2021 NHL Draft: Second round options
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The Sens hold the 39th and 42nd overall picks on Day 2 of the draft that will take place on July 24. In recent years, the Sens have drafted Alex Formenton, Roby Jarventie, Tyler Kleven, Shane Pinto, Mads Sogaard, Egor Sokolov and Jonny Tychonick in the second round. 2021 will mark the third straight draft that the Sens have held multiple second-round picks.
Some potential names to keep an eye on are below with all players earning an estimated second round selection based off of their Central Scouting rankings.
All scouting reports courtesy of Elite Prospects
Matthew Knies - Left wing (Tri-City Storm/USHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 37 North American skater
Scouting report: The way Knies establishes body positioning drives his value in every dimension of the game. He tries to be first on every puck at all costs, getting his leg in front of his opponents then coming across their body with his hips to seal off the defender. Some off-puck awareness makes Knies a bit of a scoring threat, hunting space after passing.
In his second full season in the USHL, Knies had a career high 17 goals alongside 25 assists in 44 games. The Phoenix native is committed to the University of Minnesota next year.
Zachary L'Heureux - Left wing (Halifax/QMJHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 30 North American skater
Scouting report: So much of L'Heureux's game is defined by his physicality. He's an enthusiastic hitter, one who's put more than his fair share of poor opponents into the boards or onto their asses. He'll get under his opponent's skin after the whistles. He'll fight. He'll mix it up. His problem-solving ability through secondary and tertiary defensive variables lets him make plays where others would struggle to retain possession.
L'Heureux finished second in goals scored and points on the Mooseheads this past season with 19 and 39 respectively, the former of which placed him in the Top 10 in the QMJHL. He also added 47 penalty minutes, one off the team lead. As a rookie in 2019-20 with Moncton, he was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team while his 53 points led all rookies.
Jack Peart - Defenceman (Fargo Force/USHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 27 North American skater
Scouting report: He skates with a heightened activity rate through his feet and uses crossovers to cut laterally and quickly close space while defending in transition. He keeps his feet stable through the neutral zone once he's established a gap with the closing opponent. Peart shoulder-checks for options as he collects the puck, layers deception onto his first touch and sprints right past the first forechecker with ease.
In his rookie USHL season, Peart helped lead the Force to the Clark Cup finals where they came up short against Chicago. Peart had 15 points (one goal) in 24 regular season contests before adding a pair of goals and seven assists in nine playoff tilts as he was named to the USHL All-Rookie Second Team. Additionally, Peart played high school hockey in 2020-21 and was honoured with the USHS Minnesota Mr. Hockey as Minnesota's best high school player after scoring 35 points in 18 games. He is committed to St. Cloud State for 2021-22.
Simon Robertsson - Right wing (Skelleftea/SHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 11 European skater
Scouting report: He pushes his top hand from his body and fully engages the lever-motion downforce on his stick for a mechanically clean shot with plenty of zip and accuracy. Robertsson couples that shot with savvy off-the-puck timing to make him a consistent scoring threat in the offensive zone.
Robertsson lined up 22 times in the SHL this year, scoring once while also adding a singular assist. Additionally, he spent time with Pitea in Sweden's third division, the HockeyEttan, and also played 15 games with Skelleftea's U20 side where he had 20 points (nine goals). Robertsson also claimed a bronze medal at the U18 World Championships.
Justin Robidas - Center (Val d'Or)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 47 North American skater
Scouting report: He reloaded above the puck ahead of turnovers, angled opponents to the outside on the backcheck, and kept his head turning to locate trailing attackers. He gets off the boards, presents his back to defenders, and transforms their shove into momentum to escape.
A teammate of Sens prospect Max Guenette, Robidas helped lead the Foreurs to the QMJHL's President Cup final where they came up short against Victoriaville. Robidas played at a better than a point-per-game rate in 2020-21 in 35 games and led the Foreurs in goals with 19. Like L'Heureux, Robidas' 19 goals placed him inside the Top 10 in the QMJHL this past season.
Mackie Samoskevich - Right wing (Chicago/USHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 26 North American skater
Scouting report: He'll blend pass receptions into highly creative dangles around defenders, with top-hand control of his stick pushed out from his body, and quick-twitch wrists to string it all together. He manages space exceptionally well, constantly scanning for the positions of his teammates and opponents alike. And he uses that mental map of the ice to plan his every manoeuvre one or two plays ahead of the competition.
Samoskevich helped lead Chicago to the Clark Cup last season as he contributed 37 points (13 goals) in 36 games before tallying a goal and nine helpers in eight playoff games all while wearing an 'A' for the first time. Samoskevich will head to the University of Michigan in the fall.
Logan Stankoven - Center (Kamloops/WHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 31 North American skater
Scouting report: He's a fearless puck-carrier, always driving the inside, and never shy about setting up shop near the net-front off of the puck. He plays a north-south game and always attacks at an unrelentingly high pace. The mechanics behind his shot are so clean, exerting downward force while pushing his top hand off his body.
Stankoven played just six games for the Blazers in 2020-21 but he made them count with seven goals and 10 points all while wearing an 'A' on his jersey. He was pulled away from the WHL to attend the U18 World Championships and it paid dividends, as he won gold with Canada after notching eight points (four goals) in seven games. In his last full WHL season, Stankoven tallied 29 goals and 48 points for Kamloops.
Chase Stillman - Right wing (Sudbury/OHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 35 North American skater
Scouting report: Call it motor or energy or engagement or drive -- Stillman has it. He is willing to go above and beyond, willing to play whatever role needed to the maximum of his ability to give his team the win. He knows when to go after to try and retrieve it and will head to the best areas of the ice to get a scoring chance off.
With the OHL season cancelled in 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Stillman headed to Denmark where he played eight games for the Esbjerg Energy's U20 side, tallying nine goals and 16 points in the process. He too was part of Canada's U18 World Championships victory. In 2019-20 with the Wolves, Stillman was selected to the OHL First All-Rookie Team after grabbing 34 points in 58 games.
Samu Tuomaala - Right wing (Karpat/Liiga)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 10 European skater
Scouting report: He reloads to swing wide on his team's breakout, collects the puck in stride, accelerates through knee-over-knee crossovers, and drives play across the offensive blue line. Blink, and you just might miss him. Tuomaala has a wicked wrist shot, and he can get it off in-stride from either foot.
The Finn made his Liiga debut this past season, suiting up five times with Karpat. However, he spent the majority of the 2020-21 campaign with their U20 side, playing alongside Sens prospect Leevi Merilainen, as he notched 15 goals and 31 points in 30 games. He was selected to the U18 World Championships All-Star Team after producing 11 points in just seven games and was also selected as one of Finland's Top 3 players.
Olen Zellweger - Defenceman (Everett/WHL)
Central Scouting ranking: No. 45 North American skater
Scouting report: His posture is nearly perfect, with his hips tilted back, his chest over his knees, and the right shin angle. He collects passes and sends them in motion. He uses the dotted line through the neutral zone. And he even works in a little bit of deception from time to time to keep his opponents off-balance. He'll immediately recognize any opportunity to lead the rush and take it.
In a shortened WHL season, Zellweger played 11 games with the Silvertips where he had 13 points and like many others on this list, claimed a gold medal at the U18 World Championships after contributing eight points in seven games.
