The Ottawa Senators have no chance of making the playoffs this year. That leads some fans to secretly hope their team throws in the proverbial towel so they get Macklin Celebrini – the presumed number one draft pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The best way to bring that about, they say, is to start playing more prospects from the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Belleville.
Related: Celebrini Clearly Atop 2024 Draft Class with WJC Performance
I think they should call more of them up too, but not because I’d ever counsel a team to deliberately tank to improve their draft prospects! Rather than using the rest of this dismal season to improve their place in the standings, the Senators should focus on improving their roster. To do that, they need to fully understand which prospects in Belleville could contribute to success next year. What better way to do that than by giving them more playing time with the big club in Ottawa?
I admit that it would be difficult to slot any Belleville call-ups into the lineup for extended stays given the Senators’ non-existent cap space. What’s more, of the regular roster, only Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson are waivers exempt, but they aren’t going anywhere.
Even so, some depth players would clear waivers if they were sent down to Belleville to make room for some up-and-comers. It’s worth the risk given what little would be at stake. This, combined with injuries and possibly some deadline trades may give head coach Jacques Martin the wriggle room to give some Belleville prospects meaningful NHL playing time.
With that in mind, here’s a look at three Belleville players the Senators will want to see more of as the season grinds on.
Angus Crookshank
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound left winger is in his third year in the AHL and is knocking on the door for a permanent roster spot in Bytown. This season he leads Belleville in both goals and points on a per-game basis. In the seven games he’s played in the NHL this season, the 24-year-old Vancouver native lit up the goal light once and notched an assist.
Crookshank bounced back from an ACL injury that took him out of Belleville’s roster for the 2021-22 season. His determination to overcome that setback was on full display the following season when he led Belleville with 26 goals, finishing fourth on the team with 47 points. He also led all AHL rookies that year in total shots. There was no doubt that the Senators found a diamond in the rough with their 2018 fifth-round pick.
His performance in Belleville this season earned him a call-up to the big club on Dec. 17 for a game against the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City. In the 10 minutes of ice time he got in that game, he put on full display the energy and grit he could bring to Ottawa’s game. Not only that, but he recorded three hits in that short time. To put that into perspective, that’s 18 hits per 60 minutes – double the slightly more than nine that Senators’ hit leader Brady Tkachuk averages.
Related: Senators Prospect Report: Crookshank, World Juniors & More
While Crookshank has shown he can bring what Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager (GM) dubs “snot” to Bytown, his offensive abilities were on display too. He potted his first NHL goal against the Arizona Coyotes in only his second NHL game. He put up another point four games later with an assist in a tilt against the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 29.
Crookshank is a solid bottom-six player and would be an interesting addition to the fourth line skating alongside Parker Kelly at centre and one of several possibilities on the right-hand side. It’s time to bring him up for a closer look to see where he might fit in next season.
Tyler Kleven
Tyler Kleven is big and tough with a shot akin to the mythical lightning bolt from the hand of Zeus. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound left defenceman owns every inch of any blue line he cruises. Fans love him for it.
Questions about his upside potential dogged the 22-year-old Fargo, North Dakota native from the minute the Senators took him 44th overall in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He answered them all last year in his NHL debut with the Bytown brigade registering two assists, nine hits, 11 shots on goal and seven blocked shots throughout eight games. In them, he logged an average ice time of 14:41.
Injuries were why Kleven was called up to the big club last season and they are again this year. So far, the University of North Dakota (UND) alumnus has skated in five matchups this season and has made his presence felt in all of them.
For such a young player, Kleven is smart and patient making him a genuine shutdown threat according to many pundits. The concern for next year is how to make room for him on a crowded blue line and how quickly the Senators think they can bring him along.
As ex-Senator and TSN hockey analyst Marc Methot mused in a recent tweet on X, (formerly Twitter) “Regarding Ottawa’s backend. I think the play at this point, is to be patient and wait till the summer. A lot will also depend on Tyler Kleven’s progress. Is he ready to jump into the lineup next year? If so, you have too many Left shot D men. Can you afford to play him 9 mins a night on the third pairing? Will that affect his development? You either move Chychrun or Chabot in the summer. There’s no other way around this”.
Or maybe one of them gets moved at the 2024 trade deadline on Mar. 8. Depending on the shape of the trade, that could mean a permanent roster spot for the youngster and Ottawa fans will see him playing alongside the other members of their UND mafia – Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
Tyler Boucher
OK, I hear you asking – why would Boucher get a look with the big club before a number of other deserving prospects now skating in Belleville? If you’re in this camp you’re probably still wondering why former Senators general manager (GM) picked him in the first place, much less as his first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Related: Senators Go Way Off the Board with Tyler Boucher Draft Pick
Not only that, but Boucher hasn’t even spent a full year in the AHL. In the 10 games he’s played with Belleville this season, he has marked up score sheets for a mediocre one goal and three assists.
All of that’s true, but even so, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-winger is still believed to be a strong power forward who can score. He has speed, and he plays a physical style of game.
Injuries have plagued him for the last two years. A shoulder injury cut short a strong season with the Ottawa 67s in 2022-23. A groin injury kept him from competing for a spot in training camp at the start of this season. It also kept him out of Belleville’s lineup until last month.
Senators’ management owe it to themselves to take a look at Boucher in a few of the meaningless games the Senators have on their schedule from now until the end of the season. They’ll know what they have in Boucher, and he’ll know what he needs to develop in his game.
Other AHL Players Senators Should Call Up
If the Senators are to move on from the disaster that is their 2023-24 season, they need to understand what’s in their prospect pipeline. Those like Kleven who have the potential to crack the lineup next season need to be brought along, and room must be made for them when planning trades at the deadline and in the off-season. What’s more, those who don’t show an ability to win a spot in Ottawa could become the stuff of trade packages to come.
With these thoughts in mind, the Senators could also take a look at right-shot D-man Maxence Guenette, who had a strong training camp and AHL veterans Donovan Sebrango and Cole Reinhardt.
Stay tuned for some interesting Belleville calls up during the remainder of the season.
