Logan Hensler’s spot in Ottawa Senators’ 2026 Top 25 Under 25 slid a bit, and the reason is pretty straightforward: his 2025-26 season was all over the map.
The 2025 first-round pick started his sophomore year at Wisconsin in encouraging fashion. The Badgers were better than they were a season ago, and Hensler grew with them.
He spent most of the year on the second pair and kept sharpening the defensive side of his game. His plus/minus jumped from -13 last season to +6, but the impact went well beyond that one number.
Skating has always been his calling card, and it stayed that way this season. It helped him escape pressure, move the puck safely out of trouble, and recover when Wisconsin needed him to clean things up.
Pair that with a strong hockey IQ and you get a defender who uses positioning to break up plays without needing to throw his weight around every shift. Once the puck is on his stick, he generally makes the right read, whether that means jumping into transition or setting up a teammate in the offensive zone.
There were also signs that his offense was starting to come along. Over the 15 games before the World Junior Championships, Hensler put up three goals and eight points, and his game seemed to find another gear as the season went on. Scoring isn’t the part that comes easiest to him, but when he commits to joining the rush, he can create some pretty loud moments.
One of the best came in mid-November, when he sparked a turnover in his own zone, chased down the puck with speed and compete, and finished the play himself with a highlight-reel goal.
That momentum didn’t carry into the World Juniors in Minnesota. Hensler had been part of the United States’ gold medal winning team in 2024, but the 2025 group was a different story entirely.
Team USA finished fifth, and while that wasn’t on one player, Hensler didn’t do much to steady the ship. His role was already limited as a returning player on the third pairing, and it shrank as the tournament went on.
He never played more than 13 minutes a game and finished without a point. At his worst, he looked out of place and involved in some ugly goals against; at his best, he still looked stranded on a team that was struggling everywhere.
Back at Wisconsin, the reset never really came. The Badgers hit a rough patch in January, going 2-6-0, and Hensler managed only a goal and three points in eight games during that stretch.
Then, on the final day of January, everything stopped. An awkward hit left him with a ruptured ligament, a high ankle sprain, and an ACL tear in his left leg.
He had surgery in early March and his season was over.
He was shut down for the rest of the year after the lower-body injury, finishing his sophomore campaign with 12 points, including four goals and eight assists, in 23 games.
The injury kept him out of this summer’s development camp, but there’s at least some good news on the recovery front. Hensler returned to the ice at the end of July and is expected to be in the opening night lineup for what could be his final NCAA season.
The season was a disappointment, no doubt about it, but Hensler’s stock isn’t gone. He still has the traits that made him a first-round pick in the first place, and there’s a clear route to becoming the two-way defenseman Ottawa had in mind. A true top-pairing projection may be a stretch, but players taken 23rd overall aren’t usually expected to become that anyway.
Now comes the big year. Wisconsin is bringing back most of its group, Blake Montgomery included, and the Badgers were one goal away from a national title. If Hensler can stay healthy and string together a full, uninterrupted third season, he’ll have a real chance to get his development back on track and set himself up to finish the year in Belleville.
In Other News...
Senators Ratings Hint At One Big Truth About Ottawas Core
EA Sports latest NHL 27 ratings offer another snapshot of where the Senators believe their young core stands, and there is at least some validation baked into the list. Ottawa has 10 players among the top 300, with Tim Sttzle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux all showing up in a group that suggests the roster is deeper than it was not long ago. For a team trying to turn its promise into something more durable, those ratings are a useful reminder that the organization is no longer being evaluated on potential alone.
The more interesting part is how the list frames Ottawas identity. Sttzle and Sanderson sit near the top of the Senators ratings, while Giroux is still carrying a standout number in a key skill that speaks to how important he remains in guiding the offense. Add in Batherson and Chabot landing in the same broad range, and the picture is of a team with real top-end talent, but also one still sorting out exactly whose influence is defining the core as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Stutzle Tries To Set Tone For Senators After Tkachuk Exit
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The captaincy question, though, is still hanging over the organization as the Senators weigh their next step and look at a leadership pool that includes Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux. The Tkachuk move also brought back a haul of future assets, and Ottawa has already kept working around the edges of the lineup, adding William Eklund, Andre Burakovsky and Samuel Ersson while the new hierarchy settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Stutzle Sets The Tone For Ottawa After Brady Tkachuk Exit
Tim Stutzle spoke publicly for the first time since Brady Tkachuk was dealt to the Florida Panthers, and his message was straightforward: the Senators have to turn the page and keep their attention on the group that is still here. He acknowledged the departure, but framed it as part of the reality of the league, where roster changes can arrive quickly and leave little time for reflection.
Stutzle also made clear that Ottawa is not viewing the move as the end of its ambitions. Even with one of the teams most recognizable young players gone, he expressed confidence in the current roster and the Senators chances to stay in the playoff mix. The bigger question now is how quickly that belief translates into results, especially after a change that reshapes both the room and the expectations around it. [Read more 🡒]