2021 NHL Draft: Day 2 Recap
39th overall - Zack Ostapchuk, center (Vancouver/WHL)
With the Sens' first selection on Day 2 of the NHL Draft, the Sens dipped into the WHL by taking Vancouver Giants forward Zack Ostapchuk.
The 18-year-old played in 16 games last season, scoring seven goals and 16 points while also tallying 26 penalty minutes. The year prior, he suited up 44 times with the Giants, contributing eight points in his rookie WHL season.
"He's got good skill and plays hard in all three zones," Sens chief amateur scout Trent Mann said. "He's just scratching the surface here. He's heading north on his game ... We're pretty excited about [his] all-round game."
The selection of Ostapchuk is the sixth time since 2019 the Sens have selected a player from the WHL after Lassi Thomson, Mads Sogaard, Mark Kastelic, Ridly Greig and Cole Reinhardt.
"I'm a very versatile player and it doesn't matter where they put me, I can play," Ostapchuk said. "I'm a big guy that can skate. I think I can play a power game."
49th overall - Ben Roger, defenceman (London/OHL)
The Senators traded back from the 42nd pick to 49, while also picking up the 136th overall pick from the Kings, to select defenceman Ben Roger. He played 35 games for the Knights in 2019-20, scoring twice and adding four assists in his rookie OHL season. In 2018-19, he suited up 52 times with the Wellington Dukes of the OJHL, notching 18 points (four goals).
"He's a big, mobile, right-shot 'D', Mann said. "There's a ton of upside there. He has high-end athleticism and is a big kid that can get around the ice extremely well and he can move the puck up the ice."
It's the first time since the Sens have taken a player out of the OHL since Alex Formenton was drafted 47th overall in 2017.
74th overall - Oliver Johansson, center (Timra IK/SHL)
The Sens went to Sweden with their third round pick, selecting center Oliver Johansson. He lined up five times last season with Timra in the HockeyAllsvenskan, tallying three goals, as they earned promotion to the SHL where he played alongside fellow Sens prospect Viktor Lodin.
Additionally, he played three games for Timra's U20 squad and seven games with their U18 setup.
"It's an unbelievable feeling to be drafted by a club like Ottawa," Johansson said. "I describe myself as a small player on the ice, I like to have the puck and create chances. I'm a two-way forward."
His father is former NHLer, Roger Johansson, who played 161 NHL games.
123rd overall - Carson Latimer, right wing (Edmonton/WHL)
For the second time on Day 2, the Sens made a trade, this time moving up 13 spots from their previously acquired 136th overall pick, to grab Carson Latimer.
He played 22 games last year for the Oil Kings, scoring five goals and adding 11 assists and was a +9. He was awarded the WHL's Central Division's Rookie of the Year at season's end.
Furthermore, he appeared in eight games with the Port Moody Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) scoring once and tallying 11 assists.
The second player taken from the WHL today, the Sens have now dipped into that league seven times since 2019.
202nd overall - Chandler Romeo, defenceman (Hamilton/OHL)
The Sens used its final pick of the 2021 NHL Draft on a blue-liner, taking Chander Romeo of the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. With the OHL season cancelled in 2020-21, he last played for the OJHL's Brantford 99ers the year prior. He lined up 10 times, scoring three goals and adding two assists in 2019-20. That same year, he also played for the Brantford Bandits, notching nine goals and 21 points in 44 games where he was named to the GOJHL All-Rookie Team.
He was the 49th overall pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection by the Bulldogs.
