Donovan Sebrango – Kitchener Rangers – Player Profile

Height: 6’

Weight: 184 Pounds

Date of birth: January 12, 2002

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

Position: Defence

Shoots: Left

OHL Draft: Round 2, 40th overall, 2018 Priority Selection

NHL Central Scouting Rankings

Kitchener Rangers defender and native of Kingston Ontario Donovan Sebrango, is a graduate of the CIHA White Midget AAA (Canadian International Hockey Academy) squad of 2017-2018. There, Sebrango would appear in 30 games, scoring 5 goals and assisting on 20. He would add 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 playoff contests.

For those unfamiliar with the CIHA, watch this feature on Gabriel Vilardi, the Los Angeles’ Kings 11^th overall pick at the 2017 National Hockey League Draft.

Once his CIHA season was over, Sebrango would appear in 4 games for the Ottawa Jr Senators of the CCHL (Junior A). He went pointless in those 4 contests. The Rangers would select Sebrango in the 2^nd round, 40^th overall at the 2018 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. Here is what OHL Central Scouting had to say at that time:

Donovan is one of the best skaters in this year’s Priority Selection. He has the ability to skate by anyone in the neutral zone. He can beat forecheckers by using his speed and edge work and he is a threat whenever he is in the offensive zone. He has good puck skills and can handle pucks at high speed and he is a very high risk high reward type of player. He competes hard all over the ice and won’t back down from anyone. Donovan has the skating ability and skill to be a very good player at the next level.

Back in October 2017, Sebrango would commit to Boston University and the NCAA for the 2020-2021 season. But almost 8 months later to the day, Sebrango sign a standard players agreement with the Rangers and thus nullifying his NCAA eligibility. (*Note: Every year I get dragged into the debate of players backing out of commitments, and I don’t want to get dragged into it again).

Sebrango would join the Rangers for the 2018-2019 season. He would appear in 62 games, scoring 7 goals and assisting on 19 others. His 26 points were 3^rd best among OHL rookie defenders. He would also represent Canada at the World Hockey Challenge Under-17 and assisted on 2 goals in 5 games.

Sebrango began this season representing Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup where he and his teammates captured a silver medal. As you know by now, the coronavirus has shortened this OHL season and at the time the OHL closed its doors on the regular season, Sebrango had appeared in 56 games scoring 6 goals and adding 24 helpers.

Sebrango is known as a two-way blue liner. At 6 feet, 184 pounds, he has decent size, but he sometimes plays even bigger. He’s a workhorse in front of his net, below the goal line and in the corners and along the wall. It’s hard to imagine how much more difficult it’ll be to go into battle in those areas with him once he adds more strength.

Sebrango’s skating is also a huge benefit while defending. He is able to maintain his gap control and keep players to the outside because of his agility on his blades. But it is also a benefit to him in transitioning. While he’s shown the ability to transition with his feet, he is sometimes caught forcing a play instead of making the safe play. The hockey IQ is there along with the vision. I think it comes down to gaining experience and learning to utilize his teammates more effectively. At this stage, we can say that about a lot of defenders and ultimately, it comes down to whether one thinks they’ll grow from the experience. We think Sebrango will.

Sebrango has also shown he can quarterback the powerplay effectively. He can control the blueline, keeping pucks in the attacking zone. He walks the line extremely well, allowing lanes to open up and with his vision, set up teammates for opportunities.

Sebrango won’t be a top pairing defenceman at the NHL level. We see him as a quality number 4 defender who can play a shut down role as has been evidenced in two year at the OHL level, and one who can maybe quarterback the second powerplay unit.