Seven Picks and a Plan
The Ottawa Senators are heading into June's NHL Draft with real ammunition — seven picks in total, headlined by the No. 32 overall selection at the tail end of the first round. For a franchise that's been quietly building toward contention, that's a meaningful opportunity to add blue-chip prospect depth.
Leading the charge is top scout Don Boyd, who recently detailed how the organization approaches the months of preparation that go into a single weekend of picks.
What Goes Into Draft Prep
For NHL scouts, the work leading up to draft day is relentless. The job involves tracking hundreds of prospects across leagues in North America and Europe — watching games in person, reviewing video, conducting interviews, and building detailed player profiles. By the time the draft weekend arrives, a scouting staff like the Senators' has usually seen their top targets dozens of times.
For Boyd and his team, the final stretch means cross-referencing internal rankings with medical and character evaluations, narrowing down a draft board that started as a list of thousands down to the names that will ultimately get called.
The No. 32 Pick: High Stakes at the First-Round Cutoff
Landing at No. 32 puts Ottawa in an interesting position. It's the final selection of the first round — meaning the Senators get a first-round pedigree player while also picking up the compensatory or traded pick benefits that typically come with that slot. First-round picks carry guaranteed entry-level contract structures and heightened expectations, and teams selecting near the end of the round often find genuine steals: players who slipped due to position scarcity or team-specific rankings rather than talent.
With the Senators' rebuild having matured considerably over the last few seasons, every addition at the prospect level is evaluated not just for ceiling but for NHL-readiness timeline.
Building Depth Across Seven Picks
Beyond the first round, Ottawa's additional six picks give Boyd's team a chance to add volume across the depth chart. Later-round picks are boom-or-bust by nature — most won't reach the NHL — but savvy scouting departments consistently find contributors in rounds two through seven. For a Senators roster trending upward, finding even one or two gems from that pool could be pivotal.
Ottawa's Draft Future Is Looking Up
After years of lottery-range picks during the rebuild era, Ottawa is now drafting in territory that reflects a competitive team — late in the first round, hunting for players who can contribute at the margins rather than anchor the franchise. That's progress, and it's the kind of progress Senators fans in Ottawa have been waiting for.
With Boyd and the scouting staff putting in months of legwork, the June draft weekend should give the Sens faithful something to buzz about — and potentially a few new names to keep an eye on as the next wave of talent makes its way toward Lebreton Flats.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
