Instead of forfeiting their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft, the Ottawa Senators will now select 32nd overall. Here are four prospects they should follow, including a long shot, a safe player and an interesting project.
The Ottawa Senators got some good news regarding the 2026 NHL draft on Thursday.
After it looked like they would have to forfeit their first-round pick, the NHL amended its penalty for the team's role in an invalidated trade, and they will now pick 32nd overall while paying a $1 million Cdn fine.
One of the challenges Michael Andlauer took on when he became the majority owner of the Senators in 2023 was the Evgenii Dadonov trade situation.
When the Senators traded Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, under then-owner Eugene Melnyk and then-GM Pierre Dorion, they failed to communicate the details of the player's no-trade clause. That caused a later trade from the Knights to the Anaheim Ducks to be invalidated.
On Nov. 1, 2023, the NHL punished the Senators by forcing them to forfeit a first-round pick in either 2024, 2025 ot 2026. The Senators fired Dorion that day, and Andlauer disagreed with the punishment, saying why he inherited the situation was "beyond me."
The Senators' front office lobbied for relief from the punishment as they were not the perpetrators. After electing to choose Carter Yakemchuk and Logan Hensler in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, respectively, the Senators were poised to forfeit their 2026 pick.
After continued pushback from Andlauer and the Senators, the NHL modified its punishment. The team will draft at the end of the first round, and it cannot trade or transfer that pick in any fashion. It will pick 32nd overall, no matter what.
That begs the question: who exactly should the Senators take with their first-round pick? There are plenty of options, and this year's draft class is quite deep. Let's look at some of the most enticing options for the Senators as they look to rebuild their prospect pool.
Mathis Preston, RW, Vancouver (WHL)
Tony Ferrari's draft ranking: No. 8
This might be a bit of a long shot, but after starting the year slowly in Spokane and then suffering an injury shortly after the trade to Vancouver, Mathis Preston's stock plummeted.
The Senators need an injection of high-end talent, so if Preston falls to them, he should be the pick without hesitation.
Preston is a high-pace forward with excellent transition ability, a wicked shot and some really impressive creativity.
He is on the smaller side at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, which isn't always something the Sens are willing to accept. In fact, the team only selected six players who are shorter than 6-foot-2 in 26 picks over the last four drafts.
But Preston's skill level and speed are assets they need. He would be the home-run pick at No. 32.
Jaxon Cover, LW, London (OHL)
Tony Ferrari's draft ranking: No. 42
Cover is an incredibly interesting prospect. He got his start in the sport by playing roller hockey until he moved from the Cayman Islands to Canada when he was 12. He started playing organized ice hockey at St. Andrew's College about five years ago.
Cover has blossomed with the London Knights this year, bringing the skill and creativity of his roller hockey days to the ice, where he's been able to leverage his size and speed even more.
Cover is a project, but if he reaches his potential, he could be a top-15 player in this draft class. His raw elements are enticing. If the Sens can develop him properly, they could get a very intriguing, skilled, scoring winger with size.
Ilya Morozov, C, Miami Univ. (Ohio) (NCAA)
Tony Ferrari's draft ranking: No. 31
Morozov wasn't on the radar coming into the season, but he's stepped into the college game and impressed every step of the way.
The young Russian has been a top-six center all season, playing on the power play and penalty kill, and he's found ways to be effective whether he's on the scoresheet or not.
Morozov wouldn't be the sexy pick for the Sens, but he has a multitude of NHL outcomes with some certainty that he's at least a solid depth player in the bottom six. There's plenty of room to grow for him over the next few years in college, and the Sens won't be in a rush to get him into pro hockey because the college ranks will give him a good place to develop.
Casey Mutryn, RW/LW, U.S. NTDP (USHL)
Tony Ferrari's draft ranking: No. 19
A classic Sens-style player, Mutryn brings the jam Ottawa loves.
He's been a bit all over draft boards from mid-first round to mid-second, so there's a chance that he's not available when the Senators come up to pick at No. 32. But if he is, he's exactly the kind of player that the Senators have been known to draft: physical, big and productive.
Mutryn is heading to college, so he will have time to refine his game. He is a bulldozer who looks to invite contact with and without the puck.
Mutryn is a bit raw when it comes to the skill elements of his game, but he has the kind of upside that teams love from power forwards. There's a chance he's a middle-six power winger who can score 25 goals one day.
For a full breakdown of the class, check out my February rankings here.
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