The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Jiri Smejkal from the Belleville Senators (Twitter link). Smejkal has been between rosters all season long, rejoining the AHL on March 13th and scoring three points in the five games since.
This move now marks Smejkal’s sixth call-up of the season, an impressive feat for the first-year North American pro. Smejkal signed a one-year, $950K entry-level deal with Ottawa this summer, moving to Canada after spending nine seasons across various European pro leagues. He’s quickly slotted into the role of de facto fill-in, despite just 22 points through his first 45 AHL games. His NHL performances haven’t been any more exciting, boasting just one assist in 12 games. He’s clearly still adjusting to North America, scoring significantly less than he did in the pair of 40-point seasons he posted in the SHL and Liiga over the last two years.
Even in the absence of scoring, Smejkal has brought a stout and professional frame – standing at a sturdy 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds. Ottawa will again lean on that frame to make an impact, as Angus Crookshank joins a long list of absent forwards with an undisclosed injury. Ottawa is also missing Joshua Norris, Zack MacEwen, Matthew Highmore, and Rourke Chartier. Their absences have tested Ottawa’s depth, but Smejkal isn’t their last line of defense – with top prospects Zack Ostapchuk and Roby Jarventie still in the AHL. Both players have received a half-dozen NHL games this season but Jarventie is the only one to make the scoresheet, managing one assist. Smejkal has averaged under nine minutes of ice time this season and is likely to manage a minimal role once again. But if he isn’t sharp, he could lose time to a top AHL prospect on a Senators team well out of the playoff picture.