Senators fans who like to keep tabs on their team’s prospect pipeline will find plenty to watch in this year’s OHL Final between the Barrie Colts and Kitchener Rangers.
That’s because three of them are Senators prospects, all playing big roles for their teams. The Rangers have forward Luke Ellinas (#104 overall 2024 NHL Draft) and defenseman Matthew Andonovski #140 overall 2023 NHL Draft, while on the Colts’ side, it’s defenseman Gabriel Elliason (#39 overall 2024 NHL Draft).
Advertisement
The 21-year-old Andonovski made headlines on Friday night with the game-winning overtime goal to give Kitchener a 4-3 victory and a 2-0 series lead. After battling injuries in AHL Belleville, Andonovski was sent back to junior in January to get some playing time.
Since returning, he’s shown a little more offensive swagger in his game with 14 points in 24 games to close the regular season and 7 points in 16 playoff games.
Ellinas is a 20-year-old forward who’s played three seasons with the Rangers and seems to save his best for the playoffs. But this season has felt like a replay of the Josh Norris story.
Ellinas had offseason shoulder surgery in 2025, but just six games into his return last fall, he hurt the shoulder again and missed the rest of the regular season. He just returned for Kitchener’s clinching game in the Conference Final and has played the first two games of the OHL Final. He has 3 points in his 3 playoff games.
Advertisement
Talk about going 0 to 60.
“It was definitely a lot of fun,” Ellinas said in an interview posted on the OHL Facebook page. “I wanted to get back all year. So to be able to do that was a lot of fun, especially in such big games like this.”
After the season he’s had, the Senators probably just have their fingers crossed that Ellinas, who signed his ELC last summer, can get through this playoff run in one piece. Ellinas likes to play the game with some edge, and if he’s going to do that at the next level, he’ll need health and a full summer of training to prepare for it.
And speaking of edge, that brings us to 6-foot-7 Gabriel Elliason. Elliason signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators, set to start in this fall.
Advertisement
Eliasson has spent the past two seasons with the Barrie Colts, a team I’m hesitant to write about because “nobody cares, work harder.” The big man had eight points in 61 regular-season games, so he’s clearly more of a shutdown defenseman who uses his incredible reach and physical play to make life miserable for opponents.
And he plays with such a chip on his shoulder that part of his focus this season was dialling it back and picking his spots a little better. He still led the OHL in penalty minutes (122) this year, but only because Andonovski, the 2024-25 OHL PIMS leader, played a partial season.
On Friday night, in the 35th OHL playoff game of his career, Eliasson recorded his first-ever OHL playoff point, drawing an assist in Game 2.
“Gabriel’s game has matured since we drafted him,” GM Steve Staios said in a club press release in March. “We’ve been pleased with his development, and his character and work ethic fit in perfectly with the team we’re building.”
Advertisement
The OHL final resumes Sunday night in Barrie (6 pm) with the hometown Colts down 0-2 and in a must-win situation.
But soon, when the dust settles on this battle and the season, it won’t be long before these three young men are all pulling on the same rope together in Belleville this fall.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Batherson Wide Open To Signing Extension: ‘Ottawa Feels Like Home’
Dylan Cozens Will Represent Canada At World Championships Next Week
Will The Senators Re-Sign 38-Year-old UFA Claude Giroux?
Halliday Reacts To New Deal With Ottawa: ‘Super Excited I Got A Chance’
Another NHL Chance For Former Senators GM Pierre Dorion?
Read the full article here
