How much better does the Senators' pipeline look after the 2025 NHL draft?

New York Times

07-07-2025

OTTAWA — The younger (and smaller) Logan Hensler was given the task of covering forward Blake Montgomery at the Ottawa Senators' development camp during one-on-one drills last Thursday. Montgomery's size — 6-foot-4 — should have given him the advantage. But Hensler — a 6-foot-2 defenceman — showed why he was rated so highly in the 2025 NHL Draft, consistently maintaining his position and winning puck battles. When Hensler got the puck, he nearly finished a deke past Montgomery. But the puck slid too far out of his reach, allowing goalie prospect Vladimir Nikitin to clear the puck out of harm's way.
Advertisement
At the other end, Hensler's defensive compatriot Carter Yakemchuk flashed the offensive talent that made Sens fans dizzy last fall. Yes, Yakemchuk is still working on his defence — using his stick and keeping opposing players in front of him, for example. But Yakemchuk is far and away the most skilled player at the Senators' development camp. And he's comfortable in his offensive game. To cap off a mini-scrimmage at the end of Day 2, Yakemchuk confidently carried the puck toward the goal and went between the legs before scoring.
'It's obvious, the reason why those guys were in the first round,' Montgomery told the media after Thursday's session. 'It's not easy to defend those guys, just a bunch of skill, and you can tell it's fun what they do, and just having fun doing it.'
A total of 29 prospects were at the Bell Sensplex for drills and workouts last week. Hensler and Yakemchuk were the two biggest standouts at camp and rightfully are the team's top prospects in their system, last ranked 27th in the league by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.
'I was a little nervous at the start, but I kind of settled in there,' Hensler said. 'It's fun, though. You're living your dream, so you've got to enjoy it, right?'
But that ranking was before Ottawa's recent draft class, which netted them Hensler at No. 23.
Ottawa's prospect pool has dropped in quality because past jewels such as Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig and Tyler Kleven have all graduated and are featuring prominently in the NHL lineup.
Barring a change of heart from the NHL or some shrewd dealing by the Senators, Hensler will be the team's last first-round draft choice until 2027. And if there truly is no first-round pick next season, Ottawa's prospect pool risks remaining in the bottom tier of the league.
Advertisement
'I read things too, and I'm familiar with our prospect pool and others' prospect pools,' head scout Don Boyd told The Athletic in May. 'The good thing is our prospects have arrived. And the bad thing is our prospects have arrived.'
So, how do the Senators improve their prospect pipeline in the meantime? Yakemchuk and Hensler are at the forefront of that, as the team has emphasized having bigger bodies on defence. Ottawa was happy with Hensler at No. 23, especially after trading down. But the team was also interested in defencemen such as Radim Mrtka and Kashawn Aitcheson, two sizeable bodies who were gone before Ottawa's turn. The Sens also had 10 defencemen at development camp, with none of them below six feet.
'If you want to compete with the teams like Florida, Vegas and Colorado, the teams that have been winning lately,' amateur scout Andrew Gordon said, 'those are the teams that have the big back ends.'
For Yakemchuk, it's continuing to progress with his defensive game. One part of Yakemchuk's training regimen will be summer skates with pro players to fine-tune details.
'It's a chance for me to work on my stick, work on my feet, body position,' Yakemchuk said. 'Playing against really elite guys, it helps me get better.'
Hensler likens himself to a 'two-way, smooth-skating defenceman' who can join the rush and contribute offensively — even if his collegiate statistics at Wisconsin don't scream that. The next step in his game is to tap into more of that offensive potential.
'I think the potential is there, the skill set's there,' Gordon said. 'It's a matter of being able to unlock a little bit more mentally, making sure he's able to make mistakes offensively and get back on the ice again, and that's the kind of situation we're seeing him in now.'
The Senators also actively improved their goaltending depth by drafting two goalies last month, including Lucas Beckman. The Montreal native isn't the tallest goalie at 6-foot-2, but he's still achieved a decent amount of success at 17 years of age: he won gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the U-18s for Canada, and was named to the CHL All-Rookie team after a 31-18-2 record with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL.
Advertisement
'I think I'm a decent skater,' Beckman said. 'But to dominate even more in the (QMJHL), or be ready for the next level, I need to be an elite skater.'
Ottawa also signed undrafted Jackson Parsons, the reigning CHL goalie of the year, who impressed during his time on the ice at camp.
'The goal is to play pro hockey and play at a high level,' Parsons said. 'I'm looking to make a name for myself in the AHL and go from there.
'I think I'm a very calm goalie, but I'm very athletic. I'm able to make the desperation saves. But I'm also a cool, calm presence in the net for the team to rely on.'
At forward, the Sens could use more talent. Ottawa hasn't selected a forward with a first-round pick since 2021. That pick was Tyler Boucher, and injuries have derailed the start of his pro career.
This year, Ottawa added Blake Vanek, Dmitri Isayev and Bruno Idzan, three players who will need time before they're ready to play pro. Isayev wasn't present at camp, but Idzan and Vanek were. Idzan will be among a quartet of Sens prospects suiting up for the University of Wisconsin alongside Hensler, Montgomery and Tyson Dyck. Vanek, meanwhile, will continue his journey with the Wenatchee Wild of the Western Hockey League.
Blake Montgomery performs a drill at #Sens dev camp. Forwards are on one sheet of ice at Sensplex. While Carter Yakemchuk, Logan Hensler and the rest of the defence are on the other. Defence was doing some skating drills earlier. pic.twitter.com/iV7tCzMrB7
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) July 2, 2025
Montgomery is a 2024 fourth-rounder whose stock has risen in recent months after scoring 50 points in 51 games with the Memorial Cup champion London Knights. One skill he'd like to improve on? Using his speed to his advantage, considering his large size. It might even help him with those one-on-one battles he had in camp with Hensler, his future teammate at Wisconsin.
Advertisement
'I could skate around fast, but feel like I'm not using my frame as much as I can,' Montgomery said. 'So just filling out and being better at that.'
Time will tell how much the Senators have truly improved for next year's prospect rankings list. But there's reason to believe the team took strides to improve its pool of players after last month's draft. Even Wheeler had the Senators among this year's 'overtime winners' for their selections.
'The addition of Logan Hensler definitely makes their pool stronger. He immediately becomes their clear No. 2 prospect behind Carter Yakemchuk and, with Jake Sanderson, gives them three young D to really build around,' Wheeler said. 'Their pool is still quite light up front, but Lucas Beckman also adds a strong goalie prospect to their pool (I'm a believer in Beckman). I think the rest of their 2025 selections are long shots but Hensler and Beckman are definite additions.'
'I think we brought hockey skill, puck skill and hockey sense into the fold,' Boyd said last Wednesday. 'We're built on character and competitiveness. We never want to shy away from that. I think we've managed to fill a lot of those boxes.'
(Top photo of Logan Hensler and Gary Bettman: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)