Tyler Kleven’s second full NHL season gave the Senators a clear answer on what they have in him: a heavy, steady, physical defenseman who can handle more than a third-pairing workload when Ottawa needs it.
He jumped two spots in the team’s Top 25 Under 25 ranking even though he played nine fewer regular-season games than he did the year before. The reason was simple enough.
Kleven ended up logging more total ice time, and that says plenty about how the Senators leaned on him while injuries tore through the blue line. He eventually became part of that injury mess himself, but before that happened he stepped into a much larger role and helped keep Ottawa afloat while the lineup kept changing around him.
Kleven still profiles best on the third pair, but there’s real value in how he plays there. He’s a big-bodied defender, yes, but the important part is the steadiness.
He doesn’t just rely on size; he uses it with purpose. He pressures, he hunts pucks, and he doesn’t sit back and wait for the play to come to him.
He usually does a decent job getting to loose pucks, and his strength and compete make life miserable for forecheckers.
The part that still needs work is what happens after he wins those battles. Kleven’s puck movement can be shaky, especially when pressure closes in.
Some of his recoveries don’t turn into clean exits, and early in the season there were a few decisions that put Ottawa right back on the defensive. One December example summed it up bluntly: “Kleven, again, throws a puck to nobody and Minnesota scores with 20 seconds left to win it in regulation.
Unacceptable. Team is throwing points away left and right. pic.twitter.com/ZdehKbwGzW
- Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) December 13, 2025”
Still, there’s plenty to like here. Kleven doesn’t leave you holding your breath every time he’s on the ice, and the physical edge he brings is something the Senators should want him to keep.
His penalty minutes went up this season without enough drawn penalties to balance them out, but not every rough edge needs sanding down. Ottawa no longer has Brady Tkachuk to supply that kind of bite, and even if the former captain’s own physicality slipped late, Kleven became the most noticeable physical skater on the roster.
He was often the one stepping in for a teammate and answering a hit with one of his own.
That edge matters. It makes him a difficult assignment on the blue line and gives opposing attackers something extra to think about when they come through his side of the ice.
One November sequence showed exactly the kind of presence he can bring: “Tyler Kleven throws a MASSIVE hit and then drops Veleno. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/F4Jwub69Fm
- Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) November 1, 2025”
His value showed up again in the playoffs. Kleven played through a lingering jaw injury that was still hanging around when the series reached Games 3 and 4, and he handled that stretch better than most of his teammates.
His physical game brought some life to the series, and against a team that would go on to win the Stanley Cup, that was no small thing. It also made his strong playoff showing against Toronto look a lot more real than a one-off.
Offensively, there’s still room for growth. Three goals and 15 assists is a perfectly respectable line for a bottom-pair defender, but Kleven looks capable of more.
He doesn’t create a ton through passing, and he rarely manufactures offense off the rush. Most of his contributions come once Ottawa is set up in the offensive zone and he can work into shooting spots.
He did take 194 shots this season, and almost all of them came from distance, which fits both his role and his game. The power is obvious too.
Kleven recorded the league’s hardest shot of the 2025-26 season at 166.58 km/h, and that alone makes his release a real weapon. The next step is using it better, whether that means being a little more selective or finding ways to get closer to the net when chances open up.
One goal early in January showed what that can look like when it comes together: “Klev's got his first of the season (again)‼️ #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/9H7NdZL3m6
- Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 21, 2026”
Kleven doesn’t need to become a different player to matter. He already looks like Ottawa’s most dependable left-side third option, and the base is there for more.
If he sharpens the puck decisions and turns more of his physical and defensive wins into offense, he can keep carving out a bigger role. And with the Senators’ injury luck never seeming to let up, chances to climb the depth chart should keep coming.
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