I'd be upset but not surprised if they left Raymond or Perffeti off the board. Our LHD prospect pool is rather shallow and that fabled "two-way" defender is always nice to have. It alleviates Chabot's work load ever so slightly.

I thought Ottawa was high on Forester, no?

I'd be baffled if they take Sanderson at 5th OA. Chabot is clearly our 1st LHD for the next 8 years. If Byfield goes to LA then I hope to see Ottawa grab Stutzle and Rossi. They can battle for the pivot spot and the other moves to winger. From everything I've seen and read about Rossi his size will not be an issue. The kid is a tank.

I've really softened on the idea of Sanderson. I still don't think it's the right decision, but I don't really hate the idea as much as I used to. If Ottawa committed to letting Brannstrom play his preferred right side, I think it could work out really nicely with them together on your 2nd pair. Then you just need one of JBD or Thomson to become a DeMelo level guy to play with Chabot, then you're set.

More importantly though, my point was to illustrate that the Sens don't need to have a perfect draft for them to have a fantastic draft this year. Sens always have some picks that leave people confused and angry, and they usually end up vindicated.

Same here... with a team as depleted as they ahve at the moment, they clearly need to go BPA and in IMHO these would be (Raymond, Drysdale, Rossi, Perfetti) in respective order

I'm kind of at the point where I've spent so much time agonizing about which players I want where that I'm pretty much burnt out. The Sens are going to get who they get, some people will be upset for a bit, but then ultimately realize Ottawa got some really good players.

Also you could switch Perreault with Foerster if you'd like, but that's not really the point of this necessarily.

Nitpicking picks, haha! You're right, though.

Yes, it would be hard to miss on an impactful player with the 5th pick, on that we agree. But coming away without getting a legit 1st one pivot would be so detrimental to the rebuild because of what we'd have to give up to trade for one. Having any two of Stutzle/Perfetti/Rossi, combined with Colin White and Josh Norris, leaves me confident that even if we don't end up with a top tier 1st line pivot, we can still be contenders with our talent level at that position throughout the line up. And again, any of them can play a wing so it's not like we're missing out by passing on Raymond. That's my take. But like you, I won't be livid if they take Sanderson... I've come to expect strange picks from this team.

However it shakes out, the Sens are about to be so flooded with good players in this draft, so I'd rather spend my time getting excited for the good players they do get, than mad about the players they don't.

I still have my preferences, but I've learned my lesson after The Tkachuk pick lol. I was so mad at the time, and within a year he was my favorite player in the league. Sens fans should have at least some faith in Trent Mann at this point.

I agree wholeheartedly about needing to get a top pivot, but Dorion has already more or less confirmed the they're taking whoever's left of Byfield and Stutzle, and I think both guys will be "1C on a contender" good. That alone gets the Sens a passing grade for this draft, so they can do what they'd like as far as I'm concerned.

if Drysdales available at 5 I think the Sens take him. Having Chabot and him on the back end for the next decade would be to good to pass up

If all turns to garbage, then we have Shane Wright to look forward to in 2022.

he'd be my 2nd pick after Raymond

https://twitter.com/PaulGb_/status/1309570845917016064

I just hope that they dont go with Quinn/Askarov

The only issue I have with drafting a D with the 1st round picks Dorion has is that Ottawa really doesn't look like they will compete next year... why not acquire 1st round picks next year in a D heavy draft? Lambos, Clarke, Hughes, Power, Chaykka and Ceulemans to name a few.

I think people wrongly assume that the Sens are planning to still be rebuilding next season like they were this year. They're expecting forward momentum, and maybe they think they will be improved enough to where they don't think they're likely to have a chance at a Dman as good as who they could have 5th overall.

Wouldn't rush a rebuild. IF Ottawa's prospects all make the jump, then maybe we can expect an improvement in the standings... There are also huuuuuge maybes next year with everything going on off the ice...

That being said, why not pick Wallinder with 28 and Grelge at 35?

I don't know if I'd put too much stock into that honestly. Not that Jeff Marek isn't a reputable source, I just question how many people in the organization would really be privy to those conversations. Sens have a small scouting department, a small front office and a small coaching staff.

**** drafting Sanderson

why would you pick Sanderson if Drysdale is available...?
I honestly wouldn't understand their decision if they'd do that especially when you look at the difficulty of acquiring a legit top2 RHD