Ottawa Senators Prospect of the Week: Eerik Wallenius – The Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

The hockey season is well underway and the Ottawa Senators have gotten off to a solid start, going 2-1-0 in their first three games and seeing some big performances from their top players. Many of the team’s prospects have also hit the ground running, but it’s fair to say that not many fans had their eye on defenceman Eerik Wallenius.

Yet the 6-foot-4, 212-pound defenceman has been one of the best junior players in Finland this season, and with a goal and an assist in two games, he is your Senators’ Prospect of the Week for the week of Oct. 7-13.

Wallenius Dominant in Finland’s Junior League

When Wallenius was chosen in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, he was mostly an unknown in many scouting circles. Those who did know him cited a strong defensive game, and the Senators’ European scout Mikko Ruutu mentioned his impressive development across last season. “He took a big step forward this season,” said Ruutu. “He started with the under-18 team, then played on the under-20 team and finished the season with a pro team. He’s an interesting kid, a big boy.” (from “GOING BIG: The scoop on each Ottawa Senators pick in 2024 NHL Draft,” Ottawa Citizen – 29/06/2024).

Although the SM-sarja, Finland’s U20 league, isn’t known for it’s scoring, Wallenius performed decently well for a 17-year-old defenceman last season, putting up three goals and eight points in 14 games. This season, he’s already passed that. In 10 games, he already has three goals and nine points, two of which were scored this past week. On Oct. 11, he scored the game winner in an 8-4 drubbing of KalPa, and on the following night, he provided the primary assist on the second goal in a 3-2 shootout loss to Jokerit. With those two points, he now leads all U19 defenceman in scoring in the SM-sarja and leads all NHL prospects in the league.

Wallenius’ Strong Start to the Season

This season could be a breakout one for Wallenius, who has been outperforming expectations since back in July, when he went toe-to-toe with Senators’ top prospect Carter Yakemchuk in various drills, showcasing some surprising speed and quick decision-making skills. Then he went off to make his national team debut, playing four games with Finland’s U20 team before making HPK’s Liiga roster to start the season as their seventh defenceman. So far, only 26 teenagers have suited up in the Liiga in 2024-25, making him one of the top few prospects coming out of Finland this season.

Wallenius’ only Liiga game this season wasn’t all that impressive – he played just 5:16 and didn’t register a point – but it’s interesting to compare his impact to those who had similar deployments. Kalle Kangas, a 19-year-old defender who was picked by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, played roughly six minutes in HPK’s season opener yet finished with a minus-2, and the team’s assistant captain, Juuso Hietanen, finished with a minus-1 and just a minute and a half of ice time. Wallenius also travelled the shortest distance of any defender on HPK, according to the official game sheet, implying that he spent most of his time in the defensive end. Even with limited ice time, to finish with an even rating while playing mostly in his own end in a 7-4 loss is significant.

Since then, Wallenius has been in the SM-sarja, but HPK is definitely watching him with interest. His offensive game is developing quickly and, when combined with his size and physicality, he could have a similar rise to Alexander Nikishin, who suddenly emerged as one of the best offensive defencemen outside the NHL in 2022-23. Few saw his meteoric rise when he was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, as he looked like just another big defender with some raw skills who bounced between the pros and juniors in Russia. However, with that little extra time to develop, he became a game breaker. So far, Wallenius’ career has followed a similar path and it’s possible he could follow in Nikishin’s footsteps over the next few seasons.

Honourable Mentions

After being returned to the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Calgary Hitmen, Yakemchuk scored his first goal of the season in his first second game. He remains a player to watch this season as he’ll have more than a few opportunities to be one of Calgary’s top play drivers. Over in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Lucas Ellinas has two points in his last two games with the Kitchener Rangers. He now sits just one goal away from the team lead and is on pace to hit a career-high 34 goals. Blake Montgomery, however, lead all Senators prospects last week, scoring three assist in his last two games and was named the third star on Oct. 12 for his role in the Lincoln Stars’ 3-0 win. He now has a point in his last four games.

Related: Ottawa Senators Prospect of the Week: Carter Yakemchuk

Over in the American Hockey League (AHL), Cole Reinhardt has remained one of the team’s most productive forwards, sitting tied with Jan Jenik and Xavier Bourgault for the lead with a goal and an assist in two games. After his strong preseason, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get at least a few call-ups to Ottawa this season. Philippe Daoust has also looked like his old self after playing just 13 games over the past two seasons, scoring a goal in his first game back this season. It’s been a strong start for Belleville, who are now 1-0-1 and sit third in the North Division.

It was another strong week for the Senators’ prospects. Almost all of the Senators prospects have played at least a couple of games this season. We’re still waiting for Djibril Toure, Tomas Hamara, Jake Chiasson, and Jorion Donovan to make their season debuts, and in the NCAA, only Hoyt Stanley and Kevin Reidler have yet to play a game. Aside from a handful of AHLers, only Matthew Andonovski, Filip Nordberg, and Cam O’Neill remain pointless to start 2024-25, but all three should be expected to appear on the scoresheet before too long. Tune in next week to see which prospect stood above the rest!