Throwback Thursday: Revisiting the Ottawa Senators 2010 Draft Class

With only four picks in the 2010 NHL Draft, Ottawa found a diamond in the rough in the sixth-round

Looking at three of the Ottawa Senators four picks, most pundits would rate the draft class as poor, but adding the Senators steal in the sixth-round makes it a memorable class.

The selection of Mark Stone, a transcending talent for the franchise, turned this underwhelming group of players into one Senators fans will look back fondly upon.

With fellow draftees Jakub Culek, Marcus Sorensen and Bryce Aneloski becoming anything other than household names, Senators GM Bryan Murray saved his bacon with the Stone selection.

Without a first-round selection due to trading the 16th overall pick (ended up being Vladimir Tarasenko… ouch) for David Runblad and losing their second-round pick in the Dany Heatley trade to San Jose, Ottawa was in flux.

Stone would lead the next generation of Senators prospects who would keep the team competitive for the following years.

Round 4, 106th Overall: Marcus Sorensen (LW), Södertälje SK J20 (SuperElit)

Career Stats (NHL): GP: 197 G: 30 A: 29 P: 59

The speedy winger out of Sweden has carved out a successful career for himself, though not with the Senators. Drafted as an 18-year old, Sorensen didn’t end up leaving Sweden until he was 24 when he joined the San Jose Sharks organization.

Despite enjoying a few successful seasons in Sweden’s second league (Allsvenksan), Sorensen was never signed by Ottawa and was eventually a free agent after not being signed to an Entry-Level contract in 2012.

Sorensen was linked to NHL teams following a successful season with Djurgårdens IF in the SHL, where he produced 34 points in 47 games. With the speed and offensive skill the former Senators draft pick brought, teams were confident he could potentially fill a bottom-six role.

From 2016-2018, Sorensen was up and down between the Sharks AHL affiliate and the NHL squad but became a full-time NHLer in the 2018-19 season. Nabbing 17 goals and 30 points while playing 80 games and also appearing in 18 games in the Sharks run to the Western Conference Final. Sorensen would go on to sign a 2-year $3 million contract on January 14th, 2019.

Regardless if he played a game for Ottawa, they still selected a capable NHL talent in the fourth round.

Round 6, 178th Overall: Mark Stone (RW), Brandon (WHL)

Career Stats (NHL): GP: 449 G: 149 A: 236 P: 385

With a limited amount of selections in their possession, Ottawa was hoping to hit on at least one of their picks and they did just that with Mark Stone. The biggest steal of the whole 2010 draft, Stone has been a dominant two-way forward since his rookie season in 2014-15. Mostly critiqued for his slow skating but nevertheless, Stone would persevere, working hard to increase his speed and use his generational hockey sense to become a star.

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First becoming loved by Senators fans during the famed “Hamburglar Run” when Ottawa went on an unbelievable run to the postseason. In the last 46 games of the season, Stone produced 47 points a rate unheard of for many rookies, especially for an overlooked sixth-round pick.

Stone’s most memorable goal during his time in Ottawa is unanimously his goal near the tail end of the 2015 season when he finished off the comeback from 3-0 down versus Pittsburgh to propel Ottawa into the playoff picture. Echos of “Mark Stone!! Again!!” can be remembered to this day by Senators fans, as the Canadian Tire Center erupted.

In the most important game of the whole season, Stone fires his second goal of the game and overtime winner past veteran Marc-Andre Fleury.

Following the season, Stone would be a finalist for the Calder trophy and was almost the second Senator to win the award, the other being Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson. Over the next four seasons, Stone would never dip below 54 points and would finish over a point/game in his final two years in Ottawa, he was a star in the nations capital.

His on-ice reactions were unique and beloved by all Senators fans, Stone always played with his heart on his sleeve:

Consistently praised for his elite two-way ability many analysts find his strong offensive game to pale in comparison to how great he is without the puck.

Stone has emerged as a consistently good front-line scorer but, more importantly, an absolutely elite defensive forward.

The Hockey News ranked Stone as the best draft steal of the last decade and cited his great two-way ability as a reason why. Nominated for the Selke last season, Stone has finally become recognized for the player he is. Leading the NHL in takeaways during his time in Ottawa, Stone was a master at stripping the opponent and has been regarded as the best of all time at the art.

This pick saved the Senators draft, as no other player went on to play for Ottawa other than Stone. Snagging a player of Stone’s calibre at 178th overall is ridiculous.

Round 7, 198th Overall: Bryce Aneloski (D), Cedar Rapids (USHL)

Career Stats (NHL): N/A

With their last selection in the 2010 NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators selected the offensive-minded defenceman out of Cedar Rapids Bryce Aneloski.

There isn’t much to say about Aneloski, after being drafted he went on to have three solid seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha but was never signed to his Entry-Level Contract. Despite not being talented enough for the AHL where he only appeared in 50 games, Aneloski carved out a nice career in the ECHL, where he accumulated 130 points in 266 games over parts of 5 seasons.

Not a memorable pick for Ottawa, but as a seventh-round pick expectations were rightfully low.

Conclusion:

With a non-NHLer as their first selection, many would think Ottawa tanked this draft, but whenever you pick a future NHL star who enjoyed great seasons with your team, it has to be marked a success.

Having no selections in the first two rounds and only four picks total, Ottawa had their hands tied. They did a solid job of acquiring NHL talent for the restrictions they had, ending up with two non-NHLers along with a serviceable NHL player in Marcus Sorensen and an NHL star with Mark Stone. The draft was undoubtedly a success for Ottawa.