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Cole Reinhardt

Senators Reassign Leevi Meriläinen, Recall Cole Reinhardt

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The Senators announced Friday morning that they sent goaltender Leevi Meriläinen back to AHL Belleville and recalled winger Cole Reinhardt.

That indicates Linus Ullmark is ready to return from a muscle strain that’s kept him out of the lineup for nearly two weeks. He was widely anticipated to return against Utah on Tuesday but was ruled out on the day of the game, prompting Meriläinen’s recall a few hours before puck drop. Meriläinen didn’t play against Utah, instead backing up Anton Forsberg, who pitched a 31-save shutout.

Unsurprisingly, Meriläinen didn’t get to add to his two-game NHL résumé. The 22-year-old netminder was a third-round pick of the Sens in 2020 and made his major league debut in a brief call-up in the 2022-23 campaign, posting a .878 SV%, 4.23 GAA, and a 0-1-1 record. The 6’3″ Finn has fared decently well in the minors, where he has a career 2.82 GAA, .906 SV%, two shutouts, and a 15-10-1 record in 31 appearances with the B-Sens over the past three years. He also had a sparkling .926 SV% in 13 games for the ECHL’s Allen Americans last season.

Reinhardt has been ferried between leagues a couple of times this season, most recently being sent down on Tuesday to make room for Meriläinen on the active roster. He’s back up today, meaning Shane Pinto remains a game-time decision at best for tonight’s contest against the Golden Knights after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Utah, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.

The 24-year-old Reinhardt has yet to be rostered for a Sens game in 2024-25 despite the transactions, but that will change tonight. They have 13 other forwards on the active roster, but with David Perron on personal leave, Reinhardt will make his season debut against Vegas if Pinto can’t play. The 2020 sixth-rounder has one NHL appearance to his name, coming against the Predators on April 7, 2022. He recorded a shot on goal and two hits in 8:35 of ice time. He’s been off to a hot start in Belleville, posting two goals and three assists through his first three games of the season.

Senators Recall Leevi Meriläinen

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The Senators have added goaltender Leevi Merilainen to their roster ahead of tonight’s game against Utah with Linus Ullmark not quite ready to return from a muscle strain, the team announced. Left-winger Cole Reinhardt has been reassigned to AHL Belleville to keep the roster at the 23-player limit.

Ullmark was projected to make his return to the lineup tonight after the team sent No. 3 goalie Mads Søgaard back down to the minors over the weekend. But he’s evidently not quite 100%, and he’ll be held out again tonight in line with previous reports that the Sens are operating with an abundance of caution in returning their new starter to game action.

That’s left Anton Forsberg in charge of the crease for now, and his underwhelming showing last season has continued. Forsberg has a 1-1-0 record in three starts and has struggled to the tune of a .863 SV%, 4.16 GAA, and -2.6 GSAA. Søgaard didn’t do any better in his brief look, conceding four goals on just 17 shots in last week’s wild 8-7 win over the Kings. He then sustained an injury in a game with Belleville after being returned there Sunday, so it’s now Merilainen who gets the call to back up Forsberg tonight against Utah.

Merilainen, 22, has just two games of NHL experience. The Sens’ 2020 third-rounder got into a pair of contests in 2022-23 when injuries decimated their goaltending depth, and it was certainly earlier in his development than they anticipated him seeing NHL ice. He managed a .878 SV% and 4.23 GAA, conceding 1.3 goals above average.

Last year was the Finn’s first in North America full-time. He did okay in an extended run with Belleville, logging a .906 SV% and a shutout in 24 appearances. But he starred at the ECHL level for the Allen Americans, where he posted a .926 SV% despite seeing a heavy workload shot-wise in 13 games.

The 6’3″ netminder has a good glove hand and helped Finland to a silver medal back at the 2022 World Juniors. So far this year for the B-Sens, he has a 3.47 GAA, .852 SV%, and a 2-1-0 record in three appearances.

Reinhardt, meanwhile, has been between leagues this season as roster flexibility allows. He hasn’t yet managed to make an appearance for Ottawa in 2024-25, but he has torched the minors with five points in three games for Belleville. The 24-year-old passed through waivers unclaimed during the preseason but remains an intriguing depth scoring option, so Ottawa won’t hesitate to have him in the minors whenever necessary to delay the expiry of his temporary waiver exemption.

Senators Recall Cole Reinhardt, Mads Søgaard Sent To AHL

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that they’ve recalled left winger Cole Reinhardt from the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League and are demoting goaltender Mads Søgaard. The move could be a signal that Senators star goaltender Linus Ullmark is set to return from a strain that has been keeping him out of action.

The Senators recalled Søgaard earlier this week and he dressed in one game, giving up four goals on 17 shots in just over 34 minutes of action against the Los Angeles Kings. The 23-year-old has yet to establish himself as a regular NHLer as his numbers are pedestrian at best. In 28 NHL regular season games, the former second-round pick has an 11-10-3 record with a .881 save percentage and a 3.53 goals-against average. Søgaard posted solid numbers in the AHL last season, registering a .916 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average in 32 games.

24-year-old Reinhardt is off to a terrific start in the AHL this season, posting two goals and three assists in three games with Belleville. Reinhardt has never been much of a scorer at any level, topping out at 34 points in 66 AHL games for his best offensive season as a professional. He is a strong skater and plays well in all facets of the game and will likely see time on the fourth line if he dresses during his NHL recall. The former sixth-round pick has seen NHL action before dressing in a game for the Senators back in April of 2022.

