National Hockey League veteran Sam Gagner ran his first development camp last week after being hired as the Ottawa Senators’ director of player development this past spring.

The development camp ran from July 2-4 and consisted of 25 skaters and four goaltenders, including top prospect Carter Yakemchuk and 2025 first-round pick Logan Hensler.

Gagner said the abbreviated three-day camp was a success and explained that the goal was to help the prospects become familiar with the organization and provide a full understanding of what it would take to make the NHL.

"I thought it was great. These guys are in their training programs all summer, so we didn't want to disrupt them too much, but we wanted to get them in and get them to understand what our organization is all about, get them to meet the staff and get a sense of what actual training camp is going to be like. We get them to work on some of the concepts that are important in the NHL. I thought it went great,” Gagner said on TSN Radio.

"I think we want to be holistic in our development. Make sure we're getting touchpoints in a lot of different areas and give the players the best chance to succeed. You try and teach as much as you can in the three days that you have, and I thought we accomplished a lot."

Gagner, 35, played 17 seasons in the NHL, recording 197 goals and 529 points split between the Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, and Winnipeg Jets.

The sixth-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft ended his hockey career last season with the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators, registering 10 assists in 19 games.

In addition to coaching the organization’s prospects for three days, Ganger played alongside some of them in the AHL last season, and says the skill and character within the organization is a testament to the work of the front office.

"I think the skill level is off the charts. The big thing that showed up, for me, was that we talked about bringing character people into our organization, and that was very apparent,” said Gagner. “It was a great group. It's a huge aspect of what Steve [Staios], Travis [Green] and the entire staff are trying to build."

Gagner also detailed his career path in the NHL, from a highly drafted scoring forward to a fourth-line penalty killer who occasionally chipped in on the offensive side, explaining that not every player will end up being the big scorer at the NHL level and that some will need to adapt their game if they want to forge a path to the league.

Specifically, he discussed 2022 third-round pick Oskar Pettersson, who he played with in Belleville, as someone who understands his future role in the NHL and continues to work on the skills that will help him reach that level.

"For each guy, it's a different path. Guys come into the NHL in different roles, so you have to start thinking about what that role is going to be and how you can develop into that role," said Gagner.

“We talked about Oskar Pettersson earlier. He's got a great grasp of that. He understands what his role is going to be if he plays in the NHL, and he works on those things. His development is coming along great because of that. He's a great guy for the other prospects to look up to because he has a great understanding of that, and he's working to get better.”

Gagner said his main message from the three-day camp was that each prospect should take ownership of their own careers and use the resources given to them by the organization as they continue their summer training ahead of next season.

"I think the big thing I challenged them with was taking ownership of their career. I challenged them to ask questions throughout the week, and there were a ton of questions coming my way from the players, which I think was great,” said Gagner.

"They have the resources available to them, but they have to use them. Ultimately, it's about figuring out what the path is and making the strides to be the best player you can be in a lot of different areas. If guys can figure that out early, it leads to stronger development."