Ottawa Senators select centre Jonathan Dahlen with 42nd overall pick

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Size and skill were the order of the day as the Ottawa Senators closed out the NHL Draft with four selections on Saturday at First Niagara Center.

Ottawa selected Jonathan Dahlen — the son of former NHL player Ulf Dahlen — with its second-round pick at No. 42. Just like his father, Dahlen is a creative playmaker with an offensive touch.

The five-foot-11 centre had 15 goals and 14 assists with Timra of Sweden’s First Division last season. He also led Sweden in scoring at the Ivan Hlinka under-17 tournament with five points in five games.

“We weren’t sure he was going to be there and that’s the guy we had targeted at 42,” said Senators chief amateur scout Bob Lowes. “To be able to get him, we were really excited. His dad played at six foot two and we still believe he’s going to top out at six foot one. He’s still very raw as well.”

Ulf Dahlen recorded 655 points in 906 career NHL games.

His son was the second player drafted by the Senators this weekend with a famous father. First-round selection Logan Brown is the son of former NHL player and current Ottawa 67’s head coach Jeff Brown.

Lowes said the family connections are invaluable when drafting young players.

“They know what it’s about, it’s the pedigree,” he said. “It makes it a bit easier because they’ve been around the game and been around their fathers. They don’t ever take things for granted.”

Ottawa used its next pick to select high-scoring right-winger Todd Burgess in the fourth round, 103rd overall. The six-foot-two Burgess spent last season with Fairbanks of the North American Hockey League where he tied a league record with 95 points (38-57) in 60 games.

Burgess was voted league MVP and forward of the year. The native of Peoria, Ariz., Burgess has committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and he’ll begin play there this fall.

The Senators took their only defenceman of the draft with the fifth-round selection (No. 133 overall) of Maxime Lajoie from the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos. The swift-skating Lajoie was a workhorse for the Broncos and scored 37 points in 62 games, following a 41-point rookie season.

With their final pick of the day, Ottawa took Finland’s Markus Nurmi in the sixth round at No. 163. The lanky six-foot-four 176-pound forward had 36 points (19-17) in 49 games for TPS Turku last season.

Lowes referred to Nurmi as “a big project pick,” and thinks he could end up becoming a checking forward at the NHL level.