Senators Recall Seven Players

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Saturday: The team announced that Boucher, Crookshank, Halliday, Hodgson, and Roos were all returned to Belleville today.  Reinhardt and Sebrango remain, suggesting they’ll likely play in Ottawa’s preseason finale tonight against Montreal.

Friday: The Senators have recalled forwards Tyler Boucher, Angus Crookshank, Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson, Cole Reinhardt, and defensemen Filip Roos and Donovan Sebrango ahead of tomorrow’s preseason game against the Red Wings, the team announced. The group will draw into the lineup after most were assigned to AHL Belleville last week.

Boucher, 21, will get another brief look ahead of his second professional season. Injuries have plagued the 2021 10th overall pick since draft day, especially last year. He managed just 21 appearances with the B-Sens in 2023-24, struggling to make himself a factor with two goals and five points and a -4 rating. He’s made just 83 league appearances total over the past three years.

Crookshank was among the more surprising cuts, especially so early in camp. The 25-year-old left-winger looked like he’d challenge for an opening night spot after a breakout AHL campaign, recording 46 points in 50 games for Belleville last year. He also held his own in NHL action, scoring twice and adding an assist in 13 games. He’s still waiver-exempt and will be among the first players summoned from the minors if injuries strike in Ottawa.

Halliday looked like he may challenge for a fourth-line role at one point in camp, but he’ll get one last look here before heading back to the B-Sens for his first full professional season. The 2022 fourth-round pick has been a standout at Ohio State for the past two years, where he had 77 points in 78 games. He closed out the year with five assists in 10 games for Belleville last year after signing his entry-level contract. The 22-year-old will likely be in contention for a recall this season and a potential roster spot in 2025.

Hodgson cleared waivers Saturday and is unlikely to be back with the club this season after being inevitably returned to Belleville following one more preseason game. The 28-year-old winger does seven games of NHL experience, all with the Flyers during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but has struggled heavily to put up points in the minors for the past couple of years following a brief breakout in the Philly system. He had 16 points and 116 PIMs in 49 games for AHL Ontario last year while under contract with the Kings.

Reinhardt, 24, is entering his fifth season in the Sens organization. He’s developed into a consistent middle-six winger for Belleville, though his NHL upside remains minimal this late in his development. He posted eight goals and 23 points in 56 AHL games last year.

Roos is entering his third season in North America but his first with Ottawa. The Swedish defender spent the last two seasons in the Blackhawks organization, spending most of his time with AHL Rockford but still managing 21 NHL appearances (1 G, 2 A, -9). A decent enough puck-mover, he’s likely among Ottawa’s top three or four options for an in-season recall on the blue line. he had 16 points and a -12 rating in 59 AHL contests last year.

Sebrango, 22, was a Detroit third-round pick in 2020 but doesn’t look close to making an NHL impact. After he was acquired in last summer’s Alex DeBrincat trade, he struggled to find a regular role with Belleville and had seven points with a +3 rating in 35 games. He’s logged ECHL time in each of the past two years.

Senators Re-Sign Cole Reinhart To Two-Way Deal

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The Senators are keeping depth forward Cole Reinhardt in the organization next season, per a team announcement. It’s a one-year, two-way deal that carries an NHL salary and cap hit of $775K with an AHL salary of $95K.

Reinhardt, 24, was a sixth-round pick of the Sens in 2020 after being passed over in the 2018 and 2019 drafts. The Calgary-born left winger has just one NHL appearance to his name, skating 8:35 against the Predators in a game on April 7, 2022, while recording a shot on goal and taking a minor penalty.

Ottawa has still gotten solid value out of Reinhardt as a late-round selection thus far. He’s grown into a consistent contributor with AHL Belleville, putting up 40 goals and 99 points in 225 games over the last four years. Reinhardt leverages his 6’1″, 207-lb frame to play a heavy game and has displayed good shooting ability in the past, although he was limited to only eight goals in 56 contests this season.

Reinhardt spent his first professional season, 2020-21, on an AHL contract with Belleville before signing his entry-level deal with Ottawa the following offseason. That rookie contract covered his last three seasons of play, making this his first standard contract. He would have become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights had he not extended before July 1.

He earns a minor raise on the $70K AHL salary he earned in the final year of his rookie deal. Reinhardt will be an arbitration-eligible RFA again next summer upon expiry.

Ottawa Senators Sign Cole Reinhardt

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The Ottawa Senators have signed another prospect, inking Cole Reinhardt to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2021-22 season, but Reinhardt is already playing with the Belleville Senators on an amateur tryout. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on the signing:

We’ve been exceedingly happy with Cole’s play this season. For someone who was just recently drafted, he’s already showcased a great combination of strength and speed in addition to excellent hockey sense, which is likely his best attribute.

Reinhardt, 21, was passed over entirely the first two times he was eligible for selection in the NHL Entry Draft, but managed to land himself a sixth-round selection last October. The Senators used the 181st overall pick on the Brandon Wheat Kings forward, who had shown steady improvement offensively and recorded 31 goals and 55 points last season. Impressively, Reinhardt hasn’t looked out of place in the AHL, scoring seven points in his first 21 games with Belleville.

That performance has earned an NHL deal, though obviously, that doesn’t guarantee an opportunity will come at the highest level. Reinhardt will have to continue to work and develop his game, relying on the hockey sense that Dorion points out to create offensive chances for himself and his linemates. If the Senators are able to coax an NHL player out of their last selection in the 2020 draft, imagine how impressive the class–which had three first-round picks including Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson in the top-5–will be.

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