Ottawa drafts two top prospects

OTTAWA, ON

It’s been three days since the Ottawa Senators and the rest of the RHL scouting teams met to conduct the first two rounds of the 2026. RHL draft, and there is still a buzz in the air at the nation’s capital. This feeling is a welcome change for fans of the team after suffering through a lacklustre season that saw the team miss the playoffs and finish with the 6th worst record in the league. The Senators’ faithful got to watch the team make two picks in the top half of Wednesday’s draft and are already penciling these guys into the team’s future core. 

Ottawa went into the draft without a true blue chip prospect in the organization. But thanks to holding the 7th and 16th overall picks in this year’s draft, GM Noddan took the opportunity to bring in two future stars. The 7th pick was Ottawa’s own, a reward for the weak finish from the season prior. 16th overall came in exchange for Alex Tuch, dealt at the deadline to Washington after failing to produce at the level management was hoping for when they acquired him this time last year. 

Let’s meet the newest Ottawa Senators:

At 7th overall, GM Noddan took to the stage and invited defenceman Keaton Verhoeff to the team. Verhoeff is a 6’4” right shot defenceman who is effective at both ends of the ice and has all the tools to be an effective top pairing NHL defenceman one day. He is NHL central scouting’s 4th highest ranked skater and 2nd ranked defenceman and is by most scouts’ opinions a steal at pick number seven. The Edmonton-area born teenager has taken the newly available path of leaving major junior to play college hockey, playing his 2025-26 season with the University of North Dakota as a 17-year old after playing for the WHL’s Victoria Royals the season prior. He also captained Canada at the U18s, and played an important role for Canada at the U20 World Juniors last winter. This impressive resume gives the Ottawa brass and fan base alike lots to get excited about. It may not be too long before Verhoeff is playing significant minutes for the big club. 

Nine picks later, Ottawa was the first team to return to the draft podium to make their second and final selection of the night with the 16th overall pick. With this pick, GM Noddan selected Tynan Lawrence, another 17-year old who made the early jump to the NCAA, this time with the Boston University Terriers. Lawrence is a fast two-way centre and was ranked 7th by central scouting among North American skaters. He also played for the Canada U18s, scoring 6 points in 5 games. His late birthday and early jump to college hockey is encouraging, and will give him a great runway to develop into a valuable NHL centre down the road. 

Ottawa did not make any picks after this in the first two rounds. The teams holds picks in rounds 3, 5, 6 and 7, and will be looking to round out an excellent draft class in the later rounds of the draft.