Ottawa's future goalies are battling across various leagues. See how these five prospects are shaping up early this season.
The Ottawa Senators released their first prospect update this week, offering a snapshot of how their young goaltenders are performing early in the 2025–26 season. From North America’s top junior ranks to the collegiate and European levels, here's a look at Ottawa's five possible goalies of the future, where they're playing, and how they're making out so far.
Lucas Beckman | Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
It could be a challenging season for 18-year-old Lucas Beckman, Ottawa’s 2025 fourth-round pick. He's back with Baie-Comeau, which had some major player departures after last season. The Drakkar are now ten games deep into their Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season and still looking for their first win (0-7-3).
Beckman has faced a heavy workload, leading all QMJHL goaltenders in shots faced (272). Through eight games, he’s posted a 3.40 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and an 0-6-2 record. When you look at Beckman's volume and quality of work — including a .922 save percentage last week — it's pretty clear that he isn't the problem.
For example, his team was outshot 42-18 on Sunday, but Beckman wasn't bending, making 38 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to Sherbrooke. On the bright side, at the rate things are going in Baie-Comeau, Beckman might get three seasons' worth of development this year.
Kevin Reidler | Penn State University (Big Ten)
The towering 6-foot-7 netminder will protect the net this season for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Reidler, a 2022 fifth-round pick, has gone 2-1-0 in his first three outings, sporting a 3.37 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. After his transfer from the U. of Nebraska-Omaha this season, a lot of NHL eyes will be on the big Swede this season – partly because his new teammate, Gavin McKenna, is likely to be the top pick in next year's draft.
Vladimir Nikitin | Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
After a couple of years in the BCHL, mixed with a stint in the top Russian junior league, Nikitin now tends goal for Youngstown of the USHL. The Sens' 2023 seventh-rounder has appeared in two games for the Phantoms, going 1-1-0 with a 2.92 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage.
Jackson Parsons | Allen Americans (ECHL)
Parsons inked his entry-level contract with the Senators over the summer and will start the season with the Allen Americans in the ECHL. Last season, Parsons became the first player in Kitchener Rangers history to earn CHL Goaltender of the Year honours. The Americans' season opener is set for this Saturday in Wichita. In the meantime, Parsons and Marco Costantini combined for a 31-save preseason shutout on Saturday night in Oklahoma against the Tulsa Oilers.
Andrei Trofimov | Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL)
No goaltender in the Senators’ system is off to a hotter start than Trofimov. The 19-year-old has been lights-out again in the MHL, Russia's top junior league, posting a 4-1-0 record, a sparkling 1.52 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. He also recorded a shutout last week in a 6-0 win over Kuznetskie. Drafted by the Senators in the seventh round last summer, Trofimov's numbers with Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk were fantastic, but they're even better so far than last year.
Good or bad, everything here is obviously a very small sample size, so it should be coated with many grains of salt. But we'll continue to monitor the progress of these players through the season. Ottawa is sometimes referred to as a goalie graveyard, but these five goalies would love a chance to help change the narrative someday.
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