Pierre Dorion’s first Draft as the General Manager of the Ottawa Senators is in the books.
And while it will take a couple years before we know if the Sens struck gold with any of their selections, the initial reviews are pretty favourable for Dorion and his staff. In total, five new prospects were added to the organization this weekend including four forwards and one defenceman. They took two Americans, one Canadian, one Swede and a Finn.
Let’s take a closer look at each one of Ottawa’s selections from this weekend
1st round (11th overall)- Logan Brown, Centre, Windsor Spitfires, OHL
This is obviously the biggest prize from this weekend. Literally. Standing at 6’6, Brown was one of the tallest players on the board in the first round and was a player that the Senators were high on heading into this weekend. In most of the mock drafts leading up to Friday night, Brown was expected to be off the board by the time the Senators picked. They had to move up a spot to make it happen but Dorion and the scouts were more than willing to pay the price to make it happen.
Brown is a big centre that plays well at both ends of the rink. He skates well for a guy his size and has terrific offensive instincts. Obviously it’s a little premature but he’s been compared to Joe Thornton because of his ability to use his size and reach to protect the puck in the offensive zone. Brown projects as a point-producing centre that can play on one of the top two lines.
2nd round (42nd overall)- Jonathan Dahlen, Centre/Left Wing, Timra IK, Sweden
It’s a thing scouts say a lot on Draft weekend but Ottawa’s scouts were thrilled to land Dahlen with their 2nd round pick. In fact, they said that on their list, Dahlen was projected as a late first rounder. Two minutes of his highlight reel on YouTube will show you why. He’s a tremendously talented forward with good hands and a terrific hockey sense.
His skating has been described as a little bit awkward but he more than makes up for it with his agility. Jonathan’s the son of former-NHLer Ulf Dahlen and has actually crossed paths with Erik Karlsson in the past. Brown is the best prospect Ottawa drafted this weekend but Dahlen might be Ottawa’s biggest steal of the draft.
4th round (103rd overall)- Todd Burgess, Centre/Right Wing, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, NAHL
Of the five selections Ottawa made this weekend, this may have been the most surprising. Todd Burgess is a 20 year old American-born forward that has spent the last three seasons in relative obscurity in the North American Hockey League. Considered a bit of a late-bloomer, Burgess has battled some injury issues in the past and seems to be finally coming into his own. He had 38 goals and 95 points with Fairbanks last season. Burgess will play in the NCAA next year.
5th round (133rd overall)- Max Lajoie, Defenceman, Swift Current Broncos, WHL
While their fourth round pick was a bit of a roll of the dice the Senators again came away with another intriguing prospect in the 5th round. Lajoie is a smooth-skating defenceman who excels at both ends of the rink. Getting him in the 5th round was certainly a little bit surprising as some pre-Draft rankings actually had Lajoie as high as a second rounder. He’s considered a bit of a project that will need a lot more seasoning but he certainly has the tools to be a good player down the road.
6th round (163rd overall)- Markus Nurmi, Right Wing/Left Wing, Finland
With their final pick in this year’s Draft, the Senators selected Markus Nurmi, a forward who spent last season with the TPS under 20 team in Finland. He’s another guy that’s considered a bit of a project but has the potential to be a late round steal for the Senators. He was ranked as high as 69th on one pre-draft list.
