The Ottawa Senators have been without game action for months now, and it’s all been building towards this moment. All the speculation about who will be selected third overall, who will be selected fifth overall, and what they might do with the 28th overall pick is going to come to an end today. It’s draft day.
There’s no real need for me to explain the significance of this occasion. Fans everywhere know that this is the moment that has the potential to set the franchise on a road to competitiveness. While we won’t know for certain whether this draft will lead the team to the peak of hockey’s mountain, there’s likely to be an immense amount of optimism in the air by this time tomorrow.
I’m battling a few scheduling conflicts throughout the afternoon and evening, but my hope and intention is to update this blog regularly with any Senators pick or trade news. Between the early selections and ample trade chatter, many are expecting Pierre Dorion to be busy.
Draft Updates:
Update #1 - Senators Unveil New Jerseys
The suspense is over. The refreshed "2D" look was officially unveiled on the 6:00 CTV news, with the team Twitter account also sharing the visuals:
2D. pic.twitter.com/65E8w62hRk
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 6, 2020
Update #2 - Senators Take Stutzle at Third Overall
With the help of a familiar face, the Ottawa Senators have selected Tim Stutzle at third overall. Alex Trebek announced the pick for Ottawa, which will go down as an all-time great draft moment:
This is the greatest NHL draft pick announcement of all time pic.twitter.com/DbARpoffR8
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 6, 2020
Update #3 - Senators Take Sanderson at Five The long-rumored interest came to fruition. The Ottawa Senators have selected Jake Sanderson at fifth overall. Perhaps considered a reach by some lists at fifth overall, Sanderson projects as a shut-down defender that can solidify Ottawa's left side. It's not necessarily the "sexiest" pick that could have been made in the spot, but it's also not as though the team went absurdly off the board.
Update #4 - Senators Take Greig at 28th Overall Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening for me was the fact that Ottawa actually made this pick. After all the speculation and rumors, I was almost certain that they'd either flip it for a goaltender of package it with other picks to move up. They did neither, and selected Ridly Greig. Greig checks the "tough to play against" box despite his smaller stature, but lacks the high-end upside of some of the other players that were still on the board at this point. It's a lower-risk, lower-reward selection in a spot where the team could have afforded to swing for the fences on talent.
As always, thanks for reading.