EP Rinkside Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 9 Ranked Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators gutted their team this season, trading away Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel. While the returns are underwhelming overall, there’s no doubt that the trades allowed the Senators to stockpile additional prospects. Among those acquired in the firesale, four will appear in today’s ranking, with Rudolfs Balcers already considered graduated following an impressive NHL stint.

The Senators’ prospect pool lands inside the top-ten for one simple reason: high-end talent. They lack the depth of pools around them, but a top-three of Erik Brännström, Drake Batherson, and Logan Brown is tough to beat.

1. Erik Brännström, D, Belleville Senators

The prize of the Stone trade, Brännström is comfortably among the NHL’s best prospects. Brännström enjoyed the third-h