Senators Prospect Report: Crookshank, World Juniors & More

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Ottawa Senators. After a subpar November, the team has fallen apart at the beginning of December, going 3-7-0 over the first 10 games, including a five-game losing streak. Tensions have been building among the players and fans, although some may be dissipating following former head coach D.J. Smith’s firing. But no one has been safe from scrutiny, with even Brady Tkachuk facing criticism for his antics against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 12.

However, outside of the NHL, the Senators’ prospects have been putting together some impressive performances. Three Senators prospects are set to play in the World Junior Championship starting on Dec. 26 and will be in prominent roles in the biggest junior tournament of the season. Several more in the American Hockey League (AHL) have been rising to the occasion, forcing the Senators to call them up despite their tight cap situation. Although the team’s best prospects have already graduated to the NHL over the last few seasons, the rest are proving that they can’t be ignored.

Crookshank Takes Charge

After missing all of 2021-22 with an ACL injury, it was anyone’s guess as to what kind of player Angus Crookshank would be once he returned to the Belleville Senators’ lineup. He had shown some incredible offensive instincts at every level with 14 points in his first 19 pro games, but missing a full season of development is difficult to recover from. However, Crookshank picked up right where he left off, leading Belleville with 26 goals in 2022-23 and finishing fourth on the team with 47 points. He also led all AHL rookies in total shots. It sure looked like the Senators found a diamond in the rough with their 2018 fifth-round pick.

Crookshank has definitively eliminated any doubt that he is a hidden gem this season. After a slow start in October, he erupted for 12 points in 11 games in November and has taken a firm lead in Belleville with 10 goals and 21 points. Among signed players in the AHL, he ranks 22nd overall in points and 18th in goals. Conversely, Belleville sits 22nd out of 32 teams with 68 goals and 24 points. That means Crookshank has nearly 15% of all of Belleville’s goals this season.

Crookshank’s dominance finally resulted in him getting the call to join the big club on Dec. 17 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Although the game ended in a loss, Crookshank looked solid statistically, playing just over 10 minutes, attempting one shot that was unfortunately blocked, and recording three hits. That last stat is interesting as it gives him an average of 18 hits per 60 minutes; Tkachuk, the Senators’ hit leader, has only averaged just above nine this season. However, it didn’t take long for Crookshank to find his way into the back of an NHL net, scoring his first goal against the Arizona Coyotes in just his second NHL game. Projected as a bottom-six forward, there’s a lot of promising upside that he’s just starting to show.

Bernard-Docker Scores His First NHL Goal

Speaking of NHL call-ups, Jacob Bernard-Docker has been having quite the season in Ottawa. After splitting time between the NHL and AHL for the past two seasons, the 2018 first-round pick has spent all but two games in the NHL. There have been some growing pains, but he’s been much more consistent than some other roster players. But none of that mattered on Dec. 7 when the 23-year-old finally scored his first NHL goal in his 48th career game.

Bernard-Docker has had a bumpy start to his NHL career. Since joining the Senators in 2020-21, he has shown some strong defensive instincts, but never enough to secure a roster spot. This season was supposed to be different after he signed his first one-way, two-year contract, but he still looked unready following training camp and was sent down through waivers. That can be a tough blow for any young player, especially for one like Bernard-Docker who should be hitting his prime.

Confidence can be a powerful tool, though, and Bernard-Docker was feeling it ahead of the Senators’ Nov. 24 game against the New York Islanders. “I definitely feel like I’m starting to hit my stride,” he said. “It’s nice to be in the lineup for those consecutive games. I really feel like I’ve played 11 now and the first three or four was adjusting, since then it’s steps every game. I’m not going to be perfect every game, but I’m just trying to be consistent and help in any way that I can” (from ‘GARRIOCH: Jacob Bernard-Docker has made his presence felt with the Ottawa Senators,’ Ottawa Sun – 21/11/2023).

The only issue is what happens after everyone gets healthy again. Right now, Bernard-Docker is filling in for Thomas Chabot, who was placed on long-term injured reserve on Dec. 7 mere days after coming back from another injury. Reports suggest he’ll be out for about a month, and at this time, Bernard-Docker is still likely the odd one out unless he can continue to show he belongs at this time. Thankfully, he’s beginning to look like the player the Senators drafted in the first round back in 2018.

