With three players re-entering the draft, it's another clear indicator that Ottawa's 2021 NHL Draft class won't go down as one of their best.
With three players re-entering the draft, it's another clear indicator that Ottawa's 2021 NHL Draft class won't go down as one of their best.
The NHL draft is always something of a fishing expedition, as general managers around the league hope to pull a big one from the NHL prospect pond. Today, the Senators announced a catch-and-release program for three of their 2021 picks.
Senators' GM Pierre Dorion announced on the Locked on Senators Podcast that 2021 draft picks Ben Roger (2nd), Carson Latimer (4th), and Chandler Romeo (7th) will not be signed by Ottawa before this week's deadline. This means the Senators willingly give up their NHL rights, allowing all three players to re-enter the draft.
"It's unfortunate," Dorion said. "All three of those players lost a year of hockey, just because of the COVID situation. Chandler really progressed this year but it was a big mountain to climb. Carson just didn't do enough for us. He has NHL speed but it's the rest of his game."
Few observers ever bat an eye when a 4th rounder or 7th rounder doesn't pan out. But a 2nd rounder is usually a higher-end asset that's afforded a little organizational patience. But that tells you exactly how far Roger's stock has fallen.
"Obviously, we didn't see enough progression there," Dorion said of Roger, Ottawa's 3rd pick, 2nd round, 49th overall in 2021.
The 2021 draft was something of a scouting nightmare, as teams were being asked to evaluate players who had just missed an entire hockey season due to COVID. The Sens do still have decent prospects from that draft, including Zack Ostapchuk (2nd) and Tyler Boucher (1st) and both will probably play in the AHL with Belleville next season.
With his wrecking ball style, Boucher is the more intriguing prospect, but his inability to stay healthy is already an issue in the amateur ranks. It will only get tougher now in the pros.