The Ottawa Senators’ Prospect of the Week of Nov. 11-17 is Lucas Ellinas, who joins Carter Yakemchuk as the second player to receive the honour. After I mentioned his scoring drought last week, Ellinas finally found the back of the net, scoring three times in just two games, two of which were game-winners. While he had some tough competition from his fellow prospects, the Senators’ 2024 fourth-round pick stood above them with two fantastic efforts to help the Kitchener Rangers remain the top team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Ellinas Returns to Early Season Form
Although Michael Misa quickly took charge of the OHL scoring race, Ellinas started the 2024-25 season as one of the hottest snipers in the league. In his first 13 games, he already had eight goals and just a single assist, putting him second in team scoring. Unfortunately, he hit a slump after that, and for the next six games, he failed to score a single goal. However, the hard-working centre wasn’t down and out, and following the addition of Jack Pridham to the lineup after two road losses, things finally clicked back into place.
Ellinas’ first goal game in the dying seconds of the first period on Nov. 15 against the Peterborough Petes when he caught a loose puck that was knocked off the stick of 17-year-old Tanner Lam, firing it past the Peterborough Petes’ goalie to put the Rangers up 2-1. That ended up being the game-winning goal, as the Petes never scored another while Kitchener rolled to a decisive 4-1 victory. Then, on Nov. 17, the Rangers took on the Sarnia Sting, and the first period came and went without a goal. But midway through the second, Ellinas took the puck in the far corner and, despite looking like he didn’t have a shot, easily put it behind the goalie to get the Rangers on the board.
Just as the power play expires, Luke Ellinas gets the first goal of the game 🎯#RTown | #BattleBuilt | @Senators pic.twitter.com/FZelYnTntm
— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) November 17, 2024
However, his next goal was arguably even prettier. After Pridham’s shot was stopped by the Sting goalie, Ellinas caught the rebound and, on another difficult angle, took the puck between his legs and got it into the net. The Rangers’ offense caught fire after that, which the Sting struggled to handle. By the time the buzzer sounded, Kitchener was up 5-0, meaning that Ellinas had both the game-winning and insurance goals.
Related: Ottawa Senators Prospect of the Week – Stephen Halliday
When Ellinas was selected by the Senators in the fourth round, the majority of scouting reports commented on his two-way abilities and his high work ethic, with Kyle Flanagan, one of Ottawa’s amateur scouts, commenting, “He just works like a dog, does not lose battles.” However, there was always the chance he could develop into a skilled shooter, too; last season, he had 16 goals in 67 games. Now with plenty of talent around him, he’s emerging as another hidden gem within Ottawa’s farm system.
Senators Prospects Honourable Mentions & Check-Ins
Yakemchuk continued to impress last week, scoring two goals and five points in four games with the Calgary Hitmen, including a fantastic breakaway against the Wenatchee Wild on the power play to open the scoring. The only thing that kept him from claiming his third Prospect of the Week honours was that two of his assists were secondary helpers, and against the Wild, he was also a minus-2, which in part forced the Hitmen to eke out a 4-3 victory in overtime. However, he also now has the highest point-per-game pace of any Senators’ prospect not in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Speaking of the AHL, Wyatt Bongiovanni finally returned to the lineup last week and made an instant impact. After missing 10 games with an injury, he returned against the Syracuse Crunch on Nov. 13. Although that game was quiet for the 25-year-old, he was raring to go in the next, where he scored two goals against the Toronto Marlies plus another in the shootout, earning him the first star of the game. While technically no longer a prospect, he’s been a valuable depth player for the Senators and could earn a call-up if the team continues to struggle defensively. Teammate Angus Crookshank could also hear his name called up in the near future after another two-goal performance last week, giving him six goals in his last five games.
Over in the NCAA, Tyson Dyck scored his first goal of the season and first as a Wisconsin Badger on Nov. 16, where he also added an assist en route to the University of Wisconsin beating Penn State 6-3. Although the 2022 seventh-round pick doesn’t have a ton of NHL upside, he’s beginning to emerge as a reliable NCAA player. So far this season, he has four points in 12 games, putting him on pace to beat his previous career high of five goals and nine points set with UMass back in 2022-23.
Tune in next week to see which prospect stood above the rest.
