Ottawa Senators 2025 draft class prospects progress report: early returns on a reset farm system

The Ottawa Senators entered the 2025 NHL Draft with a clear mandate: refresh the prospect pool without tearing down the NHL roster. General manager Steve Staios traded down twice in the opening round, added an extra third-round pick, and still walked away with six new prospects who have already begun to answer questions about their long-term upside. With the 2025-26 season nearly one quarter complete, we check in on every member of the Senators’ 2025 draft class to see who is trending toward an NHL future and who still has work to do.

Logan Hensler leads the way on NCAA blue line

Logan Hensler was the biggest swing of the weekend and so far the bat has connected. Slated as a potential top-10 pick entering his freshman year at Wisconsin, the 6-foot-3 right-shot defender slipped to Ottawa at No. 13 after a rocky first semester. The second half of his NCAA season, coupled with a gold-medal cameo for Team USA at the World Juniors, restored his stock, and the Senators pounced.

Twelve games into his sophomore year, Hensler is the steadiest defender on one of the deepest blue lines in the Big Ten. He has three goals and seven points, including a three-point outburst against Ohio State on Nov. 15 that featured a power-play bomb and a primary assist on the game-winner. Wisconsin coach Tony Granato has used him on the second pair at even strength and the top unit when up a man, a workload that projects to a 30-point pace over a full NCAA calendar.

Scouts who spoke with The Hockey Writers after the Ohio State series praised his “pro-level activation instincts” and his ability to close on forwards in the neutral zone. If he maintains this level of play, Hensler is a lock to return to Team USA for the 2026 World Juniors in Montreal and could sign his entry-level deal as early as next spring.

Blake Vanek finding WHL footing after slow start

The comparisons to 2024 third-rounder Blake Montgomery were inevitable—same first name, same bulldozing wing style, same USHL-to-WHL path. Vanek’s first dozen games with the Wenatchee Wild did little to quiet skeptics: three assists, 28 shots, and a team mired in last place. Since Nov. 2, however, the son of former 40-goal NHLer Thomas Vanek has looked like a different player.

In his last six contests, Vanek has five goals and seven points, including a two-goal, nine-shot effort against the Kelowna Rockets that earned him WHL Player of the Week honors. Wild headmaster Chris Clark told Senschot that Vanek has “grabbed the top-line role and refused to give it back,” using his 6-foot-2 frame to protect pucks down low and his heavy release to punish goalies from the circles. Wenatchee remains at the bottom of the Western Conference, but Vanek’s surge is the clearest example of the organization’s developmental patience paying early dividends.

Lucas Beckman thriving behind beleaguered QMJHL squad

No goalie in the Canadian Hockey League has faced more rubber than Baie-Comeau’s Lucas Beckman. The fourth-round pick has started 21 of the Drakkar’s 22 games and turned aside 695 shots—180 more than any other QMJHL netminder. His reward? A .912 save percentage, two shutouts, and the fifth-best goals-against average (2.99) among starters despite playing behind the league’s worst team.

Beckman’s workload is absurd, but the sensory overload is accelerating his development. Goaltending coach Philippe Drouin told Le Quotidien that the 18-year-old has “learned to survive chaos” and is already reading pro-level passing sequences. Ottawa goalie guru Justin Peters visited Baie-Comeau in late October and came away convinced Beckman has “legitimate NHL starter upside” if he can add 10 pounds of muscle without sacrificing side-to-side explosiveness.

Russian duo navigating maze of European leagues

Dmitri Isayev, the fifth-round winger, has already appeared in three Russian leagues this season. After sporadic fourth-line minutes in the VHL, he dropped to the MHL and posted five points in two games, forcing Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg to recall him. He was back in the KHL for a two-game cameo, then returned to the junior loop where he now averages 22 minutes a night and has six goals in nine outings.

The yo-yo treatment is common for 19-year-old Russians, but Ottawa’s European scout Mikko Ruutu says the organization is “comfortable with the turbulence” because Isayev is producing whenever ice time is available. The 5-foot-9 left-shot forward patterns his game after Artemi Panarin—quick inside cuts, late-zone arrivals, and a one-timer that already beats KHL goalies clean. If he can secure a full-time VHL spot by March, the Senators will discuss bringing him to Belleville on an ATO similar to the path taken by 2022 pick Vladimir Nikitin.

