Ottawa Senators: Mock Draft Based on Pierre Dorion’s Draft Trends

While he has faced backlash at times because of his pro scouting, Pierre Dorion makes up for it with his great draft resume

While going into the biggest draft in the history of the Ottawa Senators, Pierre Dorion has some draft day trends which sometimes tip his hand to who he may select.

With seven selections in the first two rounds of the 2020 Draft, the Senators staff will have a lot of big decisions to make that will mold the future of the team. Over the past few drafts, Dorion has shown a bias towards players taking the college route and has drafted three players committed to North Dakota, whether by coincidence or not.

While Ottawa has leaned on the success of European players during the bulk of their existence, from Daniel Alfredsson to Erik Karlsson, they don’t invest heavily on their scouting resources for the area. Only carrying a total of 2 scouts in Europe consisting of Chief European Scout Mikko Ruutu and Anders Ostberg, ideally you would like to see more representation. You have to assume that has something to do with the lack of Europeans Ottawa has taken during Dorion’s tenure.

While there is no way to know who Dorion will select during the draft, past draft trends can perhaps give us an idea of what locations or player styles he prefers to select.

3rd Overall: Tim Stützle (C/LW), Mannheim (DEL)

With Byfield going 2nd to the Los Angeles Kings, Dorion will go with the German centerman who has inserted himself firmly into the second-tier with Byfield. It’s tough to depict where Dorion would lean here as he has had just one top-5 pick during his time with Ottawa and that was Brady Tkachuk.

“Having spent quite a bit of time in Germany this year, that league is a very good league” -Pierre Dorion

Nobody inside the top-10 particularly projects to Tkachuk’s game style, so I think Dorion goes with the best player available at this point. Dorion has tipped his hand in the media about seeing Stützle and subliminally hinting that he is an option at 3.

After the draft lottery, Elliotte Friedman asked Dorion to break down the tiers of players in the upcoming draft:

Friedman: “I’m sure a lot of people would assume Lafreniere goes first, without giving us names, can you give us an idea Pierre of the next tier? How many players (you don’t have to name them) but how many players do you think are in that next tier after Lafreniere?”

Dorion: “I would probably have to tell you there’s two in the next tier”

Assuming Dorion is being transparent in his analysis, Stützle would be in the next tier, meaning he would be the pick at third overall.

5th Overall: Jake Sanderson (LD), USNTDP

Now, this won’t be a popular pick for most Senators fans, I included, I vividly remember Sens fans being outraged at the Brady Tkachuk pick in the 2018 draft and selecting Jake Sanderson here could reap in ways similar to that of Tkachuk.

While Sanderson isn’t known for his offensive game, he wasn’t a slouch with the USNTDP (United States Nation Team Development Program) Juniors producing 14 points in just 19 USHL games, the production isn’t something to worry about. Off the rush he uses his smooth skating to join the play and can use his heavy shot to find the back of the net from time to time:

He also captained the U18 team, so Ottawa will love his character and leadership. Ottawa isn’t desperate for left-handed defenceman but they’re not lacking on the right-side as people would leave you to believe. With Erik Brannstrom preferring to play on his off-side, Ottawa now holds Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thomson as players who could hold down the right-side in the future.

Aside from handedness, Dorion will prioritize getting a physical defenceman to intimidate and be a physical presence. They can learn from their rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs similar mistake by being too soft in their own end, they can take a defensive stalwart in Sanderson to ideally lock down opposing teams top lines when the Senators become competitive.

To add flame to the fire, Sanderson is headed to North Dakota next season, alongside Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto, this feels all too real.

21st Overall: Thomas Bordeleau (C), USNTDP

Never shy about taking players from the USNTDP with recent picks of Brady Tkachuk, Jonathan Gruden and Colin White, Dorion has relied on the national team route for many draft picks.

The University of Michigan commit was the leading scorer for the U.S. National U18 Team, where he scored 16 goals and 46 points in 47 games. A little on the smaller side at 5’9″, Bordeleau is feisty and never afraid to get dirty in the corners. Dorion has shown a tendency in the past to air on the side of caution with players and take the safest bet, Bordeleau possesses that archetype too. He does a lot of things at a high level, but doesn’t excel in any one area and possesses limited weaknesses.

Bordeleau also comes from a hockey family, his father Sebastien Bordeleau played 251 games in the NHL, Pierre Dorion has taken a liking to players with deep family roots in the game.

