Last night was the night Ottawa Senators fans have been waiting for all season. Ever since the team collapsed, the light at the end of the tunnel was the draft lottery. Well the lottery has come and gone, and the Ottawa Senators will select fourth overall in June.
Going into the night the Ottawa Senators were hoping to win one of the top three selections in the 2018 draft. Finishing second last in the league they were poised to select very high. They had the potential to draft anywhere in the top slots depending on how the lottery went. Unfortunately, they didn’t win any of the three selections. Instead they will select in the spot that was statistically most likely for them, fourth overall. This may seem disappointing for fans but don’t fret, this is one of the deepest drafts in a long time and the Sens will get a very good player in this spot.
With the fourth spot in the draft there are three players that the Sens are likely to have a chance to draft. With Dahlin and Svechnikov nearly guaranteed to go first and second the next three picks have the potential to be interchangeable. Those players are Filip Zadina, Brady Tkachuk, and Adam Boqvist.
Filip Zadina
Filip Zadina is a winger from the Czech Republic and is projected to go third overall. He’s projected to be an elite scorer for years to come and will give any team an edge offensively. However, it’s uncertain if he’ll be ready to jump into the NHL next season. He scored 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games last season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.
Brady Tkachuk
Brady Tkachuk is an American winger and the son of former NHLer Keith and brother of current NHLer Matthew. He scored 8 goals and 31 points for Boston University this past season in 40 games. While those numbers may seem low for a top prospect you have to remember that it’s very difficult for underage players to score in college. Scoring is much higher in junior. He’s projected to be an elite power forward who is responsible at both ends of the ice. He’s also one of the most NHL ready players in the league. He’s projected to be able to slot into a top six role as early as next season. Another aspect of his game that should be noted is that he has an edge to his game very similar to his brother Matthew.
Adam Boqvist
Finally, the last player that the Sens might draft is defenceman Adam Boqvist out of Sweden. Boqvist scored 24 points in 25 games in the Swedish Junior League last season. He’s projected to be a high scoring defenceman in the coming seasons. However, he might need some extra time for development. Many of his issues are similar to Karlsson’s when he was drafted. The biggest issue being that he’s very small. At 170 pounds he isn’t ready for the NHL game. However, his offensive upside is second to none amongst defencemen.
Next: Ottawa Senators 2017-2018 Season Retrospective
My Preference
Out of these three players the least likely player for the Sens to draft is Boqvist. Zadina and Tkachuk are pretty unanimously the third and fourth selections this year. This means that the decision of who to get will be made for the Ottawa Senators. Whomever Montreal selects, the Ottawa Senators will get the other one. If I were to choose between the two I would like the Sens to get Zadina. However, no matter who the Sens get they will be a game changer that the team desperately needs.