Swedish d-man Olle Alsing will become the sixth Senator to debut this season when he skates against the Montreal Canadiens.
"I'm excited to play and it's going to be a lot of fun," Alsing said. "I've played pro hockey … so I should be prepared for this.
"I'm going to just try and play my game out there."
With Josh Brown and Thomas Chabot out for the final four games of the season, Alsing will get his shot tonight. He'll play alongside fellow rookie Jacob Bernard-Docker, who has just one game of NHL experience, but the pair have plenty of chemistry, albeit not in game action, having spent endless hours on the ice together since Bernard-Docker arrived in Ottawa last month.
"He's a great guy," Alsing said. "We play similar hockey. We like to make plays. It's going to be fun to play with him and I think we can make a good 'D' pairing out there."
Bernard-Docker made his NHL debut April 14 but hasn't been in the lineup since. While he only has 15:33 of NHL ice-time to his name, he's been doing everything he can to soak in as much information as possible.
"Whether I'm in the lineup or not, I'm learning every day," Bernard-Docker said. "I'm new here so lots to take in and lots to learn and the guys have been doing a great job of teaching me the way."
While Bernard-Docker hasn't suited up in three weeks, Alsing hasn't played a game since March 27 when he lined up for the Belleville Senators. He has an assist in seven games in the AHL and spent the start of the season in Austria with the Graz 99ers where he had five helpers in 13 games before heading to North America ahead of Ottawa's training camp.
"He's a puck-mover and obviously he has to prove he can do it at this level," Sens head coach D.J. Smith said. "He faces the puck. He's smart. But the NHL is a different animal altogether but it's a good opportunity for him to get in and for us to see how he does at this level."
A native of Uppsala, located an hour north of Stockholm, Alsing has 130 games of experience in the Swedish Elite League while also playing 152 games in the second division's HockeyAllsvenskan so he's not short on professional hockey experience.
And with more than 300 pro games to his name, the 25-year-old is thrilled he now gets to showcase his skills in the world's best league tonight against the Canadiens.
"As long as I've played hockey I've wanted to play in the NHL and to get the opportunity is huge," Alsing said. "There's only four games left but I'm going to do my best if I get to play all those and hopefully make a statement that I am a good hockey player."
