Ottawa Senators: Could Maxence Guenette be another late-round steal?

With a history of hitting on late-round picks, Ottawa could have another one, with their 2019 seventh-rounder

Selected with the 187th overall pick in 2019, Maxence Guenette has steadily improved ever since being picked and now seems like a legit NHL prospect.

At 6’2″ and 190 pounds, Guenette has the size to play in the NHL and there’s really nothing about his game that should prevent him from becoming as good as he can be. The Senators have had success with late-round picks in the past with players like Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Ryan Dzingel, it wouldn’t shock me if Guenette could join those names as another diamond in the rough.

Consistent Improvement

The 5th-overall pick in the 2017 QMJHL draft, expectations were high for Guenette. Despite a bit of a disappointing rookie year with Val-d’Or finishing with just 12 points, in the years to follow Guenette has improved upon those totals significantly and has transformed himself into one of the team’s better offensive threats.

Guenette was once again stuck on one of the worse teams in the QMJHL for his draft year (2018-19) and despite his environment, he had a solid season. Finishing 6th in team scoring with 32 points in 68 games and 3 points in 7 playoff games, Guenette was one of the team’s most relied upon defenders. Finishing the season with a -33 rating might seem problematic, but when you consider the team finished with a goal differential of -97, Guenette’s rating isn’t indicative of how he was performing.

Drafted by Ottawa in the 2019 draft, Guenette would make his presence felt in training camp. Making waves and appearing in a few pre-season games before being sent down to Val-d’Or, the rangy defenceman had a ton of momentum.

Handed the Assistant Captaincy prior to the season, on one of the weaker teams in the QMJHL again, Guenette was probably their best player. Improving to 11 goals and 40 points in 62 games and just a -11 rating, Guenette improved once again and hasn’t shown any signs of a drop-off in play since arriving in Val-d’Or.

Breakout Year in 2020-21?

Still just 19-years-old entering play to start the season, Guenette appears to have taken his game to the next level. Not really known as an offensive dynamo and more of a two-way defenceman, through 14 games Guenette looks like one of the better all-around players in the league.

Cruising through his first 14 games to the tune of 4 goals and 15 points, it appears Guenette has found the abilities and confidence inside himself that made him a hot commodity entering the junior ranks. With 3 goals and 6 points in his last 3 games, he’s starting to look like a man amongst boys on the ice. Guenette scored added two tallies to his total on Friday night:

Both seeing-eye goals on the power-play, Guenette has been the focal point of the man-advantage for Val-d’Or so far this season. Currently third in team scoring with 4 goals and 15 points in 14 games, it wouldn’t surprise me if he can hover around a point/game for the duration of the season.

Following this season, it’s likely that Guenette makes the move over to the AHL to start his pro career in Belleville.

While there’s still no guarantees that Guenette can become the next “late-round steal” for Ottawa,  he has a better chance than any currently in the Senators system.