Ottawa Senators Recall Hunter Shepard

As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled an additional netminder with Linus Ullmark taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons. The Senators announced that they’ve recalled Hunter Shepard from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Shepard, 30, was the obvious choice for a recall with Ullmark out. The two-time Calder Cup champion and two-time National champion is in his first year with the Senators organization after signing a one-year, league minimum contract last summer.

He hasn’t dominated the AHL as he has in years past with the Hershey Bears, though he’s clearly been the best option in Belleville. In 11 games this season, Shepard has a 5-5-1 record with a .905 SV% and 3.16 GAA. By contrast, his tandem partner, Mads Søgaard, has a 2-6-3 record in 13 games with a .885 SV% and 3.47 GAA.

Still, despite his past accomplishments in the NCAA and AHL, Shepard lacks the same level of experience in the NHL as Søgaard does. Depending on how long Ullmark will miss, it’s unrealistic to think the Senators will start Leevi Merilainen for every game. The Senators have a particularly busy schedule coming up, with 10 games in 19 days beginning today against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Regardless, if Shepard does feature in a game for Ottawa, it’ll be his first NHL appearance since the end of last season. It would be difficult for him to fare any worse than he did in that contest, allowing seven goals on 26 shots against the Blue Jackets.