The Ottawa Senators’ 2026 Top 25 Under 25 list had a few players who came close, but not close enough to crack the final cut. Tyler Boucher, Luke Ellinas and Gabriel Eliasson all landed in the honourable mentions after seasons that each carried their own mix of progress and frustration.
Boucher had the strongest statistical year of his pro career, but it still wasn’t enough to push him into the Top 25. He boosted his production from five goals and 10 points to 12 goals and 26 points, even while missing another 25 games with an “upper body injury” after an awkward fall into the boards against Laval in November.
Among the Silver Seven staff, only Nada, Knuckle Puck and I had him in the Top 25, and none of them placed him higher than 20th. Readers were a little more optimistic, slotting him 21st.
Still, the concern around his profile remains the same: he’s been too fragile to fully commit to the bruising style he’s known for, and the scoring touch hasn’t developed enough to project him as a regular NHLer. After signing a one-year extension, this may be Boucher’s last real shot to stick in Ottawa, and with the organization’s forward depth crowded with strong bottom-six candidates, the path looks steep.
Ellinas’ year was derailed in a different way. The Kitchener Rangers forward and newly minted Memorial Cup champion entered the season hoping to build on a 20-goal campaign and a point-per-game run in the 2024-25 OHL playoffs.
Ottawa signed him to his entry-level deal after that playoff stretch, but he also had right shoulder surgery that summer. He missed the first month of the season while rehabbing, then returned to play six games and score three goals before injuring his left shoulder in a game against the 67s.
Another surgery followed, and his season looked over before he managed to return for Kitchener’s run through the OHL Final against the Barrie Colts, where he chipped in two assists in a four-game sweep. He added a goal in the Memorial Cup Final against Everett and finished with 14 games played overall.
The readers ranked him 24th, while Knuckle Puck, Shaan and Ary all included him in their top 25. He could go back to junior for an overage season, but after winning a Memorial Cup, his main goal will be making Belleville.
Given how much time he lost, another year in Kitchener wouldn’t be a bad fallback. Either way, if he becomes an offensive force in the OHL or settles in as a reliable AHL bottom-sixer, he should be right back in the mix next summer.
Eliasson’s appeal is a little easier to sum up, because one quote from EliteProspects’ 2024 Draft Guide seems destined to follow him for a while: “A towering defenceman with decent skating ability and an endless lust for violence.” He spent his second season with the Colts putting up nearly the same numbers as his rookie OHL campaign, finishing with two goals and eight points in 61 games while piling up 122 PIMs.
That total moved him past Matthew Andonovski for the OHL penalty minutes lead. Eliasson, who turns 20 later this week on September 9th, signed his ELC with Ottawa in March and wants to reach the pro level whether that ends up being in Ottawa or Belleville.
His physical edge, willingness to finish checks and general determination remain his strengths, but his offensive reads and puck-moving game still need work. Readers had him 25th on their list, and both Beata and Knuckle Puck placed him in the 20-25 range.
Breaking into Belleville won’t be easy either, with Djibril Toure, Tomas Hamara, Matthew Andonovski and Hoyt Stanley among the blue-line options already in the mix.
With rookie tournaments set to begin in less than a week and players starting to return to town, the new season is getting close. Beyond Ottawa itself, there’s plenty to monitor, and the development of the organization’s young players will matter a lot.
In Other News...
Brad Marchand Is Already Stirring Drama Around The Brady Tkachuk Trade
With Brady Tkachuk now in Florida, the Senators are moving into a new era and one of the biggest decisions on the horizon is who will wear the captains letter next. Tim Stutzle has emerged as a finalist, and the conversation got an extra jolt when Brad Marchand, now with the Panthers, weighed in on social media in a way that quickly turned a routine leadership debate into a little more noise than Ottawa probably wanted.
Stutzle brushed it off, saying he does not care and still respects Marchand as a player, while Drake Batherson also got a look at the exchange and called it typical Marchand. For the Senators, the bigger issue is still internal and far more important than an outside chirp, but the teams next captain is being chosen under a brighter spotlight now, and Marchand managed to make sure of that without even putting on a Senators jersey. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Opened A Roster Debate Fans Wont Ignore
Eeli Tolvanen is off the board after signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Rangers, and that only sharpens the conversation around what Ottawa is trying to build up front. The Senators have already added William Eklund to their forward group, a move that leans further into skill, but Tolvanen would have offered a different layer with his physical edge, finishing touch and ability to move around the lineup.
For Ottawa, the appeal was never just about another scorer. Tolvanen could have fit alongside the teams more creative forwards while also bringing value on the penalty kill, which is the kind of two-way utility contenders tend to covet. Instead, the Senators are left to weigh whether they have enough of that mix already, or whether the spot Tolvanen filled in New York is exactly the sort of opening they still need to address. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Face Two Huge Decisions After Brady Tkachuks Exit
With Brady Tkachuk now gone, Ottawas front office is working through a pair of franchise-shaping issues at once, and both are tied to the clubs next chapter. One is the contract status of Drake Batherson, an important piece who remains in negotiations with the Senators, with the new NHL CBA deadline adding another layer to how long a deal can be.
The other centers on the dressing room leadership void left behind by Tkachuks move to Florida. Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot are among the top candidates to wear the captains C, and the decision would say plenty about where the Senators believe their identity is headed. How Ottawa handles both matters will go a long way toward defining the team beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]