The Ottawa Senators’ 2023 Draft was, in a word, underwhelming.
Armed with only five draft picks and none higher than the fourth round, some expected general manager Pierre Dorion to try and secure a higher pick or two, especially with Alex DeBrincat‘s future uncertain in Canada’s capital. There was also speculation that the team might try to acquire a goalie, especially with several high-profile goalies on the market.
In the end, none of that came to fruition, meaning that the only new players to the organization were five prospects that few fans had ever heard of before. Those that have heard of them haven’t been impressed; Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff ranked the Senators dead last in the league, writing, “I’m not sure any of these guys will be NHLers.”
However, the key to Ellis’ statement is “not sure.” Dorion and his team have taken big swings before and hit them out of the park. So, while there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the Senators’ picks, there’s some interesting upside that could pay off in a few years.
Hoyt Stanley – 108th Overall
The Senators’ first pick was also their best. Hoyt Stanley, a big, 6-foot-3 right-shot defenceman, has the potential to be a top-four defenceman in the NHL. He is aggressive on and off the puck, using his reach and decent puckhandling to create plays and stop opponents in their tracks. He’s also strong on his skates and can recover from a bad play caused by being a bit too aggressive or deftly avoiding oncoming attacks. The one phrase that keeps popping up to describe him is toolsy, meaning that there are so many little things that he can do already, no matter where he is on the ice.
However, most of the things he does well need quite a bit of work before they’re NHL-ready. Stanley has a decent shot and he scored four goals last season with the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) Victoria Grizzlies, but he doesn’t engage his body enough when he shoots, meaning he could add a ton more power to it. He’s decent in the defensive end thanks to his long wingspan, but he’s not overly physical and could add quite a bit of muscle to his 205-pound frame. His 38-point season put him fourth on the team in scoring, but he could make some improvements in vision and playmaking.
Stanley is committed to Cornell University for next season, where he’ll likely stay for a few seasons so he can fine-tune his toolkit, much like Tyler Kleven, who spent three seasons at the University of North Dakota before signing with the Senators. There’s a chance that Stanley could become an all-around top-four defenceman, but right now it’s more likely he ends up as a bottom-pairing player in the future.
Matthew Andonovski – 140th Overall
With their second pick of the draft, the Senators grabbed another defenceman, but rather than select a player who has an intriguing upside like Stanley, they got Matthew Andonovski, who fits perfectly with this franchise’s personality as a team that’s annoying to play against. A big, 6-foot-2, 201-pound defender, he has yet to record a goal in two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Kitchener Rangers, and his 16 assists this year ranked fifth among the team’s defenders. But he’s tough and loves to get under his opponent’s skin, which sounds very much like Brady Tkachuk, Ridly Greig, and Zach Ostapchuk.
Andonovski has a lot of developing left to do, which is why he was a fifth-round pick. His skating and puck skills need quite a bit of work, but he’s competitive and has shown some decent hockey sense at the OHL level. He also can play big minutes and logged upwards of 20 minutes a night at the beginning of the season. The Senators likely have a better idea than most of his ability, too, as he currently plays with Ottawa’s 2022 pick, Tomas Hamara. There’s not a lot of potential here, as Andonovski likely tops out as a bottom-pairing defender, but he could be a piece that gives the team just that extra bit of snarl that makes them a dangerous playoff team.
Owen Beckner – 204th Overall
The Senators returned to the BCHL with their first of three seventh-round picks to select Owen Beckner, a 6-foot-2 two-way center with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He finished tied for first with 50 points last season and came in third with 17 goals while also adding 10 points in 14 playoff games. Although originally drafted by the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Regina Pats, where he had the chance to play alongside Connor Bedard, Beckner instead decided to pursue the college route, committing to join Colorado College for the 2024-25 season.
Related: Grading Each Team’s Draft at the 2023 NHL Draft
In speaking with TSN 1200, Senators’ assistant GM Trent Mann admitted that Beckner is a bit of a long-shot prospect, saying, “He’s got some skill and is a long, lanky kid right now, so physically, we’ll have to help him with that.” Despite his team-leading points, Beckner doesn’t have a lot of high-end offensive skills and doesn’t create a lot of plays, but he doesn’t have many deficiencies, which speaks to his high hockey intelligence, something he prides himself in. College, then, was likely the best route, as he’ll have many more opportunities to put on muscle and work on his defensive presence. Given his size, he has a great opportunity to climb up Ottawa’s depth chart over the next few seasons.
Vladimir Nikitin – 207th Overall
After seeing no goalies taken in the first round, NHL teams began to rush to grab as many as possible; in Round 5, there were eight goalies selected, and another five were selected in the sixth round. In total, 26 goalies were selected, the most since 2018, when 29 heard their names called, including Kevin Mandolese, who debuted with the Senators in 2022-23.
The Senators, seemingly not wanting to miss out on the action, selected the relatively unknown Vladimir Nikitin, a 6-foot-4 goalie from Kazakhstan. He wasn’t ranked by any scouting service, including NHL Central Scouting, but he put up some good numbers in Kazakhstan’s U20 league, recording a .921 save percentage (SV%) and three shutouts in 24 games, then went undefeated in nine playoff appearances while allowing 1.56 goals per game. Where he likely popped up on a few scouts’ radars was at the U18 World Championship, where he helped the Kazakhs earn a promotion to the top division for 2023-24 with a .936 SV% and four wins over five games.
Since the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup with a duo of Adin Hill, a former third-round pick in 2015 who looked like a career backup before the 2023 Playoffs, and Laurent Broissoit, a 2011 sixth-round pick who came in as an injury replacement and proceeded to put up a .927 SV% in 11 games last season, there’s been a shift in perception in goalies. They have always been viewed as unpredictable, which has resulted in fewer teams using first-round picks on them, but that mentality was pushed to its extreme at the 2023 Draft – if any goalie can become a star, then let’s add every goalie we can.
Nikitin certainly fits into that category, since little else is known about him other than he is heading to the BCHL to join the Chilliwack Chiefs for the 2023-24 season. This pick is vaguely reminiscent of when the Senators selected the 6-foot-3 Leevi Merilainen in 2020. No sources had him ranked, but he had good numbers in the U18 league in Finland. When he came to North America in 2021, he put up a very strong season, finally showing the rest of the world that he was a serious prospect, and he’s only improved since then. Nikitin could certainly become a prospect and as a seventh-round pick, it’s a fantastic gamble.
Nicholas VanTassell – 215th Overall
With their final pick in the draft, the Senators added yet another big forward, 6-foot-4 Nicholas VanTassell of the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers. This is the second year he was eligible for the NHL Draft, going unranked in 2022 after putting up 18 points in 58 games that season. However, 11 of those points were goals, which ranked eighth on the team. In his second season with the Gamblers, he improved his point total slightly, scoring 37 points, but ranked fourth with 19 goals.
VanTassell will head over to the University of Massachusetts next season, where he’ll continue to grow his game, notably his strength; he’s listed at just 196 pounds, which is slight for a player of his size. But once he adds a bit of muscle, he could become a dangerous player like Valeri Nichushkin. According to UMass’s head coach, Greg Carvel, “Nick has the potential to be an effective power forward in Hockey East and I’m excited to see his game continue to grow once he gets to UMass. There is a lot of potential to be reached if Nick can continue developing his compete for the puck and use his size most effectively.” VanTassell will also join Senators’ 2022 pick Cam O’Neill, who finished up his USHL career in 2022-23.
Senators Stick to What They Know
If there’s one thing that’s true about Dorion, it’s that he’s patient. It’s probably a trait he picked up during his time as a scout with the Montreal Canadiens and as the director of scouting with the Senators. It’s evident in how he approaches trades, but it’s also apparent in his draft targets. Without the ability to add a sure-fire prospect, the Senators went with a bunch of long-term, high-potential players that could end up as valuable NHL contributors, but could just as easily end up as busts.
But even if none of the players make the NHL, the 2023 Draft shouldn’t be viewed as a failure. This is a team that wants to compete for the Stanley Cup. Prospects, even those that join the team right away like Adam Fantilli, are several years away from making a major impact. Knowing that, Dorion used his most valuable picks to acquire Jakob Chychrun and get out of Nikita Zaitsev and Matt Murray’s contracts. Those will be far more valuable in the short term than any player they could have added at this draft…other than Bedard.
