After drafting Shane Bowers, a centre from the USHL in the first round on Friday night, the Ottawa Senators continued to stockpile forwards among their three remaining selections on day 2 of the NHL Entry Draft.

In the second round, using Calgary's pick acquired in the Curtis Lazar trade this past trade deadline, selected Alex Formenton, a left winger who plays for the London Knights. This past season was his first in the OHL, and he scored 16 goals and added 18 assists for 34 points in 65 games. He is tall, at 6'2" but at this point is a wiry 165 lbs.

While Bowers' claim to fame is an all-around game where no particular area stands out, Formenton is widely regarded as the best and fastest skater in the entire draft, although the rest of his game needs some fine-tuning.

The Senators continued the trend to build the forward depth a they selected Cape Breton Sreaming Eagles' centre Drake Batherson with their next pick, the 121st player chosen. Batherson was not selected last year in his first go-around in the draft and is already 19. He had a bit of a breakout season in his first full year in the "Q", potting 22 goals and 36 assists in 61 games, and adding 12 points in 11 playoff games.

The Senators made a curious choice with their final pick, selecting Regina Pats' backup goalie Jordan Hollett in the sixth round. 183rd overall. Maybe they saw something in the netminder, who hasn't played more than 23 game in a season in his 2 WHL campaigns. He did have a 15-2 record this season behind a strong Pats club, but it is interesting to note that the Pats' starter, Tyler Brown, was never drafted and just completed his final year. Holett was dealt to Medicine Hat, where he should be the starter this coming season, and he will be given the chance to show what he can do with consistent work.


The Senators came away seemingly happy with their draft picks (would you expect them to say otherwise?), and time will tell if they found a diamond in the rough at any point.

What they didn't do was add a defenseman, which I personally think they should have done with their first rounder as a couple of the best players available were blueliners in Nicholas Hague and Connor Timmins (who were selected 34th and 32nd respectively).

Now that the prospects have been selected, the Senators will turn their attention to the present as they look to see what might be available for a decent price on the free agent market, to get the players they want back re-signed and apparently trying to see if there is still a marked for Dion Phaneuf.

Lots of things to talk about over the next week!

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