Although it didn’t last very long, Tyler Kleven left his fingerprints all over the Ottawa Senators’ first-round series this past spring. His shot from the point in Game 2 was deflected in to tie it, his breakout ability led to the tying goal in Game 3, and it was his sense to read the play and jump up in it that led to his overtime goal in Game 4 to extend the series.
If you were someone who paid close attention to the Senators in 2024-25, those performances would not have come as a big surprise. The 23-year-old only got better and better as the season went on, and he was able to parlay that into a two-year deal at $1.6 million annually back in June. Kleven has jumped up and made his presence known very quickly, only playing 53 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) before making the jump to the NHL.
Now he finds himself with almost 100 NHL games under his belt and some positive playoff experience to boot. He was deployed as a third-pairing defenceman but with the potential he’s shown, could he make a run as a top-four defenceman next season?
Kleven’s 2024-25 Season
Young players usually spend the majority of their early careers attempting to gain the trust of the coaching staff and Kleven did just that. For most of the season, he was dependable and constantly made low-risk plays that would not lead to mistakes. With that he gained more and more confidence, which led the Senators to believe that there is even more there than what’s on the surface.
He hardly spent time on special teams last season, but his skill set certainly looks like that of a dependable penalty killer. He didn’t throw a ton of hits, but his college career with the University of North Dakota suggests that he’s capable of being a much more physical player. He’s also adept at shooting, but doesn’t get the puck through traffic as much as one would like. Those things can improve as he develops physically and becomes more comfortable in his own skin at the NHL level.
Related: How Artem Zub Is Driving the Senators’ Defensive Turnaround
Kleven spent the first half of the season playing with Travis Hamonic on the third pair, but was then put with Nikolas Matinpalo once he was called up after Christmas. After that, Kleven’s game really began to take off as he was more familiar with Matinpalo having played with him with the Belleville Senators of the AHL.
Nick Jensen, expected to be out for some time, could open up an opportunity for Kleven to move up in the lineup. Another thing that bodes well for Kleven is the fact that he’s versatile. Even though he shoots left, he can play the right side as well.
Kleven Plays a Calm Game
When you watch Kleven play, he never seems too panicked with and without the puck and is able to use his large frame to his advantage for positioning in front of the net and along the boards. He’s not a flashy player by any means, but he’s able to get the job done and a lot of times, that’s what a coach is looking for late in big games, defending a narrow lead.
As mentioned, he isn’t the best at getting his shot through traffic, but when he does, good things can happen, considering his shot is among the hardest in the league. In fact, it’s in the 85th percentile league-wide in that category.
Another valuable aspect of his game is his ability to limit the number of penalties he takes. Last season, he had just 27 penalty minutes to his name, showing that he can toe the line between being hard to play against and getting under opponents’ skin and taking a costly penalty at an inopportune time. He was also even in terms of penalty differential, making him one of only 49 defencemen who played 30 or more games to be even or better. That is certainly an impressive feat.
Where Kleven Stands Moving Forward
The part of his game where he lacks the most is his offensive upside. It’s not the biggest priority for a third-pairing defenceman, but there’s definitely a lot of room to improve on that front. He ranked dead last among Senators regulars in shot attempts and expected goals for. It’s a small nitpick given everything else he brings to the table, but it would only make him more valuable as a player and to the team if he were able to up that production a little bit.
It will be interesting to see how Kleven projects long-term, but looking exclusively at 2025-26, it would appear that he is most likely to fall in behind players like Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot in terms of impact. The possibility for him to move up to the second pairing is there but for now, he probably still finds himself on that bottom pair.
He’ll stay, carry a lot of value, and will be critical depth if the Senators look to make a deep run, but he’s not quite on that level just yet. However, he sure does have a bright future ahead of him.
