In the end, it turned out to be a bit of a bust.
Despite all the rumours about trades, NHL Draft Day was fairly silent. The Ottawa Senators hung on to their 17th overall selection and ended up with Edmonton Oil King forward Curtis Lazar. The name will be a little bit unfamiliar to Sens fans as their wasn't a whole lot of talk about him heading into yesterday's selection.
With Bo Horvat and Samuel Morin off the board, the Sens decided Lazar was their guy. Apparently it was a toss up between Lazar and Anthony Mantha, who ended up going to Detroit.
Interesting to note that in the days leading up to the Draft, the Senators apparently had serious discussions about moving up to the four spot. Nashville's asking price was Kyle Turris and the 17th pick. Not sure if the two teams discussed that deal again on draft day but I'm sure once Seth Jones fell to 4, the Preds were excited to make that selection.
Here is a scouting report on Curtis Lazar from McKeen's Draft Guide
a responsible and diligent two-way forward .. makes valuable contributions with or without the puck – exploiting sharp hockey sense and good awareness .. powerful, balanced skater when in flight, however, could benefit from additional explosiveness .. hands are more quick and strong rather than finely skilled .. packs a hard shot whose release is both fast and fluid .. dangerous when trailing the rush with speed and firing a one-timer full bore from the slot .. steadily maturing and progressing as a playmaker .. now assesses options before joining the fray and will re-direct pucks to teammates instead of taking low-percentage shots .. should improve his finesse skills and puckhandling in traffic .. can move the puck however as he possesses adept one-touch skills and an ability to execute at a feverish tempo .. can get through defenses with his tenacity – getting key touches on the puck and overwhelming defenders with his speed and persistence .. displays a defensive conscience and positional maturity that belies his age .. neither big nor overtly mean, yet fiercely competitive with deceiving toughness..continuously engaged both mentally and physically .. comes back deep in strong support positions – and will deliver stiff hits throughout his own zone .. functions most effectively in more of a secondary role – and not front-and-center in the attack.
At 78th overall, the Sens took a big Swedish goaltender by the name of Marcus Hogberg. This pick was a bit of a surprise with Brassard and Driedger in the system but thing drop off after that. The last Swedish goalie the Senators drafted worked out pretty good though so it's hard to be too critical of the pick.
The report on Hogberg, courtesy of McKeen's
big, poised goalie with sound technical abilities, plus sharp reflexes .. determined and competitive- yet plays calm and controlled – does not force plays and overcommit..reads and anticipates the play well .. adopts a progressive Swedish butterfly style .. a massive frame allows him to stay deeper and display a wider stance in order to bait shooters to aim low .. will challenge shooters though, and make saves at the top of his crease depending on the situation – his depth being referred to as ‘nonstatic’..uses his size to his advantage – stays tall in the butterfly with a straight back in order to optimize net coverage .. proficient at keeping himself square to the puckcarrier .. agile and balanced on his feet – both in stance and moving sideways .. smooth and proficient sliding laterally – or when recovering to skates – maintains a strong seal to the ice .. must guard against over-sliding or excess movements in the down position, which can expose unnecessary space over the shoulders .. shades of Nashville’s Pekka Rinne – in the ‘European’ mold.
Here are the rest of the Senators picks…
- F- TOBIAS LINDBERG- Sweden
- D- BEN HARPUR- Canada
- F- VINCENT DUNN- Canada
- F- CHRIS LEBLANC- USA
- F- QUENTIN SHORE- USA
