The Ottawa Senators have inked one of the best goaltenders in Sweden, signing Marcus Hogberg to a two-year entry-level contract. Hogberg was a third-round selection of the Senators in 2013 and will begin his ELC in 2017-18. He’ll now be joining the Binghamton Senators on a professional tryout for the remainder of the season.
Hogberg played extremely well in the Swedish Hockey League this year, ranking fourth among all goaltenders with a .932 save percentage. The 22-year old netminder actually played with Gabriel Carlsson, who was assigned to the AHL by the Columbus Blue Jackets just today. Though Hogberg had been successful in previous professional seasons in Sweden, this year saw his game take a big step forward and become a legitimate NHL goaltending prospect. His size—6’5″ 209-lbs—and athleticism are both prototypical for a future starting goaltender, though he’ll still have work to do refining his game in North America.
Since Andrew Hammond underwent hip surgery last month the B-Sens currently have Chris Driedger and Matt O’Connor in net for them, neither of whom are having much success. Hogberg would easily become the top goaltending prospect out of the three, and should get a legitimate look to be the starter next year in the AHL. While Dreidger will certainly remain with the organization next season, Hammond will be on the final year of his contract and O’Connor is a restricted free agent this summer. It’s not certain that the team will qualify him after his second straight relatively unsuccessful season since signing out of Boston University in 2015.
The Senators future in goal isn’t certain at the NHL level either, with the team still considering a long-term deal for Mike Condon. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, as will Craig Anderson after next year. Should Hogberg make enough of an impact at the AHL level next season, you may even see him on the NHL roster in 2018-19.