The Ottawa Senators have signed defenceman Jonathan Aspirot to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The 20-year-old from Mascouche, Que., had two goals and 14 assists over 44 games in 2019-20, his rookie season with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators.
He ranked third among team defencemen and tied for sixth among the AHL’s Senators with a plus-14 rating.
Undrafted, Aspirot originally signed a two-year, two-way AHL contract with Belleville ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. The 2020-21 portion of that contract is automatically voided upon the signing of the entry-level agreement with Ottawa.
Prior to joining the professional ranks, Aspirot had 73 points (22 goals, 51 assists) over 188 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats.
“Jonathan is a player, with credit to our amateur scouting staff, that we’ve kept tabs on since he was a development camp invitee in 2018,” Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a release. “He’s long demonstrated great hockey sense and exceptional determination to the point where he became a regular among Belleville’s defence corps last season. His progression has collectively indicated to our hockey staff that he has become a legitimate NHL prospect.”