Senators recall forward Egor Sokolov

It’s been an impressive season for Ottawa Senators prospect Egor Sokolov, and he’s about to get a nice reward. The young forward has been recalled to the NHL for the first time this season.

Sokolov, 22, has scored 55 points in 67 games for the Belleville Senators, setting a new career mark at the professional level. The 2020 second-round pick may not be the fleetest of the foot, but he has continued to perform well at the minor league level, scoring in bunches and operating as a key member of the Belleville attack.

After receiving eight games of NHL action last year, Sokolov is still looking for his first point with Ottawa. Whether he gets a chance down the stretch this year isn’t clear, though if not, his recall is somewhat surprising.

Belleville is still within striking distance of a playoff spot, sitting three points behind the Laval Rocket with five games to play. They’ll be playing the Cleveland Monsters in a must-win matchup Wednesday night, before a rematch on Saturday. Given Ottawa is in Carolina Tuesday and heads to Florida for a game on Thursday, it would seem unlikely that Sokolov is being removed from the Belleville group just to sit in the press box.