‘Legit prospect’ Aspirot signs entry-level contract
Continued isolation and a rainy day gave rise to some housecleaning business by the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
As the hope of any type of summer hockey dwindles by the day — Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty spoke to that unlikely scenario in a conference call — the Senators locked up goaltender Kevin Mandolese and defenceman Jonathan Aspirot to three-year entry level contracts.
Whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway, Mandolese will receive his first taste of pro hockey, but he’ll have to battle his way up through an already well-stocked goaltending depth chart.
If, as expected, Marcus Hogberg begins the season as part of a tandem with Anders Nilsson in Ottawa, then Joey Daccord and Filip Gustavsson will also return as a tandem with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. That means Mandolese is likely looking at beginning with Brampton in the ECHL.
Originally drafted by the Senators in the sixth round (157th overall) of the 2018 NHL draft, Mandolese is leaving junior hockey with some impressive numbers and credentials.
With the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Cape Breton Eagles last season, he posted a 26-8-1 record, with a league-leading .925 save percentage and two shutouts. His goals-against average of 2.33 ranked third in the QMJHL and he was named the league’s goaltender of the month in December.
“Kevin worked hard this past season to become one of the top goaltenders in the QMJHL,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement. “He’s positionally sound, has good lateral mobility and has proven adept at reading the play. Since being drafted, he has been diligent about understanding what he needs to do on and off the ice to be ready to be a pro goaltender.”
Mandolese, at 6-foot-4 and 188 pounds, also has the size to fill the net.
The Senators also have 6-foot7, 200-pound Mads Sogaard in the system. Sogaard, drafted in the second round (37th overall) of the 2019 draft, went 21-13-2, with a 2.53 goals-against average and .908 save percentage with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League last season.
Aspirot, 20, already has a pro season under his belt, scoring two goals and 14 assists in 44 games with Belleville last season.
Aspirot, who spent his junior career with the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL, was originally undrafted and signed a two-year contract with the Senators before last season. After signing the entry-level deal, the second year of the existing contact is void.
“Jonathan is a player, with credit to our amateur scouting staff, that we’ve kept tabs on since he was a development camp invitee in 2018,” Dorion said. “He’s long demonstrated great hockey sense and exceptional determination to the point where he became a regular among Belleville’s defensive corps last season.
“His progression has collectively indicated to our hockey staff that he has become a legitimate NHL prospect.”
There is potentially more room in the organizational depth chart on defence after 2018 first-round draft pick Jacob Bernard-Docker announced Friday that he’s staying at the University of North Dakota for the 2020-21 season, rather than opting to turn professional. However, Lassi Thomson, the Senators’ 2019 first-round selection, is expected to make the jump to North America. Thomson scored seven goals and six assists in 39 games with Tampere in Finland last season. He also had three assists in seven games with Finland’s world junior squad. kwarren@postmedia.com Twitter.com/Citizenkwarren