The Senators’ defensive pipeline took a hit before the season even got rolling.
Harris Pangretitsch, Ottawa’s fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will need shoulder surgery and is expected to be out four to five months, according to a Friday update on the Soo Greyhounds website. The injury happened in a Sept. 5 OHL preseason game against the Windsor Spitfires at GFL Memorial Gardens, when Pangretitsch went in to throw a hit along the boards and hurt his shoulder.
Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said the surgery will be done in Ottawa soon. Pangretitsch also went through Senators rookie camp and main training camp, which at least gave Ottawa’s medical staff a chance to evaluate the injury and map out the recovery process, even though he didn’t dress for either camp.
Pangretitsch has been told that four months might be the optimistic end of the timeline, though he’s still hoping to get back before the playoffs. Even then, he’ll only be 18 at that point, which leaves plenty of runway for his development and at least one more OHL season ahead.
The setback lands after a rookie year that showed why the Senators liked him. Pangretitsch put up two goals and 14 points in 67 games for the Greyhounds, but the numbers don’t tell the full story.
The club named him its most improved player after he established himself as a strong shutdown defender who uses his size and reach effectively. He also shared the Hounds’ Scholastic Player of the Year award.
Before arriving in Sault Ste. Marie, Pangretitsch played 34 regular-season games for Choate Rosemary Hall in 2024-25 and finished with 13 points.
For Pangretitsch, the injury is a tough break, but he’s trying to keep the bigger picture in view.
“It’s not great, obviously," Pangretitsch told the Greyhounds website. "This isn’t easy.
But I have to look at the bright side of things. Everybody’s hurt at the end of the season, and I’m hoping I can come in fresh and give the (OHL) team a boost.
For me, it’ll be the start of the season.”
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Johansson arrives with plenty of NHL experience from the last three seasons as Andrei Vasilevskiys backup, but his career numbers have not always matched the job security of that role. For a Senators team trying to keep its goalie pipeline stable behind Ullmark, the addition helps on quantity, even if it leaves open the bigger question of how the organization wants to sort out the pecking order behind its starter. [Read more 🡒]
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