By Russ Cohen
Here is the conversation Russ Cohen and Jason Bukala had about the Ottawa Senators’ 2026 draft. We only get to three prospects in each. We started with the Ottawa Senators. Here are the highlights.
Jonas-Lagerberg-Hoen – 25th overall – RW
Russ – Part of that great under-18 team. Defensively responsible. Aside from his shooting, I really like the fact that he’s a precision passer, pretty accurate. I like his off-puck play.
Jason – Well, he’s a little interesting, Russ, because Jonas missed almost the entire year with a knee injury. He had a torn ACL. I believe it ended up being in the fall. This kid is a goal scorer, pure shooter; he’s tall, he’s lean, he’s almost 6 foot three, 178 pounds that is his listed weight right now. We’ll see what that ends up being come the fall. The historical data on Jonas is pretty clear.
The Ottawa Senators are seeking out a goal scorer here, someone who’s going to be able to rip pucks, especially on the power play. He’s arguably got the heaviest, most accurate shot of all the Swedes in the draft class for sure. He’s a pure shooter. So this guy’s not a guy that is going to look to make plays and distribute pucks whenever he gets a look at the net. He’s a guy that’s going to rip it. And he’s proficient at that. So he’s aggressive that way. I think he’s responsible defensively, as you pointed out. But you’re later on in the 1st round, and the Ottawa Senators are seeking out goal scoring; they stepped up to the plate here to take a player that could end up being, if he hit, if he hit on all of his metrics, he could be like Filip Forsberg, you know, he could be that kind of guy. That’s not his 1st instinct. It’s not that he can’t do it.
Jaxon Cover – 32nd overall – LW
Russ – A lot of defensive zone starts. Good skater. When he gets a chance, he can really wire his wrist shot.
Jason – Well, he’s an interesting prospect, maybe the most fascinating. One of the most fascinating guys in the entire draft class. So Jackson came from a history of being an in-line hockey player and he’s only really started to develop his prowess as a hockey player, on ice hockey player. I would say in the last 4 or 5 years, and what comes along with that is the obvious, and that is that he’s got skill. He definitely knows how to handle the puck. He’s really good on the power play. So he’s a guy that can make plays in small areas. He had 6 power play goals out of his 20 tucks this year for the London Knights. Come playoff time.
His role fell off just a little bit, but that’s fine. He’s just a rookie in the league, and it takes time for that. When I say he’s a rookie. He did get a cup of coffee a year ago and, you know, just a very, very minimal amount of games. But, historically, this is a kid that’s produced offense. And again, that’s what Ottawa was clearly looking for. I’m not going to say that he’s going to run people over at 6 foot 1.5, 183 pounds, but he’s got a little snarl and a little bit of edge to him at times. He’ll let people know around him that he’s not going to take any crap, and that’s a good thing to have. It’s going to take time for him to round out his entire game.
Adam Nemec – 72nd overall – C
Russ – He is the younger brother of Simon. Not a defenseman, a forward. I kind of like the fact that he’s good around the crease and seems to draw penalties. I don’t see super high end here.
Jason – Last year, he split his time between the Slovakian elite league and then came over to the Ontario Hockey League and played for the Sudbury Wolves, and really good in Sudbury; he had 35 points in 31 games, including 14 goals. He’s listed at 180 pounds, but he does his best work on the power play from kind of the perimeter and making plays, and and he’ll he’ll get in on the forecheck, and he’ll look to create turnovers, but he’s not going to be one of those guys that’s going to run people over. I thought he was really good at the World Juniors, and that’s what stood out for me there. He supported the puck very well off the puck defensively. He didn’t quit on anything. He became more and more of a play driver as well as he got more comfortable there. He’s got a good dart and dash to his game. He’s got offensive upside.
Russ felt his playoffs weren’t the best, but Jason talked about how Sudbury was built. Russ did think having Simon pave the way for his younger brother helps.
Jason – Absolutely. It doesn’t hurt. So he’s come through the same system that his brother came through. You know, that’s so he had to, he had to carry the weight of that.
If you look at him at the J20 level, even a year before his draft year, he was like a +37 and 32 games. So he’s way above the junior level back home and certainly carrying the weight of his brother’s history there, and now his brother is trying to teach him how, and don’t forget, his brother, Simon, has had to deal with some adversity in New Jersey. It was a slow burn after being such a high pick, and now he’s a Calgary Flame. So all these experiences will certainly trickle down into Adam, I’m sure. And he’s a competitive kid. I think he’ll figure it out.
Jaxon Cover by Sportsology
