SENSNEWS

The Belleville Senators have been busy adding to their team in free agency. After years of being a team that was tight with their cash, new ownership has shown a tremendous commitment to investing in the AHL team.

This past season, Belleville made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The team lost in the second round of the post-season against the Cleveland Monsters. But it was a successful season for the organization as a whole.

The Belleville Sens will be adding some prospects to their team this season. Names like Jorian Donovan and Stephen Halliday specifically look to have a big impact at the pro level.

But on top of the returning players and incoming prospects, the Senators have added several high-level AHL veterans. They have also managed to re-sign several key players from the team this past season.

Belleville Senators Additions

Jeremy Davies

Jeremy Davies is joining the Belleville Senators after finishing the last two seasons with the Rochester Americans. The left-shot defender has some solid offensive upside and should play a top-four role with Belleville.

Davies joined the Senators on a one-year, two-way deal that pays him $775K at the NHL level and $350K at the AHL level.

He brings good veteran leadership to the team and will be a great mentor to the young defenders looking to break through in pro hockey.

In 66 games with Rochester last season, Davies scored 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points.

He also had a pair of points in five playoff games with Rochester. He also has 23 NHL games under his belt in which he has three points.

Filip Roos

The other defender coming to the team is Filip Roos. Roos is joining Belleville from the Blackhawks’ organization, where he has spent the past three years.

Roos is another left-shot defenseman that should bolster the Belleville blue line.

Roos is joining the Senators on a one-year, two-way deal that pays him $775K at the NHL level and $125K at the AHL level.

Roos will likely play on the bottom pair for Belleville and should bring some solid defensive play with him.

In 59 games with Rockford last season, Roos scored 16 points. At 25 years old, Roos is still improving, and he got some NHL experience this past season.

He was pointless in four games with the Blackhawks, but again he plays a defensive role.

Hayden Hodgson

The first forward to discuss coming over is right winger Hayden Hodgson. Hodgson comes from the Ontario Reign of the AHL, and it’s fair to say that he was an absolute menace with them.

Hodgson is also signed to a one-year, two-way deal. He too makes league minimum at the NHL level and $325K at the AHL level.

As a depth forward for Belleville, Hodgson can be thought of as the Boko Imama replacement for the Sens.

In 49 games with Ontario last season, Hodgson scored six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. He also managed to get 116 penalty minutes with the Reign. He will certainly stick up for his teammates.

Adam Gaudette

A familiar name for Sens fans, Adam Gaudette will be rejoining the team! Gaudette will certainly play a huge role in the team’s offense as one of the very best players in the entire AHL.

The center finished with the most goals in the entire AHL last season with Springfield. In 67 games, Gaudette scored 44 goals and added 27 assists for 71 points.

He also has far and away the most NHL experience of any players mentioned with 220 career games under his belt and 70 points as well.

Gaudette joins the team on a one-year league minimum deal. At the AHL level, he is the highest-paid Senator, making $450K this season. He will be looked upon to be one of, if not the best forward on the team.

Jan Jenik

The final player to discuss today is Jan Jenik, who came over from the Utah Hockey Club. Jenik was acquired in exchange for forward Egor Sokolov, who has unfortunately played his final game for the club.

Jenik has some solid upside as a potential depth forward in the NHL one day. The 23-year-old right winger scored 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 55 games with Tucson.

He also suited up for five games with Arizona in which he earned an assist.

Jenik is currently an RFA and will most likely be signed to a new deal soon. It will be very intriguing to see how the former third-round pick progresses this season with Belleville. In my opinion, he still has some NHL upside.

Belleville Senators That Have Re-Signed

There are also several players that have re-signed with the Senators for the upcoming season. Angus Crookshank has a shot at cracking the NHL lineup, but everyone else will almost certainly start the year with Belleville.

Forwards:

• Cole Reinhardt (1 year $775K)
• Jamieson Rees (1 year $775K)
• Wyatt Bongiovanni (1 year $775K)
• Matthew Highmore (1 year $775K)
• Garrett Pilon (2 years $775K)

Defense:

• Max Guenette (1 year $775K)
• Nikolas Matinpalo (1 year $775K)