Senators to keep top pick in 2018 draft, GM says

The Ottawa Senators will head to the National Hockey League draft in June armed with their firstround pick.

General manager Pierre Dorion confirmed Thursday the Senators wouldn’t turn over that top selection to the Colorado Avalanche, but would instead relinquish their first-round pick in 2019 as part of the deal that brought centre Matt Duchene to Ottawa in November.

The Senators can’t slip further than No. 5 in the draft lottery April 28 in Toronto, and they will have the second-best odds of winning the lottery at 13.5 per cent, and that’s why Dorion is “99.9 per cent” certain he won’t be giving it up.

The Senators may not get Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, who is considered the top prospect in the draft, but expect to draft a solid player in the top five.

“We never know what can happen, but we’ve had the chance to go scout quite a bit,” said Dorion, who headed to Barrie on Thursday night to see top prospect Andrei Svechnikov, a winger with the Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. “I’ve had a chance to see who they think is a top five, and we’ve even gone to see the top 10 to 12 to see if they felt anyone else could be in that range.”

The Senators also have a firstround pick acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the trade for centre Derick Brassard.

“We’re excited we’ve got two firstround picks this year,” Dorion said. “We think that these two picks can be cornerstones of our franchise, especially when you have a top-five pick. We think that can be a big stepping stone in being a contending team in three to five years.”

A former scout, Dorion will play a big role in this draft. Senators director of scouting Trent Mann and his staff have done a good job of stocking the cupboard with prospects but, because this top-five selection is so important, Dorion wants to see these players for himself.

“We’re going to take the guy that’s going to help us the best to have long-term success in the NHL,” Dorion said.