Greatest Under-25 Seasons in Ottawa Senators History – The Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

The modern NHL is all about maximizing a player’s early years before they cost too much. While a skater’s prime was around 28 years old in the 1990s and 2000s, it has shifted to 24 or 25 in recent years before their production declines.

That’s good news for the Ottawa Senators. With an average age of just over 27, they have the 13th youngest roster in the NHL and are led by 24-year-olds Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle, and 25-year-olds Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto. There’s also Ridly Greig, William Eklund, Tyler Kleven, Jordan Spence, Stephen Halliday, and Carter Yakemchuk, all of whom are 25 years old or younger. Less than half the teams in the NHL can boast such a talented, young core who are hitting their prime.

But how do they stack up to the greatest under-25 seasons in franchise history? Although the Stanley Cup has so far alluded them, there have been some truly incredible performances from some of their youngest stars throughout their history. So, as the Senators prepare for a critical 2026-27 season, here are the greatest seasons from players aged 18 to 25 in the team’s history.

18: Alexandre Daigle

It’s hard to put into words what Alexandre Daigle meant to the Senators when he first arrived. He was hailed as the ‘next Gretzky’ after tearing up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Laval Titan, and promised to do the same thing in the NHL. In 84 games, he scored 20 goals and put up 51 points, an impressive total for any rookie, and a great start for a dominant career. His total set a record for Senators’ 18-year-olds, one that not even Brady Tkachuk could overcome when he debuted in 2018-19. Unfortunately, that would be the height of Daigle’s career, but it was good while it lasted.

19: Alexei Yashin

While the spotlight was on Daigle, Alexei Yashin was establishing himself as the player the Senators future star. Yashin was selected second overall in 1992 to much less hype and stayed in Russia for an additional season before debuting with Daigle in 1993-94, and he outperformed his counterpart in every regard. His 79-point rookie season finished second in rookie points and just three behind the leader, and was third in goals with 30. While it wasn’t enough to upset future Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur’s claim on the Calder, Yashin still recieved nine first-place votes, while Daigle didn’t recieve any votes at all.

However, it wasn’t until the 1998 trade deadline, when the Senators finally moved Daigle, that they fully committed to Yashin. By that time, though, the damage was done. He’d already had one contract dispute with the team over his first extension, and was gearing up for another nasty one in 1999-00. Unlike Daigle’s story, Yashin’s has a happy ending, as his trade eventually brought in Jason Spezza.

20: Tim Stutzle

The Senators knew they were getting a good one when they selected Stutzle third overall in 2020, but they may not have realized he would become one of the best point producers the team had ever seen. In his first five seasons in Ottawa, the German phenom has already put away 115 goals and tallied 326 points. Only Jason Spezza had a better start to his career, putting up 116 goals and 345 points after debuting with the Senators in 2002-03.

But what makes Stutzle unique is that no one has been so productive at such a young age. In 2022-23, at just 20 years old, he recorded 90 points, tying Spezza for the sixth-best franchise point total, but was two years younger than the former Senators’ star. His 39 goals also made him the second-youngest Senator to cross the 30-goal threshold, joining Yashin as the only under-21 players to do it.

21: Erik Karlsson

No other defenceman in Senators history has been as productive as Erik Karlsson. Out of the 10 best seasons seen from a defender, Karlsson owns six of them, including the top five. He’s also the only defender who ever scored 20 goals in a season, which he did at twice, in 2013-14 and in 2014-15, all before turning 25.

But even stars have to start somewhere, which brings us to 2011-12. The Senators had been criticized for their selection of Karlsson 15th overall in 2008; he was considered too small and not defensive enough to thrive in the NHL Yet he made the Senators at 19 years old, and two seasons later, he made history with a 19-goal, 78-point season. Before him, only two defencemen had cracked the 50-point plateau: Wade Redden in 2005-06, and Norm MacIver in 1992-93, both of whom were 28 years old. His ability to move the puck gave the Senators a true star on their blue line until he left in 2018.

22: Daniel Alfredsson

While there have been more impressible statistical seasons from a 22-year-old, including Spezza’s incredible 90-point season in 2005-06, Daniel Alfredsson still stands as the only Senator to ever take home the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. Finishing his first season with 26 goals and 61 points, the 22-year-old led all rookies by a good margin, outpacing second place by eight points, and was only outscored by Eric Daze, who led all rookies that season with 30 goals. It was a tight race between the two goal leaders, but Alfredsson managed to get five more first-place votes than Daze, giving him the win.

23: Marian Hossa

Prior to the 2002-03 season, Marian Hossa had flirted with greatness but never fully taken that next step. In five seasons with the team, his career high sat at 32 goals and 75 points, which was good enough to put him second on the team in scoring and 35th in the NHL, but not enough to get the Senators out of the first round of the playoffs. That finally changed in his 23-year-old season, when he set a franchise record with 45 goals, breaking Yashin’s 1998-99 record by one. That season, Ottawa also finally got out of the second round, where Hossa led the team with 16 points in 18 games.

24: Ray Emery

Throughout their history, the Senators have generally favoured older goalies for their starters. Craig Anderson, Damian Rhodes, and even Martin Gerber were in their late 20s before they arrived in Ottawa. Patrick Lalime nearly made the cutoff, coming to Ottawa at 25 years old, but only played 38 games before taking over the crease the following season. That’s what makes Ray Emery’s 2006-07 season so special.

A fourth-round pick by the Senators in 2001, Emery became the first homegrown goalie to hit 20 wins in 2005-26 when he secured 23 as a 23-year-old. Then, in 2006-07, he broke out with 33 wins in 58 games plus a .918 save percentage (SV%), and along with Heatley’s second 50-goal season, he pushed the Senators into the Stanley Cup Final. Although they lost in four straight, it wouldn’t have been possible without Emery’s incredible performance.

25: Dany Heatley

In 2005-06, the Senators made the difficult decision to trade Hossa, their burgeoning 26-year-old star, for Dany Heatley, the second overall pick in 2001 who had requested a trade from the Atlanta Thrashers. It was a bold move by general manager John Muckler, but after the old core couldn’t get past the Eastern powerhouses, he was looking for a shakeup. Heatley was that player; at 24 years old, he already had an 89-point season under his belt and was sure to keep improving.

Heatley’s first season with the Senators saw him become the first 50-goal, 100-point player in franchise history. Then, in 2006-07, he did it again. Playing all 82 games, he repeated his 50-goal season, but boosted his points from 103 to 105, breaking the franchise record he set just a season ago. In the playoffs, he was just as dangerous. Teaming up with Spezza and Alfredsson to form one of the best lines of the decade, the trio each put up 22 points to lead the postseason points race as the Senators muscled their way into the Stanley Cup Final, where they sadly fell to the Anaheim Ducks.

A Strong History and a Bright Future

The 2026 offseason has largely been dominated by the departure of Tkachuk, and while it was difficult to see the Senators’ captain demand a trade out of the team that had been built around him, history shows that Ottawa knows how to develop top talent. Karlsson, Emery, Alfredsson, Yashin, and Heatley gave the Senators some of their greatest years of their careers, and unfortunately, the team just couldn’t get it done. Now, the Senators belong to Stutzle, Sanderson, and the rest of their youthful teammates. That might be the best roster overall the Senators have ever had, even without Tkachuk.