SENSNEWS

Written By: Loreeebee

If you’re a hockey fan, the World Juniors (WJC) always brings some exciting hockey to the holiday season every year. The Ottawa Senators had four young (under 20) players playing this year that many of us (Sens) fans were keeping an eye on.

Personally, I am excited that two of them play defense, something the Sens can use to boost the quality on their back end. This is a summary of the Senator’s prospects.

Ottawa Senators Prospects World Junior Recap

Jorian Donovan

Born in Calgary, Alberta in 2004, Jorian grew up in Richmond, Ontario. He is six feet tall and weighs in at 195 lbs. He played minor hockey with the West Carleton League, located in western Ottawa.

You may recognize the Donovan surname as his father previously played forward with the Senators and is currently the player development coach for their team. Currently, Jorian plays defense, shooting left for the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL, and racking up 2 goals and 7 assists in his past ten games.

Drafted by the Senators in 2022, he was a late addition to the 2024 WJC Canadian team after Tanner Molendyk was injured. According to statistical data, Jorian scored no goals nor assisted on any, with a +/- rating of -2. Unfortunately, team Canada was ousted in the quarter-finals so Donovan and his teammates were limited to just five games.

Tomas Hamara

Also a 2004 baby, Tomas was born in Prague, CZE, and played minor hockey in the Czech Republic and Finland. Currently, Tomas weighs 185 pounds and stands six feet tall. Like Jorian Donovan, Tomas plays defense shooting left but plays more offensively, often joining rushes up the ice.

He has also been recognized for the accuracy of his long stretch passes, a valuable weapon on defense. Within Canada, he played two seasons with the Kitchener Rangers and currently plays for the Brantford Bulldogs. This season he has collected 1 goal and 7 assists in 14 games played. He too was drafted by the Senators in 2022. 

This talented player put the Czechs ahead 6-5 against Finland in the bronze medal match with a beautiful goal late in the game, much to the delight of the Czech announcer. Hamara tallied a tournament total of two goals, five assists, and a +/- rating of +1 in seven games played. Impressive!

Oskar Pettersson

Yet another 2004 kid, Oskar Pettersson was born in Sweden, played minor hockey there, and continues to play there. In 21 games this season he has accrued 1 assist. He weighs 198 pounds and logs in at 6 foot 2 inches.

He plays forward, shooting right from the right wing, and is said to be a smart player with a quick release in front of his opponent’s net. Oskar was also drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2022. 

Playing for the Swedes at the WJC this year, Oskar made it to the final match but his team was defeated handily by the dominant USA roster. His play (in his own words) was “up and down” in games prior to the final game and didn’t improve much.

Kevin Reidler

Another of the Senator’s prospects hailing from Sweden, Kevin Reidler is a goaltender, although not the starting or backup for Sweden in the WJC this year. Unfortunately, that means we didn’t see much of him.

He too was born in 2004, was born and played minor hockey in Sweden. Most recently he has played in Dubuque, Iowa within the USHL where he has allowed 25 goals against in his last 8 games for a 0.9% save percentage. At six-foot-five inches tall (plus skates) he should cover a good bit of the net!

Conclusions

All of these Ottawa Senator’s prospects were born in 2004, meaning they were just sixteen years of age when the Covid pandemic stopped the world in its tracks. The hockey world was no exception. I can only imagine how these elite players, so focused on their future careers, were affected.

Now that their hockey seasons are (mostly) back to normal, we will see just how well they adjusted to the hole in their critical developmental phase. At least they all experienced the same setback at the same time, so how they dealt with it should weed out the men from the boys.

photos from Elite prospects

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