The Senators once again turn to a big defenceman with their final pick of the 2021 NHL Draft
Pre-draft ranking: #169 by NHL Central Scouting
With their final pick of the NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators took a flyer on the 6’5″, 205-pound defenceman out of the Brantford 99ers in the OJHL. Selected with the 202nd pick in the 2021 draft, Romeo has the frame and projectible skills to potentially develop into a successful pro player.
Despite not being known for his offensive game, Romeo produced decent offensive numbers with 12 goals and 26 points in 54 games split between the GOJHL (Junior B) and OJHL (Junior A) in the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately, Romeo, similar to Senators 2nd round pick Ben Roger, was unable to play any meaningful hockey this past season due to the OHL’s season cancellation.
Finding NHL players in the seventh round is like searching for a needle in a haystack, so drafting a player who is relatively unknown like Romeo (0 OHL games played) is likely a worthwhile gamble. It will be interesting to see how Romeo fits into the Bulldogs lineup for the upcoming season, he could easily find himself playing significant minutes in the top-4.
The 18-year-old defenceman was drafted to the OHL the same year as Kingston Frontenacs superstar Shane Wright (exceptional status), Hamilton was obviously high on Romeo picking him in the 3rd round (49th overall) in the 2019 OHL Draft. Scouts at the time highlighted the draft pick’s great skating and shut down ability:
Hamilton takes Chandler Romeo from the Toronto Red Wings. Tall kid, good skater and he's a nice shutdown option. #OHLDraft pic.twitter.com/LRHxE9Jzu3
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) April 6, 2019
Expected to debut with Hamilton this past season, there’s a great chance for Romeo to increase his stock within the organization when he gets back into game action for the first time in over a year. With seventh-round picks being a crapshoot, for the most part, taking a chance on a big, smooth-skating defenceman is a worthwhile gamble.