Senators’ 2026 – Ottawa’s draft week began with the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster trade that delivered key picks in 2026 — and ended with the Senators adding seven prospects across Sweden, Slovakia, Russia, the OHL, the QMJHL, and prep ranks. From a Swedish sniper nursing an ACL i
It was a week that felt like Ottawa couldn’t catch its breath.
On Sunday. the Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for a package that included the ninth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Two days later, Ottawa flipped that No. 9 selection for a return headlined by winger William Eklund, a San Jose Sharks seventh-overall pick back in 2021.
But the Senators didn’t just move pieces — they used the opportunity. On Friday night. Ottawa made the most of the other 2026 pick acquired in that Tkachuk deal. selecting Jonas Lagerberg Hoen with the No. 25 overall slot. Then came a full slate of additions: Jaxon Cover at 32nd. Adam Nemec at 72nd. Oscar Holmertz at 87th. Louis-Felix Bourque at 91st. Elliot Lennon at 110th. Harris Pangretitsch at 151st. and Alexander Grunin closing the board at 183rd overall.
The through-line in all of it isn’t just geography. It’s Ottawa betting on skill, scoring touch, and upside — even when the timeline isn’t perfect.
When Jonas Lagerberg Hoen was selected 25th overall, the room likely knew the risk as well as the reward. Hoen went to the Senators from the Swedish junior league. Leksands Jr. where he posted a stat line of 9G-7A-16PTS in 9 games in 2025-26. That stretch matters — and it also ends abruptly. An ACL injury sidelined the goal-scoring winger for nearly all of his campaign.
On the Friday night broadcast. Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino laid out the thinking in real time. pointing to the limited sample size after the injury. “This guy played nine games this year — he had nine goals. ” Cosentino said. while also noting the uncertainty that comes with not having a full season to evaluate. The upside. though. was never hidden: Cosentino described Hoen as possessing “high-end skill. ” emphasizing that he’s a “big guy” who can really shoot the puck and has shown goal-scoring at just about every level.
Ottawa’s other picks kept that “difference-maker” theme rolling.
At 32nd overall, the Senators drafted Jaxon Cover from the London Knights of the OHL. Cover put up 20G-32A-52PTS in 67 games in 2025-26, building off a rookie season that turned heads early. Before his OHL debut, he spent three seasons at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ont. — a program that helped NHL mainstays like Robert Thomas and Warren Foegele build their game. In 2024-25, Cover won the Prep Hockey Conference Championship with St. Andrew’s, the top prize for North American prep school programs.
During the broadcast, Bukala described Cover’s path as something that shows up on the ice. “He was an inline hockey player. and you can tell that he was an inline guy growing up before he dedicated himself to ice hockey — he handles the puck. he’s really creative. he’s got a flair for the offence. ” Bukala said. Bukala also pointed out that Ottawa is “banking on the offence” because Cover was used in a variety of roles during a season that showed trust from the London Knights staff.
The personal backstory around Cover was one of the most unusual parts of the night. Born in Florida, he lived in the U.S. for only a month before moving with his family to the Cayman Islands, where his mother, Nan, was born. Growing up on Grand Cayman. Cover developed as a roller-hockey standout. started attending skating camps in Toronto at 10 years old — his father Patrick’s hometown — and didn’t begin playing ice hockey competitively until he was 14.
By the time he reached the 2026 Draft, he was living the kind of leap Ottawa usually dreams about: from a nontraditional hockey map to a first-round NHL selection.
The Senators then widened the net with their next wave of picks.
At 72nd overall, Ottawa selected LW Adam Nemec, coming through the Slovakian league and the OHL. He played for Nitra MHC in Slovakia before later joining the Sudbury Wolves partway through the 2025-26 season. His production across those stops was split but steady: 3G-12A-15PTS in 28 games with Nitra and 14G-21A-35PTS in 31 games with Sudbury. Nemec arrives with NHL lineage in the story, too: he is the younger brother of newly acquired Flame Simon Nemec.
At 87th overall, the Senators picked C Oscar Holmertz from Linkopings HC in the Swedish league. Holmertz — listed as a six-footer — continued an international trend for Ottawa early in the draft. His junior numbers were there: 13G-23A-36 points in 34 games for the junior team. But his men’s team slate was quiet, with 0G-0A-0Pts in 11 games.
The next selection, at 91st overall, brought RW Louis-Felix Bourque in from the QMJHL. Bourque played for Drummondville Voltigeurs and recorded 24G-25A-49PTS in 54 games in 2025-26. It was another reminder Ottawa’s scouts aren’t focused only on one kind of trajectory: Bourque’s rookie major junior year was strong enough that he tied for 10th among all rookie scorers in the QMJHL.
Then Ottawa turned its attention to the crease.
At 110th overall, the Senators selected G Elliot Lennon, a six-foot-four Quebec native who posted 1.84 GAA and a .936 save% in 26 games for Deerfield Academy prep school. Lennon is committed to Brown University for 2027-28. Next season, he’ll play for Madison of the USHL.
From there, the draft pushed into the defensive and late-pick territory where hockey futures often take shape under the radar.
At 151st overall, Ottawa drafted D Harris Pangretitsch from the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. He is listed at six-foot-four and had 2G-12A-14PTS in 67 games in 2025-26. In his rookie season, he collected 53 penalty minutes. The Senators’ investment has continuity in that development path: Pangretitsch was a fourth-round OHL pick in 2024.
The final pick of the Senators’ board came at 183rd overall, selecting D Alexander Grunin. Grunin played for Sibirskie Snaipery in Russia’s MHL, listed as a six-foot-four blue-liner. His numbers were 6G-9A-15Pts in 44 games.
Across the entire set of selections, the Senators’ draft night added up to one clear message: Ottawa is building a pipeline that leans hard into skill and scoring — even if it means accepting some uncertainty, like the ACL setback that cut short the full view of Jonas Lagerberg Hoen’s season.
Ottawa Senators draft picks 2026 Brady Tkachuk trade Jonas Lagerberg Hoen Jaxon Cover Adam Nemec Oscar Holmertz Louis-Felix Bourque Elliot Lennon Harris Pangretitsch Alexander Grunin William Eklund