The Ottawa Senators have now officially reassigned Viktor Lodin to the Belleville Senators of the AHL, though things had been in the work for a few days. Lodin’s season in the SHL finished recently and now he will get his first taste of professional hockey in North America. Belleville head coach Trent Mann was on TSN radio yesterday to talk about his newest forward, explaining that Lodin will be making his debut by Saturday at the latest.
A fourth-round pick in 2019, Lodin has had an up-and-down development path over the last few years. After playing nearly a full season at the SHL level in 2018-19, he ended up back in the second tier in 2019-20 after struggling with Orebro HK. In 2020 he joined Timra, who had been demoted to the Allsvenskan (the Swedish equivalent of the AHL), and he spent all season there helping them win a championship and earn promotion back to the SHL.
In that 2020-21 campaign he had 40 points in 47 games, and he has come back with another strong season this year for Timra even after the promotion. With 12 goals and 27 points in 44 games, the 22-year-old Lodin is fourth on the team in scoring, trailing only three import players (including former NHL forward Ty Rattie.
Signed to a two-year entry-level contract last June, Lodin is under contract through 2022-23 and would then be a restricted free agent. Getting some games in down the stretch will only help his transition to North America full-time next season, when he is expected to play a big role for Belleville. Don’t rule out a debut at the NHL level either though, as his strong play at the highest level in Sweden has opened some eyes. Whether he can bring any of that offense to this side of the pond remains to be seen, but Lodin represents another prospect for the Senators that could be ready for action in the coming years.