The Ottawa Senators Drafted Curtis Lazar in 2013 in Hopes That He Would Continue to Post High Scoring Seasons and Bring the Senators to Big Wins. Lately, Lazar Hasn’t Been Giving Off That Same Reputation. Is Lazar a Bust in the Works?
In the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators stepped up to the podium to select draft faller Curtis Lazar with the 17th overall pick.
Lazar was coming off an impressive 38-goal season with the WHL Champions, the Edmonton Oil Kings.He was touted as a potential Milan Lucic with a hard work ethic to go along with a natural leadership skill set. It seemed like he was a surefire NHL player in the making.
Fast forward to today and Curtis Lazar is having trouble keeping his head above water.
He started the 2016-17 season fighting a bout of Mononucleosis. Once Lazar returned to health, the Senators franchise decided it would be best for the youngster to start in Binghamton in the AHL.
The forward underwhelmed offensively for the Baby Sens and only scored three goals and an assist in 13 games. Now, in the big leagues, he is pointless in 18 games.
Sometimes young players struggle and find their game down the road, so it’s probably too early to write Lazar’s NHL abilities off just yet.
WHY SENATORS FANS SHOULD BE CONCERNED
Therefore many expected the 2013 first-rounder to improve on his rookie season, but he underwhelmed only improving by five points in nine extra games.
The third season is normally a player’s breakout year, and Lazar did have an unfortunate illness contribute to his slow start, but the complete lack of offensive production is startling.
What may ruffle some feathers is the fact of who the Senators passed on in Lazar’s draft year.
Anthony Mantha (20th to Detroit), Andre Burakovsky (23rd to Washington), Marko Dano (27th to Columbus) and Ryan Hartman (30th to Chicago) are well ahead of Lazar in their development and would be a huge improvement on the offensively starved Ottawa Senators.
WHY SENATORS FANS SHOULDN’T BE CONCERNED
19-year-olds who make the NHL are solid hockey players. It doesn’t happen by accident.
Curtis Lazar can still carve out a highly successful NHL career as a bottom six forward. He has already shown the ability to play in a checking role and the offense may come later in his career. Think Dan Cleary.
Lazar’s lack of production could also be attributed to new head coach Guy Boucher’s style of play. This guy is all about defending. If Erik Karlsson isn’t producing at a point-per-game clip, then you can see the extent of playing defensive hockey.
The Senators also have a bevy of highly talented offensive prospects on the way in Colin White and Logan Brown who can therefore allow Lazar to settle into a defensive role.
POSSIBLE TRADE OPTIONS
I’ve always been a fan of two teams swapping young players that are struggling to give each guy a chance with a new organization.
The Montreal Canadiens dealt a struggling Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a struggling Benoit Pouliot. Both players excelled with their new teams.
Sometimes those deals work out well, but sometimes it comes back to bite one of the teams involved.
Trading James van Riemsdyk to the Maple Leafs for Luke Schenn seemed like a good idea at the time for the Flyers, but Schenn is now on his fourth organization and JVR is still scoring in T.O.
Ryan Johansen and Seth Jones filled needs for their new teams when they were dealt for each other.
Could Lazar be dealt for another struggling prospect? It’s highly possible.
I floated the idea that the Senators should’ve swapped Lazar to the Edmonton Oilers for Nail Yakupov before the ladder was dealt to the St.Louis Blues.
Regardless, Lazar will be an intriguing player to keep an eye on to see what he can really become.
Will he be a draft bust? Or will he recover?
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