Heading over to Sweden, dozens of prospects are beginning to arrive in Gothenburg to compete in the World Junior Championship later this month. Many projected the host nation to win gold thanks to the strength and experience of their lineup, and helping them with that will be a familiar name to Senators’ fans. Oskar Pettersson — who represented the Swedes in Halifax last year and scored two goals and four points — will join eight other returning players from that squad at the 2024 tournament. Last year’s team just missed out on the bronze medal, falling to the United States 8-7 in overtime, and Pettersson will be that much more motivated to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

Related: 2024 World Junior Championship: Team Sweden Final Roster

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Joining Pettersson will be fellow Senators’ prospect Kevin Reidler. Although this will be the first World Juniors for the 19-year-old, he has the potential to steal the starting job from Hugo Havelid. In 19 games with the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Dubuque Fighting Saints, Reidler has a 0899 save percentage (SV%), which isn’t the strongest number, but he’s put up 12 wins while facing an average of 31 shots a game. With a stronger team in front of him, there’s a chance he could be one of the better goalies at the tournament.

Hamara Thriving in Brantford

The final prospect heading to the World Juniors is Tomas Hamara, who will be entering his third tournament and hoping to improve on last year’s silver-medal finish. However, despite his experience, there were some doubts he would be included on this year’s roster. In 18 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Kitchener Rangers, he had just three assists, a concerning development for the offensive-minded blueliner, especially after an underwhelming rookie season in the OHL in 2022-23.

Hamara’s slow start led to him requesting a trade from the Rangers, resulting in a deal that sent him to the Brantford Bulldogs in mid-November for a couple of picks. In his third game for his new team, he put up two assists, and by his eighth game, he already had six points. He’s slowed down slightly since his arrival, but is finally starting to show the potential that made him a third-round pick in 2022. Now at the World Juniors, there’s little doubt that he’ll make Czechia’s blue line much more dangerous.

Although he won’t be at the 2024 World Juniors, Vladimir Nikitin has earned the chance to play at the tournament next year. With him as their starter, Kazakhstan cruised to the golden medal at the World Junior Division I A Championship, winning all but one of their five games and earning promotion to the top division for 2025. Nikitin was in net for all of their wins, putting up a .944 SV% and was named the tournament’s best goaltender and the best player on his team.

A seventh-round pick in 2023, Nikitin decided to join the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) Chilliwack Chiefs after spending his entire career in his home country. He hasn’t had the best start to his first season in North America with a .837 SV% in eight starts, but his performance at the Division I tournament may change some opinions, especially if he can keep the momentum from his international heroics.

Players to Watch

Maxence Guenette has easily been one of Belleville’s best defencemen this season. In November, he had nine points in 11 games and so far in December, he’s put up another five points in seven games. Although call-ups for defence are sparse at this time, he’s the most likely to get the call next.
Despite being cut from Canada’s World Junior roster, Jorian Donovan has been on fire with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs and could turn into one of the Senators’ best prospects, if he’s not already. He had 11 points in 13 games in November and another seven in seven games in December, putting him at 26 points in 31 games this season. That ranks 13th among OHL defencemen, while his eight goals rank ninth.
Djibril Toure has continued to have a breakout year with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves after signing an entry-level deal right before the Senators’ training camp, scoring two more goals in each of November and December. He currently ranks 20th in goals and is on pace to finish with 18 on the season, an impressive total for the late bloomer.
Ohio State University’s Stephan Halliday hasn’t been as dangerous offensively this season as he was as a freshman but he looked a bit like his old self in November, putting up five points in six games. He slowed down in December again but has the potential to be a point-per-game player.
Like Crookshank, Belleville’s Jiri Smejkal also made his long-anticipated NHL debut in December. So far, through four games, he has three blocks, four hits, a takeaway, and a faceoff win while averaging less than 10 minutes a night. That’s a slow start, but there’s lots of room to grow and he’ll be given plenty of defensive opportunities — his strength — under new head coach Jacques Martin.

That’s it for another edition of the Senators Prospect Report. The Senators will get a much-needed break around the Christmas holidays, giving them a chance to regroup and figure out what they want to get out of this season. Until then, there are always plenty of prospects to get excited about!