64th Overall: Michael Benning (RD), Sherwood Park (AJHL)

Benning would be a solid value here at 64, the offensive defenceman has torn up the Alberta Junior Hockey League over the last two seasons. Scoring a crazy 75 points in just 54 games, the offensive talent is tough to overlook with Benning. At just 5’10”, Benning is on the shorter side, but his dynamic presence on the ice and the new mold of the defenceman in the NHL makes it all the more likely he can become an NHL player.

Pierre Dorion has proven to be very fond of the Junior A route, selecting 3 prospects in the 2018 draft that chose to take the college route by way of the BCHL, Benning will be lacing them up with Denver for next season. The roots run deep in Benning’s family too, his uncle is Canucks GM Jim Benning and his brother is current Edmonton Oiler Matt Benning, so it’s no surprise Michael is following in their footsteps.

74th Overall: Emil Heineman (LW), Leksands IF (SHL/SuperElit)

Heineman is an interesting case, he was totally off scouts radars last season where he was almost non-existent in the SuperElit (5 points in 27 games).

More from SenShot

• Crunch. Crush. Grind. Mash. The Tyler Kleven Story
• Belleville Senators: What To Expect In 2023-24
• Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa Hit The Ice One Final Time
• Ottawa Senators: Something’s Got to Give
• Hot Pierre Summer 2.0? Let’s Talk About The Ottawa Senators Offseason So Far!

Out of nowhere, Heineman transformed into a star for Leksands in the SuperElit, scoring at almost a goal/game pace with 26 goals in 29 games and easily led all draft eligibles in goals/game for the SuperElit.

Ottawa loves late bloomers and Heineman is exactly that, blossoming after being a nobody in the season prior, in a way a bit reminiscent of Senators Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton during their draft years. If Dorion is impressed with Heineman’s rapid development I can’t see why he wouldn’t take a chance on the goal-scoring winger.

95th Overall: Benjamin Baumgartner (C), HC Davos (NLA)

Pierre Dorion is never afraid to select a player who has been passed over in the draft, Baumgartner 20, is now going through his third draft and is looking to be picked after a breakout year in Switzerland.

The Austrian forward had 27 points in 37 games with HC Davos, placing 7th on the team in points while appearing in fewer games than the majority of his teammates. Standing at just 5’9″ there’s no point in harping on size anymore with the way the NHL has transformed itself into a more modern style. While sheltered early on in the year, Baumgartner blossomed into a bigger role on Davos due to moves like this:

While most scouts wouldn’t select Baumgartner this early since consensus has him as more of a seventh-rounder, Dorion hasn’t been afraid to reach for players he likes, much like Viktor Lodin in last years draft.

152nd Overall: Trevor Kuntar (C), Youngstown (USHL)

Kuntar 19, was passed over in his first draft season after posting uninspiring numbers last season in the USHL, but he would see a big uptick in production in 2019-20. Finding his groove in his third USHL season, everything clicked for Kuntar, scoring 28 goals and 53 points in just 44 games. Amazingly enough, Kuntar did all those on a struggling Youngstown team where he finished with 17 more points in front of the teams second best scorer.

After showing a significant jump in play from his draft year to the next, there’s reasonable cause for Dorion and the Senators to take a chance on Kuntar.

158th Overall: Bryan Thomson (G), Lethbridge (WHL)

Adding another goalie into the fray, Dorion does what he usually does and takes a late-round flyer on a big-bodied goaltender. Over Dorion’s four drafts as GM for the Senators he has taken three goalies and likes to take chances on the volatile position hoping to hit a home run.

While Thomson wasn’t great last season, posting a 0.898 SV% and a 2.83 GAA, it was basically his first season in the WHL and at 6’4″ he has potential worth taking a chance on.

185th Overall: Blake Biondi (C), Hermantown High (USHS-MN)

One of the better high school players in this years draft, Biondi lit up the stat sheet for Hermantown, with 76 points in 25 games and 19 points in only 6 playoff games, he was a head above everyone.

Biondi makes it look easy on this goal versus an obvious outmatched team:

The captain of his high school team, winning the Mr. Hockey award, given to Minnesota’s best high school hockey player, Biondi has a ton of accolades that will entice teams.

Dorion hasn’t drafted much from the high school ranks with just one player selected, Luke Loheit in 2018 was also a captain of his high school team and Biondi will be joining Loheit at Minnesota Duluth next season.

Mock Draft made using the draftprospectshockey.com simulator