Hoffman Makes NHL Debut With Sens

Mike Hoffman made his National Hockey League debut on Friday night.

The Ottawa Senators recalled the former Saint John Sea Dogs forward on Friday on an emergency basis. Hoffman skated for the Sens in their 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday in Raleigh.

Hoffman wore No. 68 for the Senators and saw nine minutes and one second of ice-time. He had no points or shots and finished the game a -1.

The 22-year old who has spent this season playing with the American Hockey League’s Binghamton Senators became just the third Sea Dog to see action in a NHL game. Defensemen Yann Sauve and Simon Despres are the others. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil was a backup goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this year but did not play.

"I was going home for Christmas holidays, but I'd much rather be here," Hoffman said before the game.

"I feel pretty good," he added. "I had a few exhibition games so far and I just want to take the experience I got from those games and carry it into a regular-season one. It’s definitely a great opportunity for me and I’ve got to take every opportunity I can get right now.”

"We’re excited for him," said Senators head coach Paul MacLean. "He showed some great speed during the exhibition season and he’s worked hard in Binghamton. That team has struggled, along with him, but he does bring an awful lot of speed to his game and if he can bring that to us tonight and that energy of playing in his first game, it’s going to help the team a lot."

Hoffman has seven goals and 10 assists in 32 games with the Baby Senators this year.

Photo Credit: Sens Twitter