Sens' Sanderson headlines Button's top Canadian team prospects

A day after releasing his annual Top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list, it’s time for TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button to dig deeper into the prospect pool of each Canadian team.

Despite another tough season in the nation’s capital, Button thinks fans of the Ottawa Senators have plenty to be excited about.

Sens defenceman Jake Sanderson (No. 2) is the highest-rated prospect from a Canadian club on Button’s Top 50 list, and the only other player in the top 20 from a Canadian team is Ottawa centre Ridly Greig (No. 18).

“Ottawa to me, (has a) terrific prospect pool,” said Button. “You talk about Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris as your top two centremen. Ridly Greig is an outstanding third-line centre.”

Sanderson, who signed his entry-level contract in March after his second season of college eligibility at the University of North Dakota, was the captain of Team USA at the 2021 World Juniors and played in one game at the Beijing Olympics.

Greig was Ottawa’s third first-round pick (28th overall) in 2020 after the Sens took Tim Stutzle third and Sanderson fifth. The captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings has 26 goals and 63 points in 39 games this season.

Ottawa’s top 10 also includes a pair of goaltenders – Filip Gustavsson and Mads Sogaard – who’ve had a taste of NHL experience, and blueliner Jacob Bernard-Docker, a 2018 first-round pick (26^th overall) who is honing his craft with AHL Belleville.

Toronto Maple Leafs are the Canadian team that had the most players in the top 50 – defenceman Topi Niemela (No. 21), forward Matthew Knies (No. 27) and forward Nicholas Robertson (No. 46).

“The Toronto Maple Leafs’ top five prospects were all drafted after the first round,” said Button. “Niemela has been terrific this year in the SM Liiga.”

Niemela was drafted in the third round (64th overall) by Toronto in 2020 and was named the best defenceman at the 2021 World Junior Championship. This season with Karpat, the 20-year-old had 10 goals and 32 points in 48 games. Knies, a 2021 second-round pick (57^th overall) who just finished his freshman NCAA season with Minnesota, is expected to meet with Toronto GM Kyle Dubas this week to discuss his future.

Also in Toronto’s top 10 are forward Nicholas Abruzzese, a fourth-round pick (124^th overall) in 2019 who has played in three NHL games since departing Harvard University at the end of the school’s NCAA season, and goaltender Joseph Woll, a 2016 third-round pick (62^nd overall) who made his NHL debut earlier this season.

The Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames have two prospects each on the top 50 list.

The Canadiens have replenished the team’s prospect pool in recent months, adding defenceman Justin Barron and forward Emil Heineman via trade.

The two Montreal prospects appearing in this year’s top 50 are Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Kaiden Guhle at No. 20 and Sherbrooke Phoenix forward Joshua Roy at No. 38.

Guhle, 19, was Montreal’s first pick (16th overall) in 2020 and has seven goals and 40 points in 42 games this season split between the Oil Kings and Prince Albert Raiders. He also captained Team Canada at the shortened 2022 World Juniors.

Roy was the Canadiens’ fifth-round pick (150th overall) in 2021 but has exploded offensively this season with 41 goals and 102 points in 56 games. He is currently second in QMJHL scoring.

“Kaiden Guhle can play in the NHL right now,” said Button. “It’s a deep, deep, deep prospect pool for the Montreal Canadiens at all different positions and all different types of players. It’s a pretty nice place Montreal finds themselves.”

Goaltender Dustin Wolf is the Flames’ top-ranked prospect on the top 50 list at No. 29, followed by forward Jakob Pelletier at No. 34.

Wolf, who was a seventh-round pick in 2019, has emerged as a top goaltender in the AHL with the Stockton Heat, compiling a 32-6-5 record in 43 games with a .925 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average. Pelletier is one of the top rookie scorers in the AHL this season, with 26 goals and 56 points in 59 games for Stockton.

“They’ve made some strides,” said Button on Calgary’s prospect pool. “They’ve got some really interesting players in their system that are going to compete for spots. That wasn’t the case a few years ago.”

The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks each have one prospect in the top 50.

At No. 32 is Oilers is left wing Dylan Holloway, a player Button says has, “everything you want in a forward.”

Holloway, Edmonton’s first-round pick (14^th overall) in 2020, has had two wrist surgeries in the past year but has eight goals and 21 points in 32 games as a rookie in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors.

“The Edmonton Oilers, they’ve really picked up their prospect pool,” said Button. You look down the list, [Dmitri] Samorukov, [Xavier] Bourgault, [Matvey] Petrov, they all have an opportunity to play. Their prospect shelves have become fuller.”

For the Jets, Finnish defenceman Ville Heinola comes in at No. 35, and is on this list for the third year in a row.

The 21-year-old has three goals and 20 points in 34 AHL games with the Manitoba Moose. He was drafted 20th overall by Winnipeg in 2019.

“Those two top defencemen [Heinola and Dylan Samberg], they can play in the NHL right today,” said Button. [Chaz] Lucius is a number of years away. But the key to me is the top two defencemen.”

Wrapping up the top 50 list for Canadian teams is Vancouver defenceman Jack Rathbone at No. 48.

Rathbone, 22, is one of the older players in the ranking. A fourth-round pick (95th overall) by the Canucks at the 2017 NHL Draft, the American defenceman has nine goals and 35 points in 32 AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks this season.

Button notes the Canucks have some work to do when it comes to replenishing their cupboard.

“Their prospect pool isn’t very deep,” said Button. “Aidan McDonough is going back to school, Linus Karlsson has been a real good scorer, [Danila] Klimovich was the second-round draft pick last year. They just signed Arshdeep Bains as a junior free agent. They’ve got work to do. And more importantly, they don’t have defencemen, which is where they really need help.”