Between the pipes, seventh-rounder Andrei Trofimov has experienced the opposite trajectory. After posting a .929 save percentage in the MHL last season, the 20-year-old has slipped to .900 through 10 games for Magnitogorsk’s junior affiliate. He was pulled twice in November after allowing four goals on fewer than 25 shots, yet still leads the team in wins because the lineup in front of him sits third in the league.

Trofimov told KHL.ru his goal is to start 40 games and earn a VHL contract by season’s end. Ottawa has no issue with the slow start; goaltending development is rarely linear, and the organization still holds his NHL rights indefinitely because he was drafted as an overager.

Bruno Idzan adjusting to NCAA speed as Croatian trailblazer

Bruno Idzan made history as the first Croatian-born player ever selected at the NHL Draft. After dominating the USHL with 22 goals in 36 games for Lincoln, the 19-year-old enrolled at Wisconsin and immediately discovered the leap to Division 1 hockey is steep. He has dressed for only eight of the Badgers’ 12 games, sitting out the second half of weekend series to manage the freshman learning curve.

When he does play, Idzan flashes the traits that convinced Ottawa to take him in the sixth round: a heavy forecheck, quick stick lifts, and a shoot-first mentality that produced 18 shots on goal already. Badgers assistant coach Todd Knott told the Wisconsin State Journal that Idzan “doesn’t cheat for offense” and is earning trust in late-game defensive situations. If Wisconsin’s top line keeps rolling—six wins in its last eight—Idzan should see his minutes climb during the second half.

What the early numbers mean for Ottawa’s rebuild

The Senators entered 2025-26 with a top-10 prospect pool according to most industry lists, but internal audits suggested the cupboard was thinner on the blue line and in goal after graduation losses of Tyler Kleven and Leevi Meriläinen. The 2025 class was designed to plug those exact gaps:

• Hensler gives them a potential top-pair right-shot defender who can quarterback a power play.
• Beckman and Trofimov restock the goaltending pipeline that now includes Mads Søgaard, Jackson Parsons, and Kevin Reidler.
• Vanek and Isayev add scoring wingers to a forward group already headlined by Carter Yakemchuk and Tyler Boucher.

Early production is only one data point, but every prospect except Trofimov is meeting or exceeding baseline expectations. More importantly, the group is succeeding in difficult environments—last-place QMJHL and WHL clubs, stacked NCAA lineups, and the labyrinth of Russian junior tiers—an experience the organization believes accelerates maturity.

Internal competition heating up in Belleville

The developmental wave is already creating ripple effects at the AHL level. With Stephen Halliday leading Belleville in scoring (16 points in 14 games) and Lassi Thomson topping the defensive corps in goals (three), Ottawa recalled both players ahead of a seven-game road trip that begins Thursday in Anaheim. The moves underscore how quickly prospects can jump the ladder if the 2025 draftees continue to push from below.

Halliday’s playmaking has drawn comparisons to current Senators center Tim Stützle, while Thomson’s heavy shot could fill the void left by injured veteran Thomas Chabot. If either player sticks, the 2025 class will face even steeper competition for entry-level contracts next summer.

Looking ahead: World Juniors, NCAA tournaments, and contract decisions

The next checkpoint arrives in December at the 2026 World Junior Championship. Hensler and Beckman are virtual locks for Team USA and Team Canada, respectively, while Vanek will audition for Czechia’s final roster. Strong performances on that stage could fast-track negotiations, especially for Hensler, who will be 20 by the tournament’s conclusion and eligible to sign immediately.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin and Baie-Comeau are poised for postseason runs that would give Hensler, Idzan, and Beckman an extra month of high-leverage hockey. Ottawa’s front office has budgeted for as many as three entry-level slides next fall, meaning any 2025 pick who signs before the 2026-27 season will burn the first year of his deal. The organization is comfortable with that timeline if a prospect forces the issue, but the preference is to let the group marinate unless a clear NHL role is available.

Ottawa Senators 2025 draft class prospects progress report: the bottom line

One quarter of one season is a microscopic sample, but the early returns validate Staios’ draft-day philosophy: trade down, add volume, and bet on character in tough situations. Hensler looks like a future top-four staple, Beckman is handling the heaviest workload in major junior, and Vanek’s recent tear hints at the goal-scoring wing Ottawa has lacked since trading away Alex DeBrincat. Even the long-shot European picks are producing when given opportunity, a trend that mirrors the breakout seasons currently being enjoyed by Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle at the NHL level.

The Senators are no longer a team forced to rush teenagers into roles they aren’t ready for. With a replenished farm system and a competitive NHL roster, the 2025 draft class can develop on its own timeline—and that patience might be the biggest win of all.