Staff: 20th2025: NRReaders: 22nd

After being ranked 21st in his Draft+1 season (2022) and 25th after coming off of a season-ending upper-body injury in 2023, it’s nice to see Philippe Daoust rightfully back on our organizational depth chart and signed to a two-way, NHL deal.

Daoust’s stat card via EliteProspects

Daoust has always been an underdog story. Born in Barrie, Daoust played his minor hockey in the area before moving to Noëlville, an hour out of Sudbury, to play for the French River Rapids in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Despite putting up the ninth-best point production in that league, he was passed over by all 20 OHL teams in the OHL Draft, and ended up signing for Moncton as a training camp walk-on in the QMJHL to play his Draft-1 season. Daoust had to work his way up the lineup past drafted QMJHL players to secure offensive minutes, recording decent production at 0.50 points-per-game. Ottawa’s Chief Scout at the time, Trent Mann, had local oversight over the Q, and likely knew that there was more offence in Daoust’s game when the Senators made him their sixth-round pick in 2020. Daoust rewarded Ottawa with a 1.33 point-per-game season the following year.

His final season of QMJHL eligibility was a special one, and earned him his first ranking on our annual list: 47 points in 38 games for the Memorial Cup winning Saint John Sea Dogs, and five points in his first 15 AHL games. Not only was Daoust producing offence, he was also the Sea Dogs’ go-to shutdown forward, giving Daoust the ceiling of a two-way, third-line player who has the hockey sense to match up against anyone.

Philippe Daoust impressed with his outstanding progress this season.

He excels at leading transitions, creating scoring chances for his teammates as well as getting involved in puck battles. #Sens pic.twitter.com/xSOcB7WwMq

— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) September 14, 2021

His weaknesses? Skating and pace, which can lead to some turnovers and limit his ability to get his own shots on target versus setting up his teammates. Hence, when he started the 2022-23 AHL season with seven points in nine games, I was thinking that Daoust had found a way around that weakness against professionals.

He fell victim to Cursed Ottawa Senator Shoulder Injury Disease in 2022-23, so he started the 2023-24 season with Allen in the ECHL to regain his timing against pros. He was called up to Belleville in November, but only lasted four games before suffering another season-ending injury. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where his professional career could’ve ended there.

Thankfully, entry-level deals are three seasons long, and Daoust was able to play 52 games in 2024-25 to showcase his talents at the AHL level. This set of questions from BSens media expert David Foot to Daoust during his exit interview after that season stood out to me (bold added by me for emphasis):

DF: You finally get to play a lot of games, getting into 52 this year. How did it feel to have an ‘extended’ season?

PD: It felt good. I’ve been itching to get that many games for a while, so to finally play a good chunk of games this year, it felt really good, and towards the end of the year, it felt like I was really starting to play my game again. I was happy to get a full year in and be healthy.

DF: Like you said, you had a really nice finish to the season. How much of that was trying to get back to that high level, and how much was just dealing with the tough defences that exist in the American Hockey League?

PD: Not playing hockey for two years was obviously tough, and it feels like every player gets better, and better, every year. The first half of the year, I was kind of just getting my feet wet a bit, but in the second half, I don’t know what clicked in my head, but the game started slowing down a bit. And I think just playing with a little bit more confidence. The staff, Bellzy (Head Coach Dave Bell), and Lege (Assistant Coach Stefan Legein) did a great job helping us with the skills work and extra work. So, yeah, I think all of that came together at the end of the year, and that was huge for me

DF: Aside from the durability, is there an area of your game where you were happy with the growth this year?

PD: It’s hard not to say ‘just being healthy,’ so I would say that. But I think it was just having more confidence with the puck. I felt like, towards the end of the season, I was playing a bit more like I did in junior hockey, making some good moves and plays, and just not panicking with the puck. I feel like with that strong finish, I’ll try to bring that into next year.

While the Senators chose not to qualify Daoust at the end of the season, new general manager Matt Turek re-signed him to “prove it” one-year AHL contract to see if he could maintain his end of season production across a full year.

Friends, boy did he prove it.

Daoust put up big numbers as the team’s third-leading scorer, acting as the play-driver alongside Xavier Bourgault and Arthur Kaliyev on the AHL’s best first line. His 50 points in 63 games ranked 28th among all U25 forwards, and his leadership was recognized through being named the club’s 2025-26 Coaches’ Choice Award winner.

Hence, it was no surprise to see him sign a one-year, two-way contract with Ottawa – earning a big raise in his minor league salary to $250K – on July 1st, cementing his place as a key AHL contributor with the potential for NHL minutes in 2026-27. Because of his years of service in the Ottawa organization, Daoust will be a Group 6 UFA at the end of this season, and while I imagine there’s some level of loyalty to Ottawa given all the support the team has provided through his injuries, players have to choose what’s best for their development.

What Daoust brings – elite passing, transition offence in all three zones, and the hockey sense to match up against the other team’s best players – are all needed in the modern game. With Travis Green wanting to having four lines he can play against anyone, there’s room for Daoust’s skillset. Let’s see if he gets an opportunity to prove it, again.