Saturday: The team announced that Boucher, Crookshank, Halliday, Hodgson, and Roos were all returned to Belleville today. Reinhardt and Sebrango remain, suggesting they’ll likely play in Ottawa’s preseason finale tonight against Montreal.
Friday: The Senators have recalled forwards Tyler Boucher, Angus Crookshank, Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson, Cole Reinhardt, and defensemen Filip Roos and Donovan Sebrango ahead of tomorrow’s preseason game against the Red Wings, the team announced. The group will draw into the lineup after most were assigned to AHL Belleville last week.
Boucher, 21, will get another brief look ahead of his second professional season. Injuries have plagued the 2021 10th overall pick since draft day, especially last year. He managed just 21 appearances with the B-Sens in 2023-24, struggling to make himself a factor with two goals and five points and a -4 rating. He’s made just 83 league appearances total over the past three years.
Crookshank was among the more surprising cuts, especially so early in camp. The 25-year-old left-winger looked like he’d challenge for an opening night spot after a breakout AHL campaign, recording 46 points in 50 games for Belleville last year. He also held his own in NHL action, scoring twice and adding an assist in 13 games. He’s still waiver-exempt and will be among the first players summoned from the minors if injuries strike in Ottawa.
Halliday looked like he may challenge for a fourth-line role at one point in camp, but he’ll get one last look here before heading back to the B-Sens for his first full professional season. The 2022 fourth-round pick has been a standout at Ohio State for the past two years, where he had 77 points in 78 games. He closed out the year with five assists in 10 games for Belleville last year after signing his entry-level contract. The 22-year-old will likely be in contention for a recall this season and a potential roster spot in 2025.
Hodgson cleared waivers Saturday and is unlikely to be back with the club this season after being inevitably returned to Belleville following one more preseason game. The 28-year-old winger does seven games of NHL experience, all with the Flyers during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but has struggled heavily to put up points in the minors for the past couple of years following a brief breakout in the Philly system. He had 16 points and 116 PIMs in 49 games for AHL Ontario last year while under contract with the Kings.
Reinhardt, 24, is entering his fifth season in the Sens organization. He’s developed into a consistent middle-six winger for Belleville, though his NHL upside remains minimal this late in his development. He posted eight goals and 23 points in 56 AHL games last year.
Roos is entering his third season in North America but his first with Ottawa. The Swedish defender spent the last two seasons in the Blackhawks organization, spending most of his time with AHL Rockford but still managing 21 NHL appearances (1 G, 2 A, -9). A decent enough puck-mover, he’s likely among Ottawa’s top three or four options for an in-season recall on the blue line. he had 16 points and a -12 rating in 59 AHL contests last year.
Sebrango, 22, was a Detroit third-round pick in 2020 but doesn’t look close to making an NHL impact. After he was acquired in last summer’s Alex DeBrincat trade, he struggled to find a regular role with Belleville and had seven points with a +3 rating in 35 games. He’s logged ECHL time in each of the past two years.