Although it didn’t last very long, Tyler Kleven left his fingerprints all over the Ottawa Senators’ first-round series this past spring. His shot from the point in Game 2 was deflected in to tie it, his breakout ability led to the tying goal in Game 3, and it was his sense to read the play and jump up in it that led to his overtime goal in Game 4 to extend the series.
If you were someone who paid close attention to the Senators in 2024-25, those performances would not have come as a big surprise. The 23-year-old only got better and better as the season went on, and he was able to parlay that into a two-year deal at $1.6 million annually back in June. Kleven has jumped up and made his presence known very quickly, only playing 53 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) before making the jump to the NHL.
Now he finds himself with almost 100 NHL games under his belt and some positive playoff experience to boot. He was deployed as a third-pairing defenceman but with the potential he’s shown, could he make a run as a top-four defenceman next season?
Kleven’s 2024-25 Season
Young players usually spend the majority of their early careers attempting to gain the trust of the coaching staff and Kleven did just that. For most of the season, he was dependable and constantly made low-risk plays that would not lead to mistakes. With that he gained more and more confidence, which led the Senators to believe that there is even more there than what’s on the surface.
He hardly spent time on special teams last season, but his skill set certainly looks like that of a dependable penalty killer. He didn’t throw a ton of hits, but his college career with the University of North Dakota suggests that he’s capable of being a much more physical player. He’s also adept at shooting, but doesn’t get the puck through traffic as much as one would like. Those things can improve as he develops physically and becomes more comfortable in his own skin at the NHL level.
Related: How Artem Zub Is Driving the Senators’ Defensive Turnaround
Kleven spent the first half of the season playing with Travis Hamonic on the third pair, but was then put with Nikolas Matinpalo once he was called up after Christmas. After that, Kleven’s game really began to take off as he was more familiar with Matinpalo having played with him with the Belleville Senators of the AHL.
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