The Hockey News’ Annual Draft Preview is now out there, packed with stories, rankings and predictions.
In this year’s issue, one of the interesting exercises the mothership came up with was a homegrown dream team for each franchise, including the Senators. In a nutshell, among players drafted by Ottawa, it’s a list of the best 12 forwards, six defence, and two goalies.
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THN writer Jared Clinton came up with this list, working only with active players who were drafted by the Sens, regardless of where they play now.
FORWARDS
Brady Tkachuk
Mika Zibanejad
Tim Stutzle
Mark Stone
Drake Batherson
Shane Pinto
Ridly Greig
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Mark Kastelic
Nick Foligno
Stefan Noesen
Cole Reinhardt
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Sanderson
Erik Karlsson
Thomas Chabot
Tyler Kleven
Cody Ceci
Jacob Bernard-Docker
GOALIES
Joey Daccord
Leevi Merilainen
So, as someone who has covered this team since day one, I set out to see if there were any selections I really disagreed with. There were not. I might argue that Curtis Lazar might bump out a Cole Reinhardt or maybe a Stefan Noesen, who never played a game for the Sens, but that would be a big-time splitting of hairs.
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So, to complement Jared’s list, I thought I’d create the all-time homegrown Senators dream team. Some of the active players stayed on this list, but many did not. They’re ranked on what they did for the Sens, in their full careers, and in some cases, the potential they still have.
FORWARDS
Daniel Alfredsson
Alexei Yashin
Marian Hossa
Brady Tkachuk
Mika Zibanejad
Tim Stutzle
Mark Stone
Jason Spezza
Pavol Demitra
Drake Batherson
Mike Fisher
Shane Pinto
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Sanderson
Erik Karlsson
Chris Phillips
Thomas Chabot
Anton Volchenkov
Tyler Kleven
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GOALIES
At the moment, it’s hard to imagine any player from the past five Senators’ drafts ever cracking either of these lists. Players like Carter Yakemchuk, Logan Hensler, Stephen Halliday, and Leevi Merilainen are probably the best bets, but they all have a lot of work to do. The good news is they still have a lot of time.
And who knows? Maybe another challenger or two will emerge from Ottawa’s 2026 NHL Draft in a couple of weeks.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This story was first published at The Hockey News’ Ottawa Senators site. Check out more from THN.com/Ottawa at the links below.
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Former Senators Forward Retires From Hockey At 34
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