Draft Day: Ottawa Senators Full Seven-Round Mock Draft
By Daniel Bruce
10th Overall
The Pick: Chaz Lucius (C), USNTDP (USHL)
2020-21 Stats: 12GP, 13G-5A-18P
With highly-regarded goaltending prospects Jesper Wallstedt and Sebastien Cossa sitting there, Trent Mann selects the self-pronounced “best goal scorer in the draft” Chaz Lucius. Now, I may receive some backlash for this pick, but I’m here to defend it. I’m extremely high on the goaltending options we have in house, especially with Filip Gustavsson and Mads Søgaard either has a great chance of being the goalie of the future. Now back to Lucius.
The 6’0″ center by way of the United States National Team Development Program and the Minnesota Golden Gophers is a very intelligent player with a significant amount of skill to boot. Lucius has a sneaky good knack for finding open spots on the ice, and he usually makes no mistake when given the opportunity. In the play below, Lucius does a great job making himself available for a one-timer off the rush and then proceeds to find the back of the net:
Lucius has scored at every level he’s played at, and his crazy production in the USHL (13 goals in 12 games) can’t be overlooked, the kid simply knows how to score, and that’s something the Senators could use at the forward position. The American forward’s progression path is definitely preferable for the Senators as they can let him marinate for a couple of years in college before likely being inserted into the team’s top-9.
The Senators could use another potential top-end centre in their prospect pool and Lucius can even be converted to the right-wing, where he should be able to slide seamlessly into the top-6 at some point in the future.