Senators recall pair of forwards

The Ottawa Senators have added two players to their NHL roster, forwards Roby Järventie and Zack MacEwen. These recalls give the Senators a full roster of 23 players while increasing their number of rostered forwards from 11 to 13.

While both players are wingers and bring decent size to the Senators, that’s about where the similarities between the two end. Järventie is a 21-year-old prospect who was the 33rd overall pick in the 2020 draft. Järventie played a season in Liiga after he was drafted and then one in the AHL before he authored a breakout AHL campaign last season.

The Tampere native scored 16 goals and 30 points in 40 games last season, which is a 54-point pace across a full 72-game AHL season. Although Belleville struggled as a whole last year, Järventie made significant strides in his play and began to show more of an ability to leverage his size and strength to survive the immense physicality of the North American game.

Now recalled to Ottawa, Järventie has a chance to make his NHL debut for head coach D.J. Smith’s side. The Senators don’t appear to have any vacancies in their top nine, although Järventie could fill in on the fourth line due to Mark Kastelic’s injury.

As for MacEwen, the 27-year-old is a more familiar face for NHL fans, as he’s played nearly 200 career games in the league. Owner of a contract lasting through 2025-26, MacEwen is a true grinder, a six-foot-four, 240-pound wrecking ball capable of dealing some serious hurt to the opposition while also racking up quite a few penalty minutes in the process.

MacEwen appears the more conventional choice to take the fourth-line winger role vacated with Kastelic out, although it’s likely that Järventie offers more offensive upside in the role.