The Ottawa Senators have added an undrafted forward to their prospect ranks, signing 18-year old Parker Kelly to a three-year entry-level contract. Kelly had taken part in the team’s rookie camp and is still at Senators training camp with the rest of the club.
Kelly has spent the last two seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL, after being selected in the seventh round of the 2014 bantam draft. That late-round pick paid off this year with a breakout campaign, scoring 43 points in 72 games to finish second on the team in scoring. Just 5’7″, 140-lbs when he entered junior hockey, Kelly is now 5’11” 172-lbs and took off in the second half of the year to push his way onto the NHL Central Scouting list. Still, he wasn’t selected in June but has earned a contract with his play at camp this summer.
While he’s still undersized for the NHL, it hasn’t stopped him from playing a professional-style game. Kelly works hard in the corners and has a quick release when he’s in a prime scoring position. While he may not have the elite upside of some of the players drafted ahead of him, he’ll never let any of them outwork him in pursuit of his goal. Though he’s still in camp, he’ll almost certainly return to the Raiders this year to play in the WHL.