Senators’ 5 Best Late-Round Draft Picks in Franchise History

With the 2026 NHL Draft just over a month away, the Ottawa Senators will be set to add to their prospect pool and select who they hope to be the next wave of young blood. 

It’s an exciting time for all 32 teams. Some might be adding to their farm system while others hope to begin a new era with a franchise face. Sometimes, however, these faces can appear outside the first round. Just ask the Detroit Red Wings when they took Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, for example. 

Ottawa’s drafting record with Steve Staios has been solid so far, selecting the likes of Carter Yakemchuk and bolstering their farm with depth pieces. However, the Senators have drafted some tremendous talents and fan favourites throughout their history, particularly outside the first three rounds. 

This list includes five of the most notable late-round picks from the modern-day Sens, and includes names that fans may or may not have known were selected deep in their respective draft years.

5. Ray Emery – 4th Round, 99th Overall, 2001

Goaltenders were hard for scouts to gauge back then, and still are to this day. Even for late-round goalies, there is no telling how they will pan out. Roughly 23% of drafted goalies play at least one NHL game, but only close to 10% of them have long-lasting careers. 

Ray Emery played 11 seasons with four different clubs, but 134 of his 287 career games came with the Senators – particularly in the 2006-07 season, where he backstopped them to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final with a 2.26 goals-against average (GAA). 

After stints with Ottawa, the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and two with the Philadelphia Flyers, Emery retired at the end of the 2015-16 season, finishing with a career .906 save-percentage (SV%) and a 2.70 GAA.

Sadly, Emery passed away due to a drowning incident in Hamilton Harbour in July 2018 at age 35.

4. Chris Neil – 6th Round, 161st Overall, 1998

In previous years, it was an expectation for all draft picks to carry some bite to their game while producing offensively, and Chris Neil was one of many players who matched this description – tallying 156 points and 596 penalty minutes in 190 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Centennials.

His fellow draft class member and teammate of nearly nine seasons, Mike Fisher, was selected in the second round thanks to his rugged, two-way pedigree. But Neil took three seasons longer to develop before making the jump to the NHL.

When he did, he did not look back or go anywhere else – playing all 15 of his pro seasons in Ottawa. Over time, Neil became a fan favourite for his physical play and scrappiness, and a club leader on and off the ice. 

Following the 2016-17 season, Neil retired after 1,026 games with the Senators, tallying 250 points and a club record 2,522 penalty minutes. The next closest is Brady Tkachuk at 821. He had his No. 25 retired by the Sens in Feb. 2023, one of just three players in the franchise’s modern era to have his number hung in the rafters.

3. Mike Hoffman – 5th Round, 130th Overall, 2009

The Senators found themselves an interesting prospect when they selected Mike Hoffman in 2009. In fact, it could be a valid case that Hoffman is one of the more storied selections in recent memory, considering he had to claw and scratch for opportunities.

The Ontario-born forward was released twice in his junior career, went undrafted in 2008, and was even cut from a tryout with the Flyers. But he joined the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and found a home there. In the 2008-09 season, Hoffman tallied 52 goals in 62 games and helped Drummondville capture their first Gilles-Courteau Trophy – formally the President’s Cup.

Hoffman’s work finally paid off when the Senators took him in his second draft-eligible year. He took nearly five seasons to be ready for full-time NHL action, but he grew into a nifty sniper who put up solid offensive seasons. 

In the Sens’ 2017 run to the conference finals – led by his former Drummondville coach Guy Boucher – Hoffman tallied 11 points in 19 games. He finished his Ottawa career with 107 goals and 230 points in 342 games and is currently retired after bouncing from team to team.

Hoffman’s tenure in Ottawa may have only lasted four full seasons and ended quite unusually, but his journey to the pro level is not to be denied, and the Senators only helped him fulfil his potential.

2. Mark Stone – 6th Round, 178th Overall, 2010

The Senators had just four picks in the 2010 Draft – none of them in the first two rounds. As hard as it was to come across a top talent, they were lucky that Mark Stone fell to the sixth round due to multiple injuries throughout his draft year.

With the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings, Stone put up 67 points in 95 games before being drafted, but finished his junior career with consecutive 100-point seasons. After 41 goals and 123 points with Brandon in 2011-12, he joined Ottawa for their first round series against the New York Rangers, tallying one assist in the only game he played.

Like Hoffman, Stone also took a while to develop into the passionate and determined leader he is today, splitting time with the Sens and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, before playing his first full season in 2014-15. He was also a vital part of that 2016-17 team, with eight points in 19 playoff games.

While Stone was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2019 Trade Deadline, he finished with 123 goals and 311 points in 366 games with the Senators. For a sixth-round choice, he is one of just five members of his draft class to surpass 700 points.

1. Daniel Alfredsson – 6th Round, 133rd Overall, 1994

It’s not surprising to see the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682), and points (1,108) on this list. What makes it surprising is how Daniel Alfredsson got to the show. 

Overlooked by many scouts and team executives in the 1994 Draft, the Senators stumbled upon him only because John Ferguson pushed management to select the Swedish winger. This was also two picks after drafting defender Mike Gaffney 131st overall – he played seven games in the AHL.

Alfredsson joined a group of roughly 31% of sixth-round selections to play a single NHL game when he took to the ice in the 1995-96 campaign. After that, he skated in 1,245 more – 1,178 of them with Ottawa. Separate from this achievement were six NHL All-Star Game appearances.

Not only did he win the Calder Memorial Trophy after 61 points in 82 games in his rookie season, but Alfredsson was also awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy throughout his career, reflecting the type of leader he was to both the Senators and the city of Ottawa. 

In Dec. 2016, Alfredsson became the first modern-day Senator to have his number retired. After his Hall of Fame induction in Nov. 2022, he became an assistant coach for the club in 2023 and remains in that position today.

While these five made significant impacts on the Sens and came a long way to do so, there are plenty of honourable mentions to go along with this list.

• D – Sami Salo (9th Round, #239, 1996): 195 games, 19 goals, 70 points
• G – Brian Elliott (9th Round, #291, 2003): 130 games, .903 SV%, 2.81 GAA 
• F – Zach Smith (3rd Round, #79, 2008): 612 games, 94 goals, 193 points
• F – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4th Round, #96, 2011): 428 games, 87 goals, 182 points
• F – Ryan Dzingel (7th Round, #204, 2011): 276 games, 68 goals, 135 points
• F – Drake Batherson (4th Round, #121, 2017): 470 games, 149 goals, 364 points