The Ottawa Senators focused on acquiring skilled players with high potential during Friday’s NHL Entry Draft. The team utilized their 25th overall selection to draft Swedish right winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen. This pick was part of the return from a trade involving Brady Tkachuk.
Less than an hour later, the Senators used the 32nd overall pick to select Jaxon Cover, a native of the Cayman Islands. Cover’s selection is notable as he began playing ice hockey at the age of 13, making him an intriguing prospect given his relatively short time in the sport.
Drafting for Skill and Potential
Don Boyd, the Senators’ head scout, indicated that the team’s strategy for the draft was to bring in skilled players. Boyd expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the organization secured the player they desired at the appropriate time.
Lagerberg Hoen, who is 18 years old, comes from Mora, a town in central Sweden. He developed through the junior ranks at Leksands. During the 2024–25 season, he advanced to the U-20 Leksands IF squad, where he was the team’s second-highest scorer with 27 goals in 38 games.
He started the 2025–26 season strongly, recording nine goals and 16 points in nine games. He also played in two games with the professional Leksands team before his season was cut short in October due to a knee injury. According to Senators European scout Anders Östberg, Lagerberg Hoen has fully recovered from his injury and is expected to attend development camp in Ottawa soon.
Östberg described Lagerberg Hoen as a goal-scorer with strong skating abilities and a competitive nature. He noted that the 6-foot-2 winger possesses a unique style, drawing comparisons to Filip Forsberg for his ability to toe drag and shoot effectively. The Leksands program has a history of producing NHL players, including Forsberg, Oliver Ekman Larsson, Victor Rask, and Emil Heineman.
Leksands was relegated from the top tier of Swedish hockey after the past season and will compete in the second-tier Allsvenskan in the 2026–27 season. Östberg believes this will provide Lagerberg Hoen with a significant role and a good environment for his development.
A Unique Path to the NHL
Jaxon Cover’s journey to the draft has been less conventional. He grew up in the Cayman Islands, where he played roller hockey, and only began playing ice hockey at 13 when he enrolled at St. Andrew’s College near Toronto. Area scout Beau Moyer has been tracking Cover’s progress for the past three years, observing his consistent improvement from U-16 hockey to prep school and then to his first year in the OHL.
Boyd highlighted Cover’s high skill set and significant potential, noting that he had only played one year of AAA hockey before moving to prep school. Cover finished second on the London Knights with 20 goals and 52 points. Boyd emphasized that the Senators drafted Cover for his ability and skill, believing he has the potential to be an offensive player.
Moyer described Cover as a player who makes impactful plays when least expected and is not afraid to challenge opponents one-on-one to create offensive opportunities. He also praised the London Knights program for its track record of developing hockey players and noted Cover’s steady improvement throughout the season, particularly after the trade deadline when he became a crucial player for his team.
With this selection, Cover made history as the first player from the Cayman Islands to be drafted into the NHL. He expressed surprise at being drafted, stating he had not anticipated the Senators selecting him on Friday night.
The Senators finished the regular season with a record of 44-27-11 and were eliminated in four games by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The NHL Draft is being held at KeyBank Centre in Buffalo, NY, with the first round commencing on Friday evening.
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Source: nhl.com
