OTTAWA — On a night where dreams come true, the Ottawa Senators made Logan Hensler’s ambitions a reality when they selected him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

“A lot of emotions,” said Hensler after getting drafted. “It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid to play in the NHL. And it’s just a relief, being drafted by a great organization like Ottawa, so all good emotions. So I’m super excited.”

Hensler, six-foot-two and 196 pounds, is a right-shot defenceman who is an excellent skater with a big frame. The reason he slid to 23 was because none of his other attributes jump off the screen — that isn’t always a bad thing, however, for a defenceman. Outside of his effortless skating, he hasn’t shown himself to be particularly outstanding with the puck, while he does provide a good compete level along with his physicality.

“I’m a two-way, mobile defenceman,” Hensler said when describing his own game. “I use my skating to my advantage, up and down ice. Also, I have an offensive side to me.”

Hensler had two goals and 12 points in 32 games with the University of Wisconsin last season. He also won a gold medal with Team USA as their youngest player at the 2025 world juniors, coincidentally, in his new home of Ottawa. Hensler experienced his first winter in the nation’s capital and the city’s love for the game of hockey, which he appreciated.

“Great city, great people, and just a great atmosphere to be in,” said Hensler of his experience in Ottawa.

The 18-year-old played in limited minutes as the youngest player on Team USA, putting up one point in seven games at the tournament.

Now with the Senators, Hensler hopes to recapture that feeling of winning gold at the world juniors in Ottawa.

“That gold medal is something I’ll never forget, and hopefully keep that rolling when I get in that building.”

And for some serendipity, Hensler has moulded himself in similar fashion to another young Senators defenceman. Music to both Senators fans and management’s ears.

“Funny enough, Jake Sanderson,” said Hensler when asked what player he models his game after.

“I think we have very good skating. I (try) to take how simple and efficient he is. Overall, he’s an elite defendeman. That’s a goal I’m chasing. I think I can reach it.”

Defencemen who can skate and are big on compete tend to pan out as NHLers. 

Don Boyd, Ottawa’s head scout who was part of the same scouting staff that reached high to draft Sanderson, believes Hensler is just scratching the surface.

“So much room to grow, so much potential,” said Boyd. “I think there’s more offence in his game than if you look at the numbers this year. He’s a really good skater, he moves pucks(well).

The Senators see Hensler’s potential in his puck-moving and transition game.

“Defensively, he can meet the rush and stop it. He can get a puck. He can go back and get pucks very quickly, turn and move it up the ice very quickly,” Boyd added.

What’s interesting is that in back-to-back first rounds, Ottawa has selected a right-shot defenceman, after adding Carter Yakemchuk with the seventh overall pick last year.

“You never have enough defencemen,” said Boyd.

Later, the lead scout explained that the emphasis on acquiring right-shot defencemen, who are at a premium, which he compared to the centre ice position. With the Senators having a ton of natural centres on their team in Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto, adding another right-shot defenceman took precedent. Rightly or wrongly, the Senators could have added a much-needed winger to their pipeline but chose not to.

“It always comes into play when you’re talking about a right-handed defenceman,” said Boyd. “There’s a lot more left-handed defencemen than right-shot (defencemen) in the world.”

Hensler echoed those sentiments and acknowledged the idea of the scarcity of those similar to him in the NHL.

“Just think (right-shot defenceman) are a little more uncommon than lefties, so I think that’s why they’re a little harder to come by.”

For Boyd and the Senators, they had Hensler higher on their draft board than where he was selected at No. 23.

Regardless, it’s clear by Boyd’s comments and the Senators’ history over the past two seasons that positionality is important to them, and that it was a major reason why Hensler is coming to the nation’s capital.

Meanwhile, heading into the draft, general manager Steve Staios signalled he’d be open to trading down. That’s exactly what happened, as the Senators traded down from the 21st selection to the Nashville Predators for the 23rd and 67th overall picks in the 2025 draft. A move Boyd believed wouldn’t stop the Sens from getting their guy in Hensler at No. 23, which proved true, despite going down two spots while acquiring an early third-round pick.

“It’s always important”, to add draft picks, said Boyd.

“The more assets you can pick, the better chance you have of being successful.”

It was a very shrewd and savvy move by Staios to acquire an early 3rd round pick. The Senators now have three third-round picks, enough ammunition to move up into the second round if they want, or simply add more prospects to a bereft farm system, all at the cost of moving down a mere two spots. It was the right move.

Interestingly, the last time Ottawa and Nashville swapped spots in the first round, it was the Senators moving up to select Erik Karlsson in 2008. They’re likely hoping the hockey gods sprinkle another elite right-shot blueliner into Ottawa’s fortunes.

Hensler is clear-eyed on where he wants to improve his game next season at the University of Wisconsin, where he will be joined by another Senators prospect in Blake Montgomery.

“I think definitely just the offensive side of it, (to) end up with more points,” said the Woodbury, Minn. native. “And I think just also, just play the penalty kill. I think that’s another part of my game where I can really grow and just kind of come and just kind of complete it.”

For Senators fans that want to know a bit more about Hensler, he grew up in Minnesota, where his dad built an outdoor rink for him when Hensler was just a third grader. Something Ottawans can appreciate — they love an outdoor rink.

Meanwhile, Hensler’s mother and Grandfather are of Mexican descent. He’s just the fifth player of Mexican heritage to be drafted in the NHL, joining the likes of Auston Matthews. 

The Senators ultimately decided to add draft capital while selecting for positional upside. And now in back-to-back seasons, we’ve seen Ottawa seemingly reach to pick up a right-shot defenceman, as Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala didn’t have Hensler mocked as a first-rounder. At the end of the day, if Hensler and Yakemchuk turn out great, then the Senators look like geniuses. And if they don’t, then the opposite.

That’s exactly why you love the draft. The future is boundless and exciting, leaving almost everyone happy on the day of. However, revisionist history will tell the true story of the Senators’ decisions at the 2025 draft.