For the first time since moving from Binghamton, the Belleville Senators qualified for the second round of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Calder Cup Playoffs, defeating the Toronto Marlies three games to two. The win isn’t just big for the AHL franchise, which hadn’t won a single playoff game in six seasons, it’s also big for their parent club, which has not only one of the worst farm systems in the NHL but also finished near the bottom of the standings. Maybe, just maybe, the Ottawa Senators have some promising prospects who can make an impact at the NHL level.
There are a few players that fans have been watching all season already. Angus Crookshank had a fantastic 2023-24 season, finishing first in goals on the team and second in points, plus two goals in 13 NHL appearances, and he’ll be looked on to be a big part of Belleville’s playoff run. Tyler Kleven will also be front and center after the heavy-hitting defender snuck into nine NHL games this season. Both players are expected to factor into the Senators’ short-term plans and likely won’t be in the AHL for much longer.
But Belleville beat the Marlies with more than just a few stars; the victory was truly a committee effort, with several players stepping up and taking on bigger roles, especially with Roby Jarventie, Tyler Boucher, Dillon Heatherington, Jamieson Rees, and newcomer Tomas Hamara all out with injuries. Here are a few players who are starting to stand out and could be major factors in Belleville’s first playoff run.
Zack Ostapchuk
Zack Ostapchuk hasn’t had the easiest transition to the professional ranks. He scored his first goal in just his third AHL game, but by December, he had just three. Thankfully, things picked up after that; in December alone, he had five goals, and by the end of his first season in the AHL, he had 17 goals and 28 points in 69 games, placing eighth on the team in scoring and fourth in goals. His hot streak to end 2023-24 helped him get into seven NHL games with the Senators, and although he went pointless, he showed some promise as a depth forward, throwing 13 hits and playing upwards of 12 minutes a night.
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Although he has strong offensive instincts and a good shot, Ostapchuk isn’t going to lead any team in scoring. But he does make his team a lot tougher to play against, which is invaluable during any playoff run. Back in 2022-23, the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Winnipeg ICE sent three first-round picks and four players to the Vancouver Giants for him at the trade deadline. It was a massive price tag for a player who wasn’t even the team’s top scorer, although he was the Giants’ captain and had just returned from a gold-medal run at the World Juniors. The ICE arguably didn’t even need him, either, already sporting Matthew Savoie, Conor Geekie, Carson Lambos, and Zach Benson in their lineup.
But when Ostapchuk arrived, he turned the ICE from a dangerously offensive team to a tough, gritty team that couldn’t be stopped. He regularly posted up in front of the net, using his big 6-foot-3 frame to screen the goalie and bash in pucks. He was a big reason why the ICE didn’t lose more than two games up until the Final against the Seattle Thunderbirds, including a sweep of the Saskatoon Blades in the third round. He’ll likely fill a similar role with Belleville, providing plenty of grit and physicality in the bottom six while also chipping in for plenty of big goals. He’s a player that makes things happen, which is exactly what the Senators need.
Stephen Halliday
Stephen Halliday has had an interesting journey to the pro ranks. He was passed over twice before the Senators selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft following a 95-point breakout season in the United States Hockey League (USHL). However, he was still viewed as an average skater who didn’t use his size well, limiting his NHL potential. However, in his first season at Ohio State University, he led the team with 41 points in 40 games, and as a sophomore, he repeated as point leader and earned a Hobey Baker nomination as the top NCAA player in the nation.
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Now in the AHL, Halliday has continued to impress, putting up five assists in his first seven games with Belleville, and in Belleville’s first series against the Marlies, he registered two assists in three games. He’s a pass-first center who excels at slowing down the game around him, which makes him a dangerous playmaker at any level, and his patience in both his development and approach to the game has continued to produce results. Even though Ottawa has a shallower prospect pool, he’s slowly emerging as one of the team’s top prospects.
Jiri Smejkal
After signing with the Senators as a free agent in May 2023, Jiri Smejkal’s deployment has been disappointing. The 27-year-old Czech forward is a veteran of three World Championships and one Olympic Games and has played in both the Swedish Hockey League and the Finnish Liiga. Yet, when he arrived in North America, he was immediately sent down to the minors, which was likely disappointing for him. He struggled to adjust to the smaller ice, too, which prevented him from earning any call-ups until December. Then, when he was finally called up, he was hardly utilized, playing less than 10 minutes in most of his appearances. He finished his rookie season with 20 NHL games, but just two points and one goal, which came in the last game of the season.
It seems strange that the Senators couldn’t use a 6-foot-4 power forward in their bottom six, but cap issues may have had a hand in their decision to keep him in Belleville. However, now that it’s playoff time, it will be Smejkal’s time to show just what the Senators were missing. He doesn’t have a point yet after three games against the Marlies, but he’s so strong that he could become a premier shutdown forward and make Belleville that much tougher to face. Experience and grit are so much more important in the playoffs, both of which Smejkal has in spades, making the Senators much more competitive.
Time will tell if these three players continue to rise to the occasion. So far, the 26-year-old minor-leaguer Garrett Pilon has been the big hero, netting three goals including the series winner in overtime, but Josh Currie and Jacob Larsson aren’t far behind him in terms of offensive impact. Despite having minor impacts throughout the season, Donovan Sebrango, Boko Imama, and Wyatt Bongiovanni have also been big-time contributors. This truly is a well-constructed team that has the tenacity, skill, and depth it takes to win high-pressure games, and hopefully, that translates to the NHL.