Stephen Halliday might just be the Ottawa Senators’ most compelling forward prospect.
At 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds with a long reach, Halliday is a hard man to knock off the puck, and he pairs that size with slick playmaking ability. In mostly a fourth-line role, he produced four goals and 11 points in 30 NHL games this season, while continuing a trend that’s followed him at every level.
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He’s a guy who finds ways to produce offense.
Whether it was with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, Ohio State University, or the AHL’s Belleville Senators, Halliday eventually ascended to the top of his team in point production.
That’s what makes his projection so intriguing. Whether you think of him as a career fourth-line contributor or imagine him eventually climbing into a top-six role, both outcomes feel equally believable right now.
Halliday took a clear step forward as a pro this season, producing at a point-per-game pace in the American Hockey League with 29 points in 29 games. His pass-first instinct stood out, with only 2 of those points being goals. But as he showed during his NHL stint, he’s got a quick, effective release when he chooses to use it.
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“Yeah, no, I thought it was a great learning experience,” Halliday told Senators host Jackson Starr on Tuesday. “Super excited that I got a chance to show what I could do up with the big club, but again, I really give credit to the guys in Belleville, like David Bell and all the guys that kind of helped me along the way.”
There’s still a sense that Halliday is just scratching the surface. For now, he remains in that “happy to be here” phase at the NHL level, even as expectations begin to rise.
“Oh yeah, like if you would have told me like I’d be here sitting today, like at the beginning of the year, I would have definitely like been like, ‘God, I hope,’ and stuff like that.”
Even after proving he can contribute, he didn’t get ahead of himself last season. Even now, with a new contract, he knows he still has a lot of work to do to become the player he wants to be. But he learned a lot last season.
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“Yeah, like kind of just trying to play every shift, like it was my last, I think trying to improve my pace of play, kind of my physicality, like I wasn’t as big of a physicality player like in college and in the NHL, but trying to add that type of part to my game.”
He also pointed to the culture around him as a key factor in his progress.
“Yeah, like going back to like kind of what Sandy said in that post-game interview, like the ’25 best friends’ thing. Every single guy in the room was trying to help each other, whether it was G or whether it was Timmy, like all of those types of guys.”
That growth earned him a two-year contract on Tuesday worth $1.075 million per season. But according to PuckPedia, it’s a two-way deal, which is a loud reminder that, as head coach Travis Green likes to say, nothing is given.
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Halliday was playing regularly leading up to the NHL trade deadline, but after the Senators acquired Warren Foegele, he spent much of the stretch run in the press box.
At the moment, it looks like an NHL opportunity may be there this fall. But a lot can happen in a single offseason.
Two summers ago, like Halliday, Angus Crookshank was a top scorer in Belleville who was getting some long looks in Ottawa and looked like he might be ready to break through as a full-timer. Then the Sens went out that summer and wiped out Crookshank’s chances by signing five free agent forwards: David Perron, Michael Amadio, Nick Cousins, Noah Gregor and Adam Gaudette.
What the Senators learned this season is that Halliday belongs in the NHL conversation. And if his track record is any indication, wherever he lands in the lineup, he’ll eventually find a way to produce.
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By Steve Warne
The Hockey News/Ottawa
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Another NHL Chance For Former Senators GM Pierre Dorion?
The Year The Senators Entered The Playoffs As The Stanley Cup Favourite
Tkachuk’s Future In Ottawa Hinges On Senators Taking A Big Step Next Season
Travis Green Misses Out On Jack Adams Award Consideration
Jake Sanderson One Of Three Finalists For Lady Byng
Read the full article here
