Ottawa Senators prospect Jonathan Gruden joins London Knights
By James Reeve
Ottawa Senators prospect Jonathan Gruden has joined the London Knights to continue his development, after spending a year in college.
After spending a season with the University of Miami (Ohio), Ottawa Senators prospect Jonathan Gruden has decided to take his talents to the OHL.
Gruden’s decision to join the Knights will work out well logistically for the Senators, who will be able to keep an even closer eye on him while he travels around Ontario with the team.
The 19-year-old left winger was originally selected in the fourth round (95th overall) by the Senators in the 2018 draft, having put up 60 points (28 goals, 32 assists) in 61 games for the US National Under-18s development program.
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After being drafted by the Ottawa Senators, Gruden played this past season in the NCAA – registering three goals and 15 total points in 38 regular season games for the University of Miami (Ohio).
The Rochester, Michigan native then signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators organisation just over a month ago and will look to take the next step in his development with the highly successful London Knights.
The Sens will be hopeful of seeing a real progression from Gruden in juniors, with his college days helping to prepare him for tougher competition.
If Gruden is able to take the next step and dominate in the OHL next season, he will likely find himself brought into the Belleville Senators team just one year later.
The Senators are building a solid corps of prospects and will look to add many more over the next two seasons, further aiding their rebuild.
With the team likely to become very young, very quickly, it is reasonable to expect Gruden to feature in an NHL jersey at some stage over the next couple of years – even if it’s just so the organisation can test him out at a higher level.
For now, though, Gruden will need to work hard in the OHL and prove to the Senators that he is worth the ELC they gave him.
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What do you think Sens fans? Are you pleased to see Gruden move to the OHL? What other prospects are you excited about in the organisation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!