The Ottawa Senators wrapped up the first round of the NHL Draft with a feel-good story.
Ottawa selected London Knights forward Jaxon Cover with the No. 32 pick on Friday, who was visibly emotional when he heard his name called.
Cover, 18, didn't begin playing ice hockey until the age of 13.
He grew up in the Cayman Islands, where he was an accomplished roller hockey player before eventually making the transition to the ice.
By April 2024, Cover was selected by London in the fourth round of the OHL’s draft of 16-year-old prospects. He had two assists in three games with London two years ago. Last season, he had a team-leading 20 goals and finished second with 52 points in 67 games.
Cover was the Senators' second selection of the night, as they also selected Swedish winger Jonas Lagerberg with the 25th overall selection.
The Senators were restored the No. 32 pick after originally forfeiting it as punishment for their role in a 2021 trade that was later nullified.
The decision was initially levied on Nov. 1, 2023, that the Senators would forfeit a first-rounder in 2024, ‘25 or ’26. Owner Michael Andlauer, who had just taken over the team, fired then-general manager Pierre Dorion that day and named Steve Staios as the replacement for that role.
The Senators traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to Vegas in July 2021 and failed to supply the Golden Knights with the player’s 10-team no-trade list. Vegas attempted to send Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022 before the move was nixed by NHL Central Registry because he had not waived his no-trade clause.
In March, the NHL decided not to make Ottawa forfeit its first-rounder, and instead gave them the last pick in the first round and a $1 million fine paid to NHL Foundation Canada.
