at least one quality player amongst the draft picks.
Next: Ottawa Gets Solid Pick At 48 With Filip Chlapik