It’s January, which means that the hockey season is half over. For the Ottawa Senators, 2024 saw them turn over a new leaf. With a 19-17-2 record and just two points back of the top wild card spot, the team is finally performing to expectations. Linus Ullmark has been the biggest story. After a slow start, he finally found his Vezina-winning form, posting a .952 save percentage over his last 10 games. Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Brady Tkachuk have been scoring at nearly or over a point-per-game pace, Josh Norris is back to his goal-scoring self, and Thomas Chabot finally has the perfect defence partner in Nick Jensen. Things are good in Canada’s capital.
The Senators’ prospects have also been a bright spot. After years of watching the team’s prospects flounder, several players are now thriving in the minor and junior ranks. So, with the new year a time for reflection, let’s look back at some of the best performances in the Senators systems and hand out some mid-season awards.
Most Wins: Carter Yakemchuk
To no one’s surprise, Carter Yakemchuk has been the most successful prospect in the Senators’ system. After being picked seventh overall last June, he nearly made Ottawa’s lineup out of training camp while leading the team in scoring in the preseason, making him the easy choice for the first Senators’ Prospect of the Week recipient. However, he was sent back to the Calgary Hitmen without seeing a regular season game, which was where he hit the ground running, scoring three goals in his first four games back in the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Since then, he’s earned the Prospect of the Week honours twice more while putting up 14 goals and 34 points in 30 games and setting a Hitmen franchise record for most goals by a defenceman. He’s on pace to hit 71 points, and if he continues to score at his current rate this season, he could become one of the most effective blueliners in WHL history. There’s reason to believe he could do it, too; over the first half of the season, he’s only gone more than a single game without a point twice. The Senators were none too happy to see he was left off Canada’s World Junior roster – one of the reasons he was sent down to junior in the first place – but with Calgary looking to make a playoff push, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to make a big impact over the next few months.
Most…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…