After tonight’s shootout loss to Buffalo, the Ottawa Senators announced that Olle Lycksell has been loaned to AHL Belleville. A depth forward, Lycksell has been back and forth between Belleville and Ottawa of late.
As a result of Lars Eller’s injury, Lycksell earned another call-up on December 13, and got into a game a week later against Chicago. He only played 7:17, but managed to notch an assist, his second point of the season, in seven total games. Simply unable to get adequate ice time since, the Swede will return to the AHL, where he is highly productive. Besides the best for himself, the transaction also may signal that Shane Pinto is on the cusp of a return.
Drafted in the sixth round back in 2017 by Philadelphia, Lycksell has impressively managed to stick around as a secondary option between the Flyers and Senators, skating in 52 career NHL games. He became an AHL All Star with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but caught on with Ottawa over the summer in a one year deal. An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, based on all his activity so far, the 26-year-old figures to be surefire depth for the Sens when needed.
A player whose sharpest skills are on the offensive side, Lycksell faces the challenge of trying to establish himself at the highest level in limited fourth line roles. Rejoining Belleville, who features AHL leading scorer Arthur Kaliev, Lycksell will vie for another shot and potentially extend his North American career.