After months of speculation, predicting, and targeting, the 2025 NHL Draft is finally over, and the Ottawa Senators have six new faces in their organization. This year’s draft class followed a similar formula to general manager Steve Staios’ first draft with the team, with a fairly smart selection in the first round and then some bigger risks later in the draft that addressed a variety of holes in the team’s depth chart. But, if last year is any indication of what’s to come, the Senators may have found some real gems.
Round 1, 23rd Overall – Logan Hensler, RD, U. Wisconsin (NCAA)
I’ll admit, I wasn’t a fan of Ottawa taking Logan Hensler. The Senators used their last first-round pick to grab a top right-shot defenceman in Carter Yakemchuk, who joined Lassi Thomson, Nikolas Matinpalo, Djibril Toure, Maxence Guenette, and Hoyt Stanley in that position. While not a strength for the team, Ottawa had several good options to work at filling out their lineup over the next several seasons. I was more interested in grabbing an available forward who I believed had better upside and could address a much more pressing hole in the Senators’ system.
However, after my initial reaction, I began to see the value in the pick. Hensler is a reliable, two-way defenceman with excellent mobility and hockey smarts, all of which the Senators were looking for with their top selection. He was one of 11 U19 players in the NCAA this season, where he put up two goals and 12 points as a freshman with the University of Wisconsin, and was one of two draft-eligible players added to the Americans’ roster for the 2025 World Juniors, where he helped the team win a gold medal.
It’s also fair to say that Hensler was the best player on the board. TSN’s Bob McKenzie ranked him 15th on his final ranking, and Staios admitted that he didn’t go into the draft seeking a right-shot defenceman; it just sort of happened. “You watch your draft list unfold, but this was a really good player sitting there with Hensler at our pick,” said the Senators GM. “I guess if it’s a toss-up between maybe a winger and a right-shot defenceman, you’d probably lean towards that just because of the value and how hard it is to find.”
As for Hensler’s game, he models it after a player very familiar to the Senators. “Funny enough, Jake Sanderson,” he said following the selection. “I…
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