The NCAA Frozen Four is set to begin in just over a week, and the WisconSens are still in the running for a national championship (their 6th overall and first since 2006) after upsetting Dartmouth and Michigan State. With Logan Hensler injured and Tyson Dyck and Bruno Idzan playing limited minutes in the regular season, 2024 4th-round pick Blake Montgomery is the lone Senator in the tournament, having scored 17 points in 36 games on the year. Wisconsin will take on another program with ties to the Senators – the University of North Dakota – in the semi-final on April 9th, with Michigan and Denver squaring off two days later.

Three other collegiate programs featuring Sens prospects took part in the NCAA Division I tournament, the most notable being 6’5 netminder Kevin Reidler, who signed a two-year entry-level deal (beginning in 2026-27) with the Senators on Monday, as well as an Amateur Tryout agreement with the Belleville Senators. A 5th-round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Reidler posted an 11-7-0 record and .901 save percentage as a sophomore with Penn. State. Despite losing the starting job to Josh Fleming down the stretch, Reidler has put together a decent college career after dominating the USHL in his D+2 season, and will likely compete with Jackson Parsons for AHL starts next season.

Reidler wasn’t the only prospect to sign on the dotted line these past couple of days. 2023 4th-round selection and right-shot defenseman Hoyt Stanley signed a three-year ELC with Ottawa and an ATO with Belleville on Monday, after completing his junior season with Cornell. (Note that Reidler being a year older made him ineligible for an ELC longer than two years per the CBA) Stanley tallied 15 points in 34 games while logging 23 minutes a night. He drew an assist in a 3-2 loss to Princeton in the ECAC tournament, and while Cornell was still able to qualify for the NCAA tournament, they were beaten 5-0 by Denver in the Round of 16. Stanley’s development away from the puck came through in his selection as one of three nominees for the ECAC’s Best Defensive Defenseman – ultimately losing out to Quinnipiac’s Elliott Groenewold.

Lastly, 2022 6th-rounder Theo Wallberg scored one of Western Michigan’s two goals in a 6-2 loss to Denver in the quarterfinal. The left-shot defenceman posted 14 points in 37 games and will most likely return as a senior next year.

Moving on to the CHL, here’s a rundown of each relevant playoff series:

2023 5th-rounder Matthew Andonovski nabbed an empty-net goal to secure a 6-4 victory for the Kitchener Rangers in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Saginaw Spirit, and opened the scoring in Game 3 yesterday to help the Rangers go up 3-0.Gabriel Eliasson’s Barrie Colts took Game 3 against Niagara by a 5-2 score to take a 2-1 series lead. Eliasson doesn’t have any points, but he’s got a few penalty minutes. Today is Wednesday.Blake Vanek is also pointless through his first three games in a depth role with the Calgary Hitmen, who are up 3-0 on the Brandon Wheat Kings.Left-shot defenseman Eerik Wallenius found his way on to the scoresheet in a 5-1 win in Game 1 of the Moncton Wildcats’ first-round series against the Saint John Cha Bots, and the Wildcats have won twice more since then for yet another 3-0 series lead.Lastly, Ottawa’s most impressive prospect this season has been goaltender Lucas Beckman. Traded from the QMJHL’s worst team to the QMJHL’s best team midway through the season, the 2025 4th-rounder has stopped 55 of 58 for a .948 save percentage and 3-0 series lead for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens over the Halifax Mooseheads. A lot of these guys just happen to be on really good teams this year, but Beckman’s performance in net has taken Chicoutimi to another level.