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Senators Draft Eight Prospects at 2026 NHL Draft

Ottawa selected five forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie over the two-day event in Buffalo, with chief scout Don Boyd touting skill and size across the picks.

· 3 min read · HOC Ottawa Desk
Senators Draft Eight Prospects at 2026 NHL Draft
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The Ottawa Senators wrapped up the National Hockey League draft Saturday with eight new prospects, marking what chief scout Don Boyd called a balanced haul of skill and size.

The Senators used selections across six rounds to take five forwards, two blueliners and a goalie. The draft took place Friday and Saturday at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

"We had certain people and certain players that we wanted to target, and we had a couple of opportunities to maybe move up, but chose not to because we felt we could maybe do the same thing in the third round," Boyd said. "We got some skill, we've got some size and we've got some compete with this group."

In the first round, the Senators selected Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, a 6-foot-2 right winger from Sweden's Leksands IF, at No. 25. Hoen recovered from a torn ACL that sidelined him for most of the 2025-26 season. European scout Anders Ostberg compared him to Filip Forsberg for his ability to toe drag and shoot from multiple areas.

At No. 32, the Senators took Jaxon Cover, a right winger from the London Knights. Cover's path to the NHL was unconventional: he grew up in the Cayman Islands, played only roller hockey until five years ago, and is now a first-round pick. Boyd emphasized the organization drafted him for his offensive ability and the strong program he plays in, not the story alone.

In the third round, the Senators selected Adam Nemec (No. 72), a left winger from Sudbury who recently moved to North America after playing in Slovakia's professional league. They also took Oscar Holmertz (No. 87), a center from Sweden's Linkoping Jr., and Louis Felix Bourque (No. 91), a right winger from Drummondville in the QMJHL.

In the fourth round, the Senators selected Elliot Lennon (No. 110), a 6-foot-5 goalie from Deerfield, Massachusetts, who is committed to Brown University and is a Kirkland native. Round 5 brought Harris Pangretitsch (No. 151), a defenseman from Sault Ste. Marie, and Round 6 yielded Alexander Grunin (No. 183), a defenseman from Russia's Novosibirsk Jr.