Game Day Build-Up: B-Sens raise curtain on new season with North Division battle in Rochester

Belleville Senators Game Day Build-Up (Preseason)
Oct.11/24 @ Rochester Americans (NHL Affiliate: Buffalo Sabres)

The Set Up:

A little over five months since their 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs ended in Cleveland, the Belleville Senators are ready to begin the push for another playoff berth and a deeper run. With more than a dozen players off to new teams, it was a busy offseason for General Manager Ryan Bowness and his staff, who worked to replenish the roster with more depth than perhaps the B-Sens have seen since moving to the Friendly City in 2017. And while last season started with a triumphant victory over the defending champs, this campaign begins in familiar and hostile territory as Belleville visits Rochester to drop the puck on its eighth American Hockey League campaign, against the North Division Rival Americans.

Previous History:

Belleville and Rochester were separated by just six points at the end of the 2023-24 season, with Rochester finishing in second place in the North Division and Belleville fourth. But despite being behind the Amerks in the standings, the B-Sens had a 5-2-0-1 mark against Rochester last season, including a record of 2-1-0-1 at home, and 3-1-0-0 on the road at Blue Cross Arena. Lifetime against Rochester, Belleville is 24-12-5-1, with a 14-6-1-0 record away from CAA Arena.

Roster Notes: 

Belleville’s opening night roster boasts 15 returning players and 10 newcomers. Among the returnees are longtime B-Sens Angus Crookshank, Cole Reinhardt, Max Guenette, and Mads Sogaard, as well as newly minted captain Garrett Pilon, and other second-year Senators like Wyatt Bongiovanni, Jamieson Rees, Nikolas Matinpalo, among others. Belleville also welcomes some veteran help throughout the lineup including former Americans’ defender Jeremy Davies, and big Finnish back-ender Filip Roos on the blue line. Up front, Belleville should get a bump in the offence from the addition of Xavier Bourgault from the Edmonton organization and Jan Jenik from Colorado, along with some added muscle in the form of Hayden Hodgson from the Ontario Reign. Add in a crop of rookies looking to make their mark in their first full seasons, like Steven Halliday, Tomas Hamara, and Jorian Donovan, and the Senators are shaping up to be an interesting club to watch. Full lineup details, including line combinations, will be available ahead of puck drop via the Belleville Sens social feeds @bellevillesens.

Who to Watch:

One sophomore Senator who will be garnering a lot of attention is rangy forward Zack Ostapchuk. The 21-year-old Albertan is coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him collect 28 points (11 goals and 17 assists) in 69 AHL games. A seven-game NHL stint in 2023-24 also earned Ostapchuk Belleville’s Rookie of the Year Award as the team’s best first-year player. Ostapchuk also had a strong NHL camp in Ottawa last month and was one of the last players who were assigned to the AHL before the start of the season. Recognized as an alternate captain coming into this season, Ostapchuk is looking to lead by example and show that he deserves another look at the next level.

The Rochester roster includes three picked in the first round of the NHL Draft by the Amerks’ parent club in Buffalo. Isaak Rosen (14^th overall in 2021) enters his third pro season coming off a 50-point campaign and trying to make enough of a statement to earn a full-time call-up to Buffalo, where he played seven games last season. Also on the Rochester roster is Noah Ostlund (16^th overall in 2022), who will play his first full season in North America after spending last season playing for Vaxjo in Sweden’s SHL (plus two games with Rochester at the tail-end of the campaign).  Konsta Helenius (14^th overall in 2024) rounds out the list of Sabres’ first rounders that the B-Sens will have to deal with, making his North American pro debut this season at just 18 years old after playing the past two seasons in the Finnish Liiga.

Follow the Action:

Tonight’s game is scheduled with a 7:05 p.m. start,  and can be seen on AHLTV on FloHockey, or heard free on the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network. Pregame coverage on both platforms begins at 6:50 p.m., with David Foot, from Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

The full Belleville Sens 2024-25 regular season schedule is available by clicking here. 

—

Visit the Belleville Sens website: www.bellevillesens.com
Engage with the Belleville Sens on Twitter: @BellevilleSens
Like the Belleville Sens on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BellevilleSens
Follow the Belleville Sens on Instagram: @BellevilleSens
Listen to the Belleville Sens on Mixlr: www.bellevillesens.mixlr.com