Jaxon Cover scores overtime winner for Ottawa in Prospect Challenge opener
The latest jaxon cover update is clear: the Ottawa Senators prospect scored the overtime winner and recorded three points in his first game in front of an Ottawa crowd. The performance came during the Senators’ opening game of the 2026 NHL Prospect Challenge in Gatineau.
Jaxon Cover scores overtime winner for Ottawa in Prospect Challenge opener
Cover made an immediate impact at Centre Slush Puppie on Saturday night, helping Ottawa win 4-3. He recorded a secondary assist on Kasper Halttunen’s first-period power-play goal, helped set up Eskild Bakke Olsen’s third-period goal to tie the game, and then scored the winner in 3-on-3 overtime.
The deciding goal came midway through overtime, when Cover beat goaltender Obvintsev on the glove side. It was his first overtime goal, according to the Ottawa Senators’ account of the game.
Cover also had several other scoring chances during the game. One play might have produced an additional point when he sprang Djibril Toure out of the penalty box for a 2-on-0 opportunity. Toure’s shot was stopped, and the report said the puck appeared to be behind the goal line in the replay-style view, but the referees did not have instant replay available to review it. As a result, the official total remained three points.
After the game, Cover said he became more comfortable as the night progressed and that scoring an overtime winner while wearing the Senators’ logo for the first time made the moment particularly meaningful, in comments reported by NHL.com.
Why the Senators are watching Cover closely
Ottawa selected Cover 32nd overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Cayman Islands native had played roller hockey until age 13 and had fewer than six years of ice-hockey experience when he joined the London Knights, according to The Hockey News’ Prospect Challenge preview.
Despite that relatively limited background, Cover produced 20 goals and 52 points in his rookie OHL season. The Hockey News described him as a still-raw player with substantial room to develop, while also noting that he was already a strong player after his first season with London.
His first Ottawa tournament game gave the organization an early look at how his offensive skills could translate alongside new teammates. Cover played on a line with Halttunen and Bakke Olsen, and Belleville Senators head coach Andrew Campbell said the trio was put together because of the possibility of developing chemistry. Campbell said the line worked well together in its first game.
What comes next for Jaxon Cover
Ottawa’s next scheduled Prospect Challenge game is against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday at 6 p.m., according to the tournament schedule published by The Hockey News. Cover’s three-point opener gives the Senators a strong first result to assess, but the available reporting does not establish his longer-term roster status or whether the performance will affect his path beyond the prospect tournament.