Ottawa Senators: Ben Harpur Recalled From Belleville
With Chris Wideman going down with an injury, the Ottawa Senators were faced with recalling a player from the AHL. They announced yesterday that Ben Harpur had been called up to fill the void left by Wideman.
With the Ottawa Senators suffering a plethora of injuries this season, coach Guy Boucher has opted to use 11 forwards and 7 defencemen for many of the games thus far. As a result, despite still having 6 healthy defencemen, the Ottawa Senators called up Ben Harpur yesterday from Belleville.
NHL Experience So Far
Drafted in the fourth round in 2013, Harpur has seen infrequent NHL time since then. However, in his stints with Ottawa he has performed well. In the past two seasons he played five and six games respectively. Last season he even logged nine playoff games while picking up two assists. This year he has played in three games including both of the team’s games in Sweden.
Had he not gone down with an injury in his first game of the season it seems likely that he would have played many more NHL games this season. Unfortunately, he went down with an injury on October 7th versus Detroit.
Next: Ottawa Senators: Chris Wideman Out For Weeks With Torn Hamstring
Proving Himself
Now with the Ottawa Senators continuing to suffer injuries, Harpur is being given another opportunity to succeed at the NHL level. He has performed well in the past but with the depth of the Sens’ defence he’s struggled to keep a regular spot. This could be an opportunity for him to stick with the Sens.