The Panthers have claimed left-shot defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers from the Senators, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. Their active roster is full, so they must make a corresponding transaction.
Sebrango, 23, has just four games of NHL experience. All of them have come with the Senators this calendar year, making two appearances in 2024-25 and playing in their first two games of this season. He hasn’t been involved on the scoresheet, going pointless with a -2 rating and one hit while averaging 12:46 of ice time per game. Ottawa controlled 51.1% of shot attempts while he was on the ice at even strength despite two-thirds of his shifts starting in the defensive end, which are some promising early results.
This is Sebrango’s first season being waiver-eligible. Florida will be his third organization. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in 2020, but only recorded AHL and ECHL time in the Detroit organization before being sent to Ottawa in 2023 in the Alex DeBrincat deal. He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights after signing a two-way contract to return to the Sens late in the offseason.
The intrigue with Sebrango lies in his minor-league progression. En route to working his way onto Ottawa’s opening night roster for 2025-26, the 6’2″ lefty had a career year on the farm with Belleville last season. He served as an alternate captain for the AHL club with an 8-12–20 scoring line in 50 games. The hard-hitting rearguard also had 79 PIMs and a -4 rating.
There’s no coincidence that Florida’s claim lines up with their announcement earlier today that Dmitry Kulikov will be out through the trade deadline after undergoing shoulder surgery on a torn labrum. Sebrango will now get a crack at competing for Kulikov’s vacant spot on the left side of the Cats’ bottom pairing with Jeff Petry. Uvis Balinskis has that role for now after starting the season in the press box and appearing in all but six regular-season games for Florida last year, though, so he isn’t walking in uncontested.