Senators 2026 First-round Draft Pick Gets Shifted To Centre

As most fans are aware, one of the Senators’ strengths as they enter another season will be their depth at centre.

Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Stephen Halliday will likely occupy the four centre positions to begin the season. But the Sens also have several wingers with varying degrees of NHL experience in the middle, including Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, William Eklund, Nick Cousins, Michael Amadio and André Burakovsky.

Now, the organization’s depth chart at centre may be about to get even deeper.

London Knights winger Jaxon Cover was selected by the Senators in June with the 32nd and final pick of the first round. His amazing story has been well told this summer. He grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands before making the switch to ice hockey as a teenager.

Because Cover has only been playing ice hockey for less than six years, his potential for improvement is already extremely high.

So that already makes him a fascinating prospect, but he may be adding another intriguing dimension to his game.

As Henry Brown at @SensProspects pointed out, Dale Hunter and company are currently auditioning Cover as the Knights’ second-line centre. He played there during his first two OHL preseason games, and clearly his saucer pass game is on point.

#AppleSauce

Jaxon Cover picked up an assist in his second OHL preseason game ????

He’s lined up as the 2C both times, recording 1G, 1A, and a fight pic.twitter.com/P3anMmx0OO

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) September 5, 2026

The Victoria Royals are hosting the Knights in a rare two-game interleague series they've billed as “Clash of the Kingdoms." The Royals won the opener 7-2 on Friday night, and the second game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Sens fans can stream Saturday's game here.

This could simply be the Knights kicking tires on possibilities, as most teams do in preseason. However, if the experiment continues, and especially if he thrives in the role, it would be an intriguing development for the Sens.

Success in the middle this season could even lead to Cover playing there again when he begins his freshman season at Penn State next year.

All else being equal, centres are generally valued more highly than wingers at the NHL Draft because of the additional responsibilities that come with the position. It is fair to wonder whether Cover might have been selected even earlier had teams already viewed him as a potential centre.

The Sens drafted Cover as a winger after he recorded 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 67 games with London during the 2025–26 season.

Even if he eventually returns to right wing, spending time at centre should benefit his development. The position demands greater defensive awareness, more responsibility down low, and a stronger understanding of all three zones.

Learning those details could help Cover become a more complete two-way player.

If he takes to the position, it would also make him valuable as an organizational asset. Every NHL team is searching for additional depth down the middle, and that would only increase Cover’s value, whether it's in Ottawa or as a future trade chip.

While in Victoria this week for exhibition games, Cover spoke to the OHL’s digital team about attending his first Senators development camp shortly after being drafted.

“Going to the Ottawa camp, just seeing the next level that those players have, and just how much stronger and faster they are… I want to just try to bring that level (to the Knights) and do the best I can with it.”

Again, two preseason games at the position do not make Cover a full-time centre, but the experiment is worth monitoring. First-round picks all enter professional hockey with major value. Some maintain it and become NHL players; others see their stock fall off.

But Cover now has two potential sources of untapped upside: his limited experience on the ice and now, the possibility that he could develop into a centre.

Few prospects from the 2026 NHL draft have more room for their stock to rise.

Looking to help lead ⚔️@LondonKnights forward Jaxon Cover discusses the trip to Victoria and how he's approaching it!@Senators | #Senspic.twitter.com/ViD8TWutEe

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) September 4, 2026

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:

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