Belleville Senators

The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, the Senators play their home games at CAA Arena.

Belleville Senators
2020–21 AHL season
CityBelleville, Ontario
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
DivisionCanadian
Founded1972
Home arenaCAA Arena
ColoursRed, black, white
     
Owner(s)Eugene Melnyk
General managerPierre Dorion
Head coachTroy Mann
MediaAHL.TV (Internet)
CJBQ
AffiliatesOttawa Senators (NHL)
Brampton Beast (ECHL)
WebsiteOfficial website
Franchise history
1972–1992New Haven Nighthawks
1992–1993New Haven Senators
1993–1996Prince Edward Island Senators
2002–2017Binghamton Senators
2017–presentBelleville Senators
Championships
Division Championships1 (2019–20)

The franchise was previously based out of Binghamton, New York, as the Binghamton Senators.

History

In July 2016, Broome County officials stated that the Ottawa Senators intended to relocate their franchise, then known as the Binghamton Senators, closer to the parent club for the 2017–18 season despite still having three more years on their lease.[1] On September 26, 2016, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk confirmed that he had purchased the Binghamton team and would be relocating it to become the Belleville Senators for the 2017–18 season with the Binghamton Devils eventually announced to be taking over their lease.[2] In order to accommodate an AHL team, the City of Belleville approved more than $20 million in upgrades to Yardmen Arena once the Senators agreed to an eight-year lease.[3]

The Senators kept Kurt Kleinendorst as head coach for the franchise's inaugural season in Belleville, but after a 29–42–2–3 record and missing the playoffs, his contract was not renewed.[4] He was replaced by Troy Mann, the recently released coach of the Hershey Bears.[5] The team improved in the 2018–19 season, finishing fifth-place in the North Division behind the play of younger players Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Rudolfs Balcers, and Erik Brannstrom.

Led by Josh Norris, Alex Formenton and Drake Batherson, the Sens were leading the North Division when the 2019-20 AHL season was cancelled on May 11 due to COVID-19. The team had amassed a 38-20-4-1 record and were the best road team in the league having won 23 games and registering a .790% road win percentage. The Sens' 234 goals were the most in the AHL.

Broadcasting

The official broadcasting partner of the Belleville Senators is radio station 800 CJBQ. Commentators David Foot and Jack Miller cover all games. David Foot also has a weekly podcast featuring news on the Belleville Senators and the AHL.

Season-by-season results
Calder Cup Champions Conference Champions Division Champions League Leader
Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Finals
2017–187629422363.4141942666th, North2018Did not qualify
2018–197637313582.5392282285th, North2019Did not qualify
2019–206338204181.6432341971st, North2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Totals2151019399226.526656691No playoff appearances

Players

Current roster

Updated February 7, 2021.[6]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
11 Vitalii Abramov RW L 22 2019 Chelyabinsk, Russia Ottawa
38 Olle Alsing D L 24 2020 Uppsala, Sweden Ottawa
50 Cedrick Andree G L 20 2021 Ottawa, Ontario Belleville
48 Jonathan Aspirot D L 21 2019 Mascouche, Quebec Ottawa
17 J.C. Beaudin C R 23 2019 Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec Ottawa
15 Clark Bishop C L 24 2021 St. John's, Newfoundland Ottawa
19 Cole Cassels C R 25 2020 Hartford, Connecticut Belleville
14 Filip Chlapik C L 23 2017 Prague, Czech Republic Ottawa
7 Jonathan Davidsson RW R 23 2019 Tyresö, Sweden Ottawa
5 Jack Dougherty D R 24 2019 Saint Paul, Minnesota Belleville
10 Alex Formenton LW L 21 2017 Barrie, Ontario Ottawa
29 Cody Goloubef D R 31 2021 Oakville, Ontario Belleville
9 Ridly Greig LW L 18 2021 Lethbridge, Alberta Ottawa
30 Filip Gustavsson G L 22 2018 Skellefteå, Sweden Ottawa
12 Mark Kastelic C R 21 2020 Phoenix, Arizona Ottawa
27 Parker Kelly C L 21 2018 Camrose, Alberta Ottawa
52 Jack Kopacka LW L 22 2021 Metamora, Michigan Ottawa
16 Joseph LaBate C L 27 2018 Eagan, Minnesota Belleville
6 Hubert Labrie (A) D L 29 2019 Victoriaville, Quebec Belleville
18 Zach Magwood C R 22 2020 Cambridge, Ontario Ottawa
31 Kevin Mandolese G L 20 2020 Montreal, Quebec Ottawa
Matthew Peca C L 27 2020 Petawawa, Ontario Ottawa
23 Cole Reinhardt LW L 21 2021 Irricana, Alberta Belleville
22 Logan Shaw RW R 28 2020 Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Ottawa
13 Egor Sokolov LW R 20 2020 Yekaterinburg, Russia Ottawa
33 Lassi Thomson D R 20 2020 Tampere, Finland Ottawa
25 Colby Williams D R 26 2021 Regina, Saskatchewan Belleville

Team captains

Franchise scoring leaders

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game average;

PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Drake BathersonRW10338781161.13
Filip ChlapikC1463751880.60
Jordan MurrayD1692360830.49
Jack RodewaldRW1273735720.57
Nick PaulLW1003139700.70
Logan BrownC812149700.86
Rudolfs BalcersLW763334670.88
Josh NorrisC563130611.09
Alex FormentonLW632726530.84
Vitalii AbramovRW692226480.70

Totals contain only games played for Belleville.

References
  1. "Binghamton Sens moving north to Belleville say Broome County officials". Ottawa Citizen. July 9, 2016.
  2. "Sens Owner Purchases AHL Team Partners W/ Belleville". Ottawa Senators. September 26, 2016.
  3. "Ottawa Senators finalize deal to move AHL team to Belleville from Binghamton". Ottawa Sun. September 26, 2016.
  4. "REPORT: Coach K out as Belleville Senators bench boss". Belleville Intelligencer. May 1, 2018.
  5. "Troy Mann named second head coach in franchise history". Belleville Senators. June 25, 2018.
  6. "Belleville Senators current roster". American Hockey League. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
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