Senators sign second-round pick Egor Sokolov to entry-level contract

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Egor Sokolov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Ottawa selected Sokolov in the second round, 61st overall, at the 2020 NHL draft.

The 20-year-old from Yekatarinburg, Russia, had a league-leading 46 goals as well as 46 assists in 52 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Cape Breton Eagles last season.

Over three seasons in Cape Breton, Sokolov recorded 97 goals, 94 assists and 105 penalty minutes over 184 regular-season games.

He also appeared in each of Russia’s seven games at the 2020 world junior hockey championship in the Czech Republic.

He had four points (three goals, one assist) and 16 penalty minutes as Russia claimed the silver medal.

Sokolov was passed over in the 2018 and 2019 drafts. He was invited to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ training camp in 2019 but didn’t make the team.

“To Egor’s credit, he’s worked especially hard for this,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement. “Despite initially being undrafted, he applied himself to improve many facets of his game to the point where he led the Quebec league in goals last season. We were pleased to be able to select him where we did last month and look forward to seeing his career progress.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2020.

The Canadian Press