Recapping the Ottawa Senators 2019 NHL Draft selections

The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is finally in the books and the Ottawa Senators added six new prospects hoping to someday play a role with the team.

The Ottawa Senators entered the draft needing to add prospects that they believed could become key pieces during or after their rebuild, which is likely to take a couple of seasons.

The defence was certainly an area that the team looked to be building from, with new head coach D.J. Smith being defensively minded.

But while the blueline was a clear area the team wanted to build from, adding some intriguing offensive prospects were firmly in the mind of fans – with the team losing a combined 60+ goals at the trade deadline.

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While every year there are names that become mentioned frequently both in mainstream and social media, the Ottawa Senators made a few selections that have surprised many – though general manager Pierre Dorion certainly feels they are the right pieces to the puzzle.

So here at SenShot, let’s take a look at all six players selected by the Senators in the 2019 Draft.

First Round

In the first round of the draft, holding on to the 19th overall pick they acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Ottawa Senators selected defenceman Lassi Thomson.

The 18-year-old Finnish blueliner had a strong draft year playing for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL – registering 41 total points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 63 regular season games.

This past season what Thomson’s first playing in North America, with the entirety of his career previously being played in his native Finland.

If Thomson doesn’t project to make the Senators roster this season, there is a real chance that he could opt to move back home to play for Ilves in the Finnish Liiga.

As he was drafted out of Canadian major juniors, he wouldn’t be able to play for the Belleville Senators this season, so a year of seasoning in his homeland could certainly be on the cards for the promising two-way player.

More on Thomson’s selection can be found here.

Second Round

When the Ottawa Senators approached the stage to announce the 32nd overall pick, many believed that they would be selecting any one of Arthur Kaliyev, Bobby Brink or Raphael Lavoie.

However, this was not the case and the team selected versatile forward Shane Pinto out of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm.

Pinto was not a name that many had expected to see gone by the 32nd pick, with his pre-draft rankings suggesting he would still be available when the Senators were up next with the 44th overall pick.

Pinto, how can play as a centre or out on the right wing, had a strong draft campaign in the USHL – earning 28 goals and 59 total points in 56 games during his solitary season in the USA’s top junior league.

What could have interested the Sens was his commitment to the University of North Dakota, where fellow Ottawa Senators prospects Jacob Bernard-Docker and Jonny Tychonick have been playing.

The right-handed shot has good size at 6-foot-2, 192lbs and, while he wasn’t the name expected from fans, he could still pan out to be a promising young NHL forward in the future.

More on Pinto’s surprising selection can be found here.

While Pinto’s selection was certainly a surprise to many, especially the fans, it was the Senators’ very next pick that raised the most questions.

Originally holding the 44th overall pick, the Ottawa Senators traded with the Carolina Hurricanes to move up to pick 37 – selecting Danish goaltender Mads Sogaard.

To move up seventh spots, the Sens had to send an additional third round pick (83rd overall).

While it’s not surprising to see Dorion trade up to select a player, the selection of a goaltender certainly has raised some eyebrows.

The Ottawa Senators currently have six goaltenders signed and in their system and a couple of them, namely Filip Gustavsson and Joey Daccord, are longer-term projects that could pan out to be NHL players.

Sogaard was one of the top goalie prospects available in this draft and is a solid selection by the Senators, having posted a 2.64 goals against average and an impressive .924 save percentage in 37 regular season appearances – earning himself WHL (East) Second All-Star Team honours.

With players such as Lavoie, Nils Hoglander and even Jamieson Rees still available when the Senators moved up to 37, some fans had hoped that the organisation were preparing to add yet another promising forward prospect to the system.

Selecting a goaltender so early in the draft, when that is a position that the Sens look set at for the foreseeable future, is a risky move – especially when they need to be stockpiling on defensive and offensive prospects.

Sogaard may work out to be a legitimate NHL goalie in the future, but he isn’t likely to see any playing time in Ottawa over the next three years.

Fifth Round

With their selection in the fifth round of the draft, the Ottawa Senators made a similar move by selecting overaged forward Mark Kastelic 125th overall.

The 20-year-old centre had been passed over in two previous drafts but saw his production jump in a significant way during his most reason season with the Calgary Hitmen.

Prior to the 2018/19 season, Kastelic had never reached a point-per-game pace but his fourth campaign saw him take on a leading role in the team’s offence.

Kastelic, a native of Phoenix, Arizona, was handed the coveted captain’s ‘C’ and led the team in both goals (47) and total points (77), adding a further nine points (six goals, three assists) in just nine playoff appearances.

Overage players often see their production increase, so seeing Kastelic lead the Hitmen is not too surprising – but the fact that he increased his single-season total by over 30 points has clearly impressed the Senators’ scouting team.

He may have an outside shot at seeing action in the NHL in the future, but he could certainly find himself being brought into the Belleville Senators to see if he can take the next steps in his development as early as this season.

With Kastelic being more of a goalscoring centre, it will be interesting to see how his development unfolds now that he has finally being drafted into the NHL.

Seventh Round

With three players being selected out of the Western Hockey League in this year’s draft, the Ottawa Senators decided to locked somewhat closer to home with the selection of Maxence Guénette in the seventh round.

The 18-year-old right-handed defenceman had a decent showing during his draft year, picking up eight goals and 32 total points in 68 regular season games, adding a further three points (one goal, two assists) in seven playoff games.

With Guénette ranked as high as 108th by HockeyProspects.com and the 57th best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, the Senators appear to have landed some solid value with their final selection in the 2019 draft.

Being a right-handed defenceman will certainly help Guénette as he looks to continue his development, initially returning to juniors to help the Val-d’Or Foreurs for another season or two.

With the Senators looking to rebuild from the blueline, Guénette may have an outside chance of seeing NHL action one day – but will need to continue working on his defensive game while continuing to put up bigger offensive numbers in the Q.

What do you think of the team’s draft selections Sens fans? Are you pleased with the players that are now a part of the system? Which players do you think have a real opportunity at making the NHL roster during the rebuild? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!