Ottawa is buzzing about a Senators prospect who hasn't even played a game in the team's colours yet. Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, the Swedish winger the Senators selected 25th overall in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, is scheduled to make his first official appearance in a Senators uniform at the team's rookie camp.
Who is Jonas Lagerberg Hoen
Lagerberg Hoen is a 6-foot-2 right winger from Mora, Sweden, who played for Leksands IF before the draft. He's joining fellow European prospects Adam Nemec and Kasper Halttunen, who are also making their first appearances in Senators gear at rookie camp.
Asked to describe his own game, Lagerberg Hoen kept it simple. "I'm an offensive forward. I have a very good shot and good skating," he said.
A draft year cut short
The road to Ottawa wasn't smooth. Lagerberg Hoen suffered a season-ending knee injury in October 2025, after putting up nine goals in nine games to start his draft year. He had surgery on the knee in December 2025, and only resumed skating about a month before the June 2026 draft, meaning he arrived at the draft without much recent game action to show scouts.
That gamble is exactly what Ottawa is now betting will pay off. Senators European scout Anders Östberg said Lagerberg Hoen has completely healed from the injury, crediting a professional rehab process for getting him back on the ice.
What the Senators are seeing
Östberg didn't hold back when describing what stood out about Lagerberg Hoen during the scouting process. "He's a goal-scorer. He can really skate, he can score from everywhere, and he's a competitive guy," Östberg said. "We had great interviews with him; he was great in the gym, and he checks all the boxes."
Finding out live
Lagerberg Hoen has described the moment he found out Ottawa had called his name at the draft as a bit of a blur. "I was half asleep and didn't really think it was going to happen. But yeah, then they called my name and I got super happy and woke up my family," he said.
What to watch for
Rookie camp is the first real look Ottawa fans will get at Lagerberg Hoen since the draft, and it comes at a moment when the Senators' prospect pipeline is already getting attention locally. The team is also set to host the Senators Prospect Challenge, and ottown's earlier report covered a related roster decision from the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of that tournament. With Ottawa's young core, including Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, already carrying high expectations as detailed in ottown's earlier report, a healthy, productive Lagerberg Hoen would add another layer of promise to a system Senators fans are watching closely this fall.
Sources: NHL.com (Ottawa Senators official site)
