Plenty of Eastern Ontario talent on hand for Ottawa to choose from at NHL Draft

By: Andrew Wilimek/Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have drafted 267 players since they took part in their first NHL Entry Draft in 1992.

Amongst those picks have been some standout local players, like Jorian Donovan (136th overall in 2022), Cody Ceci (15th overall in 2012), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (96th overall in 2011), and Mark Borowiecki (139th overall in 2008).

Should they choose to continue that trend in 2026, there are several players hailing from Ottawa, Gatineau, and the surrounding region rated highly by scouts in the class.

Thomas Vandenberg, C, Ottawa 67’s

Nepean’s Thomas Vandenberg burst onto the scene in 2025–26, joining the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s after a season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and racking up 25 goals, 25 assists, and 50 points in 59 games, finishing fifth overall in OHL rookie scoring.

In the playoffs, Vandenberg scored four goals and seven points in nine games as the 67’s advanced to the second round. He then joined Team Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Slovakia, recording a goal.

A 6-foot, 178-pound left shot centreman, Vandenberg is one of the youngest players eligible in the draft, with his Sept. 8 birthday coming just a week before the Sept. 15 cutoff. Vandenberg has been characterized as a 200-foot player with no major holes in his game and a lot of room to grow.

Vandenberg ranked 35th on NHL Central Scouting’s final list of North American skaters and 37th amongst all prospects on Craig Button’s May draft ranking.

Spencer Bowes, LW, Ottawa 67’s

Another homegrown 67’s rookie forward is a good bet to hear his name called on Friday or Saturday. Carleton Place’s Spencer Bowes notched 23 goals and 42 points in the regular season with the 67’s, contributing four more goals and eight more points in the playoffs. Amazingly, he did so with almost no power play time, with all of those goals coming at even strength (and one coming on the penalty kill).

The 6-foot, 172-pound left winger has shot up the draft rankings this season as an 18-year-old after spending his age-16 season playing Jr. B for the Perth Blue Wings in 2023–24 being drafted the following spring in the 15th round of the OHL draft.

He arrived in the OHL in 2025–26 after splitting time between the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings and Rockland Nationals during his age-17 season in 2024–25, where he had a combined 17 goals and 40 points in 39 games.

Bowes was ranked 75th amongst North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Adam Levac, C, Peterborough Petes

Embrun’s Adam Levac was drafted in the fifth round by the Peterborough Petes in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection and played his way onto the team as a 16-year-old. Levac broke out in his second year with the team, recording 16 goals and 44 points in 60 games in 2025–26.

Levac had a standout showing in the OHL Top Prospects Game at home in Peterborough in January, recording an assist and two faceoff wins on two attempts. “Levac has good hockey sense, makes a ton of quality passes and will take advantage of any lack of urgency shown by opponents,” wrote Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis at the time.

The 6-foot, 176-pound right shot centre missed eight games due to a slew-footing suspension in February. He added two goals and four points in six games during the Petes’ first round playoff loss to North Bay.

Levac was ranked 97th amongst North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Jean-Cristoph Lemieux, C, Sudbury Wolves

Gatineau’s Jean-Cristoph Lemieux began the year in Windsor, but benefitted from a midseason trade to the Sudbury Wolves, where he racked up 10 goals and 25 points in 23 games.

Along with his statistics from the first half of the year with Windsor, he finished with 20 goals and 43 points overall in 56 games during his second OHL season. Lemieux added two goals and an assist during their four-game sweep at the hands of Brantford in the first round of the playoffs.

While he might not be mistaken for another #66-wearing Lemieux, the former Quinte Red Devil and Kingston Gael did play his way onto Team Canada this spring, potting three assists in five games in Slovakia at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship.

“Lemieux’s competitive drive is like a dog on a bone — he’s tenacious in puck battles and refuses to give up on plays, embodying a relentless work ethic every shift,” wrote Liam Staples, an Ontario Regional Scout for McKeen’s Hockey.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound left winger was ranked 103rd amongst North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Peter Legostaev, C, Gatineau Olympiques

Ottawa’s Peter Legostaev has been a dependable scorer as he’s progressed through every level locally, beginning with the U-18 AAA Smiths Falls Bears (25 goals in 34 games), the Jr. B Smiths Falls Bears (22 goals in 40 games), and the Jr. A Brockville Braves (36 goals in 79 games across three seasons), before leaving the Braves to join the Gatineau Olympiques full-time this past December.

With the Olympiques, Legostaev notched eight goals and 16 points in 31 games, finishing first in rookie scoring on the team. His season finished in February, when he underwent surgery to repair an upper-body injury.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound right shot centre is committed to Union College, which competes in the ECAC division of NCAA’s Division I. Legostaev was ranked 140th on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings in January.

With the 2026 NHL Entry Draft set for nearby Buffalo, local prospects will have a much easier path to attending the event than they would have a year ago, when the draft was held in Los Angeles.

While NHL Central Scouting and public rankings suggest several players from Ottawa, Gatineau, and the surrounding region could be selected, where — or if — they are drafted will ultimately come down to each NHL club’s internal evaluations, including the Senators, who now hold 10 picks in this year’s draft after Sunday’s trade with Florida.