Senators prospect Lassi Thomson to begin season in Finland

Ottawa Senators select Lassi Thomson during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)

Ottawa Senators prospect Lassi Thomson will begin the 2020-21 season in Finland but will be eligible to return to Ottawa for training camp this fall.

Thomson will return to Tampereen Ilves in the Finnish Elite League, where he skated in 39 games last season as a rookie.

“Playing league games is beneficial to any young player’s development. To Lassi’s credit, he expressed a desire to do so and it’s something that we very much support,” Senators GM Pierre Dorion said in a statement. “Starting the year with the same Finnish team for which he played last season provides him with his best preparation opportunity ahead of our next training camp.”

Thomson, who turns 20 this September, was selected 19th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Senators. A smooth-skating defenceman, he scored seven goals, 13 points and an even plus-minus rating last season.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.