Recapping the Ottawa Senators Picks on Day 2 of the NHL Draft
Holding 9 selections entering day 2, the Senators had the opportunity to add to their deep prospect pool
Coming into the day with 9 selections in rounds 2-7, the Ottawa Senators started off the season with a bang, acquiring goaltender Matt Murray and in turn relinquishing the 52nd Overall pick.
So now with 8 picks left in the draft, the Senators still had plenty of draft capital to make their picks count on day 2 and they did for the most part. Prior to the draft, many were worried about Pierre Dorion being too safe with his picks, but he was risky for the majority of the day.
With picks like Roby Jarventie, Egor Sokolov and Leevi Merilainen, the Senators took some swings and we will see in the coming years if these players were worth the risk. Predictably, Dorion dipped his toe into the North Dakota when he selected Tyler Kleven the North Dakota freshman, who is Jake Sanderson’s roommate. The connections never seem to stop, Roby Jarventie plays on the same team as Lassi Thomson, Egor Sokolov was Drake Batherson’s billet brother and with their last pick of the draft, they selected Ridly Greig’s teammate Cole Reinhardt.
Chemistry and character are obviously parts of this Senators rebuild and Pierre Dorion made that quite evident again with this year’s draft class.
33rd Overall: Roby Jarventie (LW), Ilves (Liiga)
With the second-pick of the 2nd round, the Senators selected the talented-winger out of Ilves in the Finnish Liiga. One of my favourite picks in the draft, Jarventie is a raw, offensively gifted forward who has plenty of upside. Maybe viewed as a bit of a reach by draft analysts, I viewed Jarventie as a great value pick, he was ranked 19th in my pre-draft rankings.
Jarventie stands at 6’2″ combining good skating with a powerful shot, he projects as a pure goal-scoring winger, he scored 23 goals in 38 games in Finlands second-tier men’s league (Mestis). Likely the best draft-eligible player to ever come out of Mestis, the evaluation is a bit tricky as there is a small sample of high draft picks from that league. In fact, the Senators were more impressed by what they saw over the summer with Jarventie and his solid start in Finland’s top league with Ilves, he has 2 points in 2 games so far this season.
Trent Mann mentions players such as Roby Jarventie and Leevi Merilainen wouldn't have selected by the team if the Draft was in June. This is the benefit of viewing players after the summer.
— Murray Pam (@Pammerhockey) October 7, 2020
44th Overall: Tyler Kleven (D), USNTDP
Ottawa made a trade to move up and select the North Dakota defenceman:
Admittingly I wasn’t a fan of this trade-up to get Kleven, especially the fact that they gave up two very valuable picks in the process. Kleven is a 6’4″ defenceman who was a member of the USNTDP over the last two seasons and like mentioned before is really close to 5th overall pick Jake Sanderson.
A defensive defenceman in every sense of the word, Kleven won’t be expected to produce offence, his physical, shut-down game will be his calling card if he becomes an NHL player. Kleven produced just 2 points in 17 games in the USHL last season and 12 points in 45 games with the development program. Kleven shows a lack of awareness on the ice and can be a ticking time bomb when he has the puck in his possession, he will have to refine his game to become an effective defenceman.
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61st Overall: Egor Sokolov (LW), Cape Breton (QMJHL)
Ottawa takes another swing here on the 20-year-old towering forward from Cape Breton who led the QMJHL in goal-scoring last season. Passed over in two drafts already, Sokolov made it certain it wouldn’t happen again scoring 46 goals in 52 games last season also finishing third in the CHL in goals/game, trailing only Nicholas Robertson and Connor McMichael. Standing at 6’4″ Sokolov with his great goal-scoring ability is a very enticing pick and one of my favourite os the Senators draft class.
Sokolov stayed in Cape Breton during the pandemic and trained all summer with Drake Batherson and apparently had lost around 20 pounds over the summer and now sits at under 220 pounds.
If Egor Sokolov is available at the end of the 2nd round, he’s a player that could be worth taking a look at...
— Matt Smith (@Snakebite350) October 7, 2020
6’4”, 233lbs (apparently down to below 220lbs).
46 goals / 46 assists in 52 games last season. #NHLDraft @HabsUnfiltered
When the NHL season comes back around Sokolov should start the season with Belleville and potentially getting some games in the NHL.
71st Overall: Leevi Merilainen (G), Kärpät U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
Probably the most surprising pick of the draft, Merilainen wasn’t on many scouts radars and was expected to go undrafted. Ottawa took a leap of faith on him at the beginning of the third-round which was a bit questionable. Moreso the Senators have a ton of depth in goal and just traded for Matt Murray, I just didn’t view goaltender as a huge need and using a third-round pick on a goalie who they could’ve had in the seventh-round seemed a bit unnecessary.
However, Merilainen has been impressive in Finland, putting up a 0.942 SV% in 19 games in Finland’s U18 league last season and a 0.908 SV% in 16 games in the U20 SM-sarja. The main reason he was selected as Trent Mann alluded too was his play so far this season, in 4 games so far this season with the Kärpät U20 team, he has a 0.928 SV%. He is also one of the youngest goalies in the draft with his August birthday and 2002 birthdate.
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155th Overall: Eric Engstrand (LW), Malmö (SHL)
Another overager to join Sokolov, Engstrand tore up the SuperElit U20 league in Sweden last season, producing 58 points in just 37 games for Malmö. Another big forward added to the team, Engstrand is 6’4″ but adds an interesting element to his game, he’s a very fast skater. EliteProspects had some interesting comments on Engstrand:
From https://t.co/yogjAIlZT0 on Eric Engstrand: "Big raw swedish winger with a powerful stride and a very good wheel.He is predicted to be a future powerwing. He is not an intimidator or even even initiatior but wont back down from greasy play with heavy contact."
— SENS TALK (@senstalk_) October 7, 2020
The Senators took another swing here and the raw skillset on Engstrand is enticing.
158th Overall: Philippe Daoust (LW), Moncton (QMJHL)
A late-bloomer, born in Barrie, Ontario, Daoust was passed on by every OHL team in the draft and eventually went over to play in the QMJHL where he found his home in Moncton. Despite just producing 29 points in 58 games, Daoust started making strides as the season went along and showed some promise.
Look for Daoust to make some more significant progress and really up his point totals from a. year ago.
#2020NHLDraft prospect @philippe_daoust is primed for a breakout 20-21 season. Late birthday centre will be leaned on heavily in the @monctonwildcats lineup. pic.twitter.com/lQBY0QdK9E
— Taylor MacDougall (@tmac_17) September 28, 2020
181st Overall: Cole Reinhardt (LW), Brandon (WHL)
Another 20-year-old overager (drink!), Reinhardt had a 31 goal season for Brandon and looks to be another late-bloomer who the Senators want to take a flyer on.
Reinhardt was 2nd on Brandon in goal scoring, Brandon wasn’t a high-scoring team either so his production was very impressive. Also, Reinhardt was a teammate of the Senators 28th overall pick Ridly Greig so the Senators were sure to like that. There’s no much on Reinhardt as of now but expect him to compete for a spot in Belleville, or return to Brandon next season.