The Ottawa Senators have called up Hayden Hodgson from AHL Belleville, in a team announcement earlier today. Having locked up a spot in the postseason, currently slated for a first round match-up against Buffalo, the forward is a perfect spot-starter on the fourth line before what could be an exciting series against two franchises craving a run.
Brady Tkachuk was shaken up yesterday against the Islanders, not returning after catching a stick in the neck area in a weird sequence. Considering what’s in store, there’s no reason to rush their captain back for an inconsequential contest in Newark tonight, and Hodgson is a beneficiary.
The 30-year-old had to play the long game to this point. Undrafted out of the OHL, he was scarcely on anyone’s radar after bouncing around various ECHL clubs from 2017-2021 as well as a stint in Slovakia. After a sudden breakout with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2021-22, where he recorded 31 points, Hodgson got into seven games with the Flyers, but soon found himself back on the move.
Undeterred, the Windsor, Ontario native caught on with the Senators organization in 2024, fully leaning into an enforcer role with back-to-back campaigns with over 130 penalty minutes. The willingness to drop the mitts has gotten him 11 games with the Sens over the past two years, still looking for his first point with the club, but a metric hardly in his job description.
Hodgson will be eager for his first NHL action since early December, assuming he draws into the lineup against the Devils. Not yet reaching the 9:00 mark with the big club in any of his nine games, there can be less restriction of his ice time in a game against a team firmly out of the playoff picture.
After tonight Ottawa will conclude their regular season Wednesday, hosting the Maple Leafs. Hodgson will be soon to re-join Belleville, who unfortunately won’t qualify for the playoffs, but 2025-26 has been a year to remember with the most NHL playing time in his career so far.
Hodgson is crazy, And, A joy to watch on the ice.