Gabriel Eliasson is ready to leave junior hockey behind and chase the next rung on the ladder.
The Senators prospect said at last week’s development camp that his focus is now on earning a job with Ottawa’s AHL team after two seasons in the OHL.
“I’ve been in the OHL for two years now and the league is getting smaller and I’m getting bigger,” Eliasson told the Ottawa Citizen in a 1-on-1 interview at Sens dev camp last week. “I used this year as a development year, and really, really took big steps with my puck game and stuff like that.
“I’m going to work hard in the summer, have a good camp, and try to take a spot on the AHL team. That’s what I want. I want to take the next step in my career.”
At 6-foot-7, the Swedish defenceman has spent the last few years learning how to use his size without letting it get away from him. Three seasons ago, he was the only player in Sweden’s top junior league to hit 100 penalty minutes, a sign that he already knew how to make life miserable for opponents. He felt the European game was too restrictive for his style, and the OHL gave him the freedom to play on the edge.
That edge showed up immediately. In his first OHL season, he piled up 116 penalty minutes, fifth-most in the league. Last season, he led everyone with 122, a tough feat in a league that allows only three fights before suspensions start coming down.
Once described by Elite Prospects as having “an endless lust for violence,” Eliasson says the Colts’ playoff runs helped him learn when to rein it in. He’s still physical, still intense, but he’s better at picking his spots now. Ottawa likes that fire.
“He’s a guy that’s super physical, super engaged,” director of player development Sam Gagner said of Eliasson. “And that’s a hard thing to teach to a guy, to be more physical, meaner.
And Gabe has that. Sometimes we actually have to tone him down, which is a good thing.”
Eliasson sees the next challenge as proving he can bring that same presence against pro competition in the AHL. He believes tougher opponents actually suit him.
“I always feel like the higher I play, the better I play, because I play against better players,” Eliasson said. “I think it’s also easier to play against a little bit stronger guys, a little bit bigger guys, because I can play my game fully, like to 100 percent without getting too violent, or you know getting called for everything.”
The physical part is already there. What he needs now is more polish with the puck and better skating, the kind of growth that can help him survive at the pro level even if he never becomes a power-play quarterback or a big point producer. He has to make a clean first pass, handle the puck with more confidence in his own end, and be reliable when the play swings the other way.
“I think that was the best part of this year, that I tried to try to make more plays and not just playing simple,” Eliasson said.
The numbers back up the development, even if they don’t jump off the page. Eliasson had nine points, with two goals and seven assists, in 82 total games with Barrie this past season. But Ottawa has seen enough progress in his stickhandling and passing to believe there’s more coming.
“There’s obviously still room for growth,” Gagner said, who played 1,043 NHL games from 2007 to 2024. “We’ve got to work with him on his puck skills, just making decisions quicker, spending less time in his own end because he’s efficient with how he moves the puck.
We’ll stay on that. He’s a great kid, works super hard, and it’s been enjoyable to work with him.
“It’s a big summer for him, right? I think he took steps this year, and he has to have a great summer and come into camp ready to go.”
For a player built like Eliasson, the blueprint has always been about finding the balance between force and control. He grew up watching Zdeno Chara, the 6-foot-9 Hall of Famer who squeezed everything possible out of his frame. Now he studies another Ottawa giant in Tyler Kleven, a 6-foot-5 defender who has carved out a pro career while sharpening the same parts of the game Eliasson is still working on.
Eliasson said Kleven told him he was grinding on his puck game at the same age, back when he was in college. Now, Eliasson sees a player who can move the puck and still punish opponents.
“When I look at him now, he’s one of the best puck-moving defencemen in Ottawa right now, and he still lays some big hits.”
And yes, Eliasson noticed the one on Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Alexander Nikishin in April.
“Oh yeah. It was like running into a brick wall. I love that